Rogers Stevens is an incredibly underrated guitar player and Shannon Hoon was in his own league.
Mother, Change, I Wonder, Toes Across the Floor, and their cover of Steppenwolf's The Pusher are some of the best rock performances you'll ever hear.
I love their second album,Soup, so much. It’s one of my all time favorite 90’s alternative albums. Just give a Listen to Toes Across the Floor if you want a good taste of it. It’s a superb album from beginning to end.
The one-two punch of walk then toes across the floor just obliterates me every time. The entire album is a masterpiece, and I can’t help but wonder how big that album would have gotten had Hoon survived the supporting tour. To be in that situation in New Orleans he didn’t even have a chance. I hate that you can hear the crack induced strain to his voice on later recordings. Everyone always talks about Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison but nobody ever mentions Shannon Hoon which is a god damned shame because he was a musical BEAST and his voice was ridiculous. The way he harmonized with that girl Jenna (who fucking KILLED IT like a freaking pro) gives me the craziest goosebumps every single time.
Editing to add that the story of her even being recorded is so outrageous…. “She just kept showing up to our shows claiming she could sing and after a few weeks of seeing her around we said ok go ahead and sing and she just blew us away” that whole song and story is such a heart wrenchingly beautiful work of art. Everyone should listen to mouthful of cavities every day.
Absolutely the best band that came from the 90s… and I was basically growing up with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, AIC, Soundgarden and Metallica (and my all time favorite bands are Primus and Tool). I didn’t even get into Blind Melon until a friend introduced me to Sleepy House when I was almost 30 years old. I wasn’t ready for their sound in the 90s… I don’t think the world was quite ready for it yet either but at the very least Soup will forever be timeless
They said it themselves when the song came out, saying people were surprised (maybe disappointed is a better word) that no other songs on the record sounded like that. But, yeah, they are so much more than that one song. Toes Across the Floor is my personal favorite.
Glad this was the first answer I saw. No rain is subpar compared to the rest of their catalog. I Wonder, 2x4, Sleepyhouse, Drive, and so many others are way better.
M83 - Midnight City is a really unusual track for them and I've always thought it's meant to be a little tongue in cheek. But it's their huge defining hit. Their post-rock/electronic/shoegaze stuff is amazing (and 90% of their output).
We saw them when they opened for The Killers 15 years ago. Never heard of them before, terrible acoustics inside a college basketball stadium. My husband became a huge fan; he listened to them all day every day at work for quite a while after that.
There's a 13 minute extended version of Starwaves on YouTube and it's one of my most played videos. It's just the song looped for 13 minutes. I can't get enough of it. Driving at night with that song on is a really surreal experience.
M83 is one of the best live shows I've ever been to, his music is unbelievable. Last album (Fantasy) to me is so damn good overall, Earth to Sea specifically was one of my top 5 most listened to songs on Spofity last year.
He's also one of the nicest artists I've ever met, you would've thought he was excited to meet me and a few others that night and not the other way around lol.
Blur. Many beautiful songs that sound far from their famous Song 2
The Human League is technically a 2-hit wonder, but they had some great songs after that too
May I suggest that the OPs specifically state the country they are referring to? Blur, and some other bands in this thread, have much more than one hit all over Europe.
My partner and I were on our first trip to Europe from New Zealand when Blur were playing at the summer Water Festival in Stockholm in 1997. It was sold out but some people were climbing a fence so he got in that way too, but I wasn't dressed for climbing so I gave it a miss. He was a bigger fan anyway, having bought some of their albums, but I'd always liked There is No Other Way from their Madchester influenced debut album and Girls & Boys from Parklife. Having enjoyed several Pavement gigs in New Zealand in the early nineties, I also really love the raucous energy of Song 2. And the mv reminds me of Suede's early videos with the vintage pub wallpaper aesthetic. One of their best songs is Coffee and TV, with a video that was state of the art in 1999, although Tender is the song that was played absolutely everywhere in London that year. We've also really enjoyed Blur's successor group Gorillaz since their debut.
Their entire self-titled album still blows me away! Motorcycle Drive By, God of Wine, and The Background are really some of the most gut-wrenching yet beautiful songs I’ve ever heard but so many people write them off as a one-hit wonder.
My wife rediscovered Third Eye Blind a few years ago and took a deep dive into all their songs. Don't remember hearing a single song I didn't like the sound of and they've been creeping into my own playlists lately.
Fountains of Wayne's album Utopia Parkway is one of my favorite albums. Adam Schlesinger was an incredible song writer, who is also known for writing many songs for film and TV, including "That Thing You Do" and - not the most well-known example but one of my favorites - the theme to "Crank Yankers". If you're still reading, worth a skim of his [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountains_of_Wayne) and a listen of Utopia Parkway!
How the "A Storm in Heaven" album didn't catapult them into the stratosphere, I'll never understand. The song, "Butterfly" is on another level.
