The band gets back on track and scores the biggest hit of its career. The rare #1 that stands out from the rest of the top 40 by actually being artful and unique. This album took everything they did well and made it accessible to non-college radio fans. I chose “Half A World Away”, just because it seems so quintessentially R.E.M., but there are many strong candidates on here. There’s also “Shiny Happy People”, but you can’t expect perfection.
I was torn. I voted for “Losing My Religion,” because I do think it’s the best song on there, but I enjoy listening to “Near Wild Heaven” more.
I love the one-two punch of “Near Wild Heaven” and “Endgame” - it’s a (very) mini updated Pet Sounds that’s better than any of the many bands obsessed with that album have been able to accomplish.
Love these threads. R.E.M. tends to be my big Fall perennial, and I didn’t listen to Out Of Time much during my last two cycles.
That’s so funny, REM is my Fall band as well … I can’t explain why that is, but it’s been that way for years.
They’re my summer band. 
“Near Wild Heaven” especially reminds me of the sunny, happy days of childhood when I would play outside all day in the woods.
Something about “Belong” always moves me. It’s just so evocative and spooky.
A complete toss up between “Losing My Religion” and “Near Wild Heaven”. This is also the album that I started to lose my way a bit with REM. “Shiny Happy People” is supremely irritating, and “Radio Song” is just plain rotten.
Damn that Radio Song!
I voted for “Country Feedback” but I also really like “Texarkana” & “Near Wild Heaven”
I feel like, for a peppy little song, Shiny Happy People overshot the mark, being too much, too silly, too obvious, while the commercially-ignored Near Wild Heaven nailed it dead in the crosshairs.
Finally, one of these I can participate in! (I’m honestly not sure what happened to my copies of earlier REM albums. They’re not on my iTunes.) I voted for “Near Wild Heaven”, but this is a tough one. I do like “Losing My Religion” a lot, but it suffers a bit from having been overplayed.
Also, I like “Shiny Happy People”, dammit. It’s silly, sure, but it’s fun and I like Kate Pearson’s vocals.
When I was in college, I took a modern dance class and did my class project to “Endgame”.
Half a World Away is my pick here. Perfect, evocative song.
I also need to give a shout out to Low, which is overall is not the best song on the album, but absolutely has my favorite moment, when Stipe breaks out of the mellowness and ramps it up:
You and me
We know about time…
etc. Still gives me shivers sometimes.
I like every song on this one nearly equally (yes, even the hated “Shiny Happy People”), with the exception of the rather awkward “Radio Song”, and I figure that “Losing My Religion” will win this one far and away, so I decided to go with the other, non single song to feature the soaring vocals of Kate Pierson, “Me In Honey”.
Next one’s gonna be really tough, though.
Nightswimming.
That’s one of about seven possibilities, as far as I’m concerned.
Losing My Religion is probably the strongest song, but I’m burned out on that one (plus I find the video annoyingly pretentious), so I’m gonna give Mike Mills some love here and vote for Texarkana.
I disagree with the OP about this album. In my view, despite it’s pop success it’s one of their weaker efforts.
Radio Song and Shiny Happy People are both just embarrassing.
Me In Honey gives me crazy memories of the summer of 1993. I can’t NOT vote for it.
Agreed, the next one is going to be REALLY tough.
Losing my Religion. Everything about it was perfect, down to the video. Michael Stipe even once described REM’s career as “being broken into two parts: pre-LMR and post-LMR.”
I had too much to drink, but didn’t think of you. Guess that’s all I needed to go it alone.
Although I do very much love LMR. Love HaWA a teeny bit more.
I love Me in Honey, just love it. Can’t not sing* to it.
*for a certain definition of ‘sing’.