# Which R.E.M. album should I buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129 "2003-10-07T19:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/1 "2003-10-07T19:00:00Z")
I have _Automatic for the People, Monster, Out of Time,_ and the soundtrack to “Man on the Moon.” Which of the band’s other albums should I definitely add to my collection? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/2 "2003-10-07T19:02:32Z")
Life’s Rich Pageant. Still one of their best. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/3 "2003-10-07T19:03:48Z")
Definitely their first (and in some ways still their best): **Murmur**. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/4 "2003-10-07T19:04:00Z")
Murmur ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/5 "2003-10-07T19:07:57Z")
Murmur ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/6 "2003-10-07T19:08:03Z")
Eponymous ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/7 "2003-10-07T19:13:17Z")
The above suggestions are good. New Adventures in Hi-Fi ain’t bad, either. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/8 "2003-10-07T19:17:08Z")
Another vote for Murmur I also liked Green a lot ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/9 "2003-10-07T19:20:11Z")
Fables of the Reconstruction, Murmur, or Chronic Town. Basically anything before 1987. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/10 "2003-10-07T19:21:31Z")
“Fables of the Reconstruction” remains one of my all-time favorites. Driver 8, Wendell G, Maps and Legends, just a few of the great songs on that album. It definitely shows more of their alt-country side than later, more pop-oriented albums such as “Green” and “Document.” (The albums that made them big stars). ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/11 "2003-10-07T19:31:55Z")
LRP. Can’t beat “These Days” with a stick. Then Document. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/12 "2003-10-07T19:42:22Z")
New Adventures in Hi-fi! ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/13 "2003-10-07T20:11:12Z")
_Life’s Rich Pageant_, then _Murmur_. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/14 "2003-10-07T20:13:48Z")
Murmer, Reckoning, Fables, Life’s Rich Pagent, Document. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/15 "2003-10-07T20:43:43Z")
Dead Letter Office… the CD version also contains their first album, Chronic Town ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/16 "2003-10-07T20:48:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vl\_mungo \* > \*\*Dead Letter Office… the CD version also contains their first album, Chronic Town \*\* Yes, Dead Letter Office, then throw the rest away! 😃 A Must! * * * Delta-32 Skee-doo! ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/17 "2003-10-07T20:49:46Z")
_Green_ or _Document_. _Green_ is better from beginning to end, but I’m a big fan of both “It’s the End of the World” and “The One I Love”, both on _Document_. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/18 "2003-10-07T21:10:37Z")
Green ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/19 "2003-10-07T21:24:51Z")
I owned all of them at one point but traded them all in except for _Life’s Rich Pageant_, which is one of the best albums ever recorded, and _Green_, which I listened to a lot in college. _Eponymous_ is a greatest-hits-so-far record, so that’d be a good choice if you know you’re only getting one. ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-r-e-m-album-should-i-buy/206129/20 "2003-10-07T22:15:21Z")
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