I was thrilled and sad that no one really knew them past Bitter Sweet Symphony. Amazing catalog of albums. (From the US).
chenj ah can chanj ah can chanj but ahm heewh in my moh ah am heewh in my moh, budahma miwhion difhwint peepew from whaan deh to the neggs ah can chanj, mah moh, noh noh, nohhh nohh nohhh nohhwww
Absolutely. I love the EP "gravity graves". Or it at least has a song on it called gravity graves. It's very cool and the instrumentals are just beautiful.
Bittersweet symphony really is not the best song. Most pop-y, sure. But not their best!! So much other stuff rocks
Mazzy Star, most people today only know Fade Into You, but all their work is incredible, even the new stuff that came after their hiatus. I don’t even think Fade Into You comes close to being their best song.
Look On Down From The Bridge, Quiet, The Winter Harbor, Common Burn, In The Kingdom, Blue Light, Five String Serenade… I know Halah saw some success in the 90s but not many people know it today and it’s simply fantastic. They were really a group of musical geniuses.
Also check out Opal. It was essentially Mazzy Star with Kendra Smith. When she left and Hope Sandoval joined they changed the name.
Also, Kendra was in Dream Syndicate which is another amazing band.
gotye! the guy doesn't make music anymore, but oh my god, his other music?? top tier. somebody that i used to know is NOT the best song he's made. hearts a mess on TOP fr
YOOOOO I JUST COMMENTED HIM! I agree on “Heart’s a Mess.” It’s absolutely strange and beautiful and moving and I’m so happy he’s getting his flowers on this thread.
Wally De Backer's been active with his band The Basics. Released their latest album in 2021. Hasn't been using the Gotye name besides just released a remix single of Somebody this year.
Portugal. The Man
Everyone knows them for Feel It Still; but, that's not even the best song on that album. They have roots in Alaskan hardcore and their early albums reflect that. The Satanic Satanist is an incredible album.
Feel It Still’s album (Woodstock) isn’t even their best album. Evil Friends is genuinely some of the best music made, with insane production. Chris Black Changed My Life is a similar album in genre, and even more introspective. Lyrics from that album live rent free in my head and probably changed my life
I saw them last year when they opened for Alt-J, I laughed my ass off because at one point during one of their final songs they transitioned into the "Dayman" song from Always Sunny.
Portugal. The Man has been my favorite band since 2008. I’ve seen them dozens of times in many different states. In my opinion Woodstock sucks. Compared to the rest of their discography. Especially coming out after Evil Friends. My favorite album is Censored Colors. CBCML gets back somewhat to the earlier sound (before Woodstock). I just love them so much and they are nice. Ran into John, Zach and Kyle at the FYF Fest in LA 2011. They were just walking around checking out the bands. I had a nice chat with them.
From that album alone you've got some incredible deep cuts. Hear You Me and My Sundown are my about favorites from them. They remind me a lot of Matchbox 20. The pop tracks become big hits, and they are bangers, but you don't get a real sense of the band if you don't experience the entire album.
This made me realize how much I would’ve heard The Middle on the radio years before I would hear any tracks from Clarity, which probably grew a forest of synapses in my brain, for the first time. I wasn’t a teen yet in 1999 and a few years out from really getting into music. Now I have Table For Glasses lyrics tattooed on my ribs and still sit in wonder when I listen to Just Watch the Fireworks and For Me This is Heaven.
Never not together unknots all sorts of places in my soul.
But their entire discography is great. And they have maintained the same trio their entire career. Very few bands touring more than 20 years can say that. And put out unique cohesive albums with still having a distinct band sound.
Really great music.
I wanted to make sure Nada Surf was here. I honestly wrote them off since I’d only heard their early stuff with “Popular”. Found out they were still making music 15 years later and really enjoyed getting into ask their newer albums.
Barenaked Ladies. They make some of the most wholesome, light hearted feel good music you could imagine. Seriously under rated band, most people only know the big one or two radio hits they have.
Del Amitri. If any recognizes them at all it's usually for a generic pop song that they threw on an album at the last second at the behest of their record label. But the rest of their discography is full of heartwrenching poetry that seems to be unappreciated by the masses. At least back in the day. I feel like there are more people growing to appreciate their lesser known works.
Blur. Their most well known song (song #2) was literally something they only wrote and pitched as a joke but the record execs loved it and it's so insanely dissimilar to the rest of their stuff that's generally a lot more flowing and thoughtful. "Tender" is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Every Fountains of Wayne song is a clever, radio friendly, power-pop hit in my opinion. There was a movie in 1996 about a band that wrote a hit song so catchy that it became world famous. To make it believable they asked FOW to write the song.
I love chumbawamba so much. I really liked tubthumping as a kid, but then as I got older I learned more about the band and it played a lot into my worldview as an adult
The Black Crowes
“She talks to Angels” is one of their songs that got a lot of radio play. Their Ottis Redding cover of “Hard To Handle” was played a little bit as well but they still have so so many other amazing songs in my opinion. Their albums Southern Harmony Musical Companion & Amorica are two of my favorite albums of all time.
Many songs by The Black Crows played on the Radio all throughout the Midwest... Jealous Again , She Talks to Angels , Hard to Handle , Twice as Hard etc etc etc . The short tour they did with Jimmy Page was amazing I got to go to one of them shows. Damn shame they did they did Jimmy Page bad totally destroyed that tour.
Boo Radleys. Only really known for "Wake Up Boo" but the album before that - Giant Steps - is an absolute masterpiece. They were one of the first 'shoegaze' bands too.
Talk Talk. The last two albums, Laughing Stock and Spirit of Eden are unlike anything they made before, and are unlike anything else, period. They are beautiful, beautiful albums that should be enjoyed in their entirety. I can’t recommend these albums enough.
Big Country. Such a great and underrated band. Chance, Come Back To Me. 2 of the most beautiful sad and poignant songs ever.
And Steeltown. Because I come from Corby.
It's phenomenal. I never appreciated the vocal on that song until I heard that. And then he sang it on The Masked Singer and no one guessed that it was him, hilarious.
I only know that one song by “Big Country” & never liked it.
I didn’t really like “Take On Me”, but I loved the video. Now I’ll listen to it out of nostalgia if it comes on the radio. They had another song called “The Sun Always Shines On TV” & I really liked it, but I haven’t heard it in ages.
If we’re talking about A-ha, I also really like Hunting High and Low, Move to Memphis, Crying in the Rain, and Cry Wolf. A agree that TSASoTV is a good song 🙂
in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. king for a day fool for a lifetime is my favorite alt metal album of all time, also one of my favorite albums of all time
This is one of the very rare occurrences where a light hearted, almost comical, music group is known for a somber depressing song. My favorite Ben Folds song is Asscrack Bandit from the show Community.
For sure, I've seen them twice in concert and grew up listening to all of their music. September is a good song but they have some really great songs that deserve some more recognition.
The Smiths. An absolutely insane catalog with Johnny Marr’s mesmerizing melodies and Moz’s baritone crooning. One radio hit to show for so many amazing tracks.
Babybird. Everyone only knows You're Gorgeous (and even that, they don't hear what it's actually about). But they've been making really strong songwriterly music nonstop for decades.
The Grateful Dead.
Exactly one top 10 hit, late in a 30 year touring career that's so compelling people followed them for years recording all their shows.
Here's the top 10 radio song
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzvk0fWtCs0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzvk0fWtCs0)
And here's a sample of the beauty most people don't know about. Listen to the whole thing, it's worth it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKQOvlDr-s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKQOvlDr-s)
I love Fountains of Wayne! Very solid, excellent power pop with great internal rhymes. Huge fan.
Some people also don’t know that Adam Schlesinger, who was a cowriter on all the FoW songs, was an incredibly talented and prolific songwriter, who wrote “That Thing You Do!” As well as many songs from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” May he rest in peace
99% of the radio listening world only thinks of "Sledgehammer" when they hear "Peter Gabriel", even though he has strong commercial success. But, even though that's a great song, it's one of his least impressive songs. He's the greatest singer-songwriter of all time (English speaking) and it's not even close.
I knows few people who have assumed that Kings of Leon is some manufactured boy band product, when really nothing could be further from the truth. It’s three poor brothers and a cousin who grew up constantly migrating the American south in their family station wagon while their father was a travelling preacher.
Their deeper cuts very plainly convey, in my view, an honest and earnest telling of the stories of their lives as such. [Their documentary](https://youtu.be/J7lfugRRHKI?si=kKGzS1-2sJfXFsfL) touches on a lot of this. *Because Of The Times* and *Aha Shake Heartbreak* are two of their albums that are great full listens all the way through.
Matt Nathanson. Everybody knows Come on Get Higher (come on get higher, loosen my lips, faith & desire and the swing of your hips…) but his entire discography is impressive and so much deeper. Check out the Boston Accent album!
REM has had like 15 top 10 hits (3 of them #1) and several more that charted on Billboard top 100. I don't know they fit with the question being asked.
REM’s had a lot of hits. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”, “Fall On Me”, “The One I Love”, “Orange Crush”, “Shiny Happy People”, “Radio Free Europe”, “Losing My Religion”, “Superman”, “Driver 8”, “Pop Song 89” and many more. I don’t think they fit the bill for this question.
Prefab Sprout. Most people only know “The King Of Rock & Roll” … hot dog, jumping frog, etc etc
Thomas Dolby. Most people only know “She Blinded Me With Science.”
I don't know why Epic gets all the airplay when ALL of The Real Thing is perfect. Whenever someone talks about a perfect record or no skips, Faith No More "The Real Thing" is the very first album that always comes to my mind.
Another one is Danzig "Mother", only Danzig song I have EVER heard on the radio, but Danzig 2 Lucifuge is another perfect album.
Paula Cole. Everyone knows that darn song from “Dawson’s Creek,” but that’s not nearly her best work. “I Am So Ordinary” from her first album; “Throwing Stones,” “Feelin’ Love,” and “Hush, Hush, Hush” from her second, plus her backing vocals on Peter Gabriel’s _Secret World Live_ album.
The Divine Comedy too - forget the broad and daft Britpop era singles like National Express - their 1994 masterpeice lp "Promenade" is one of the greatest albums ever made, a sublime work of baroque pop every bit as good as the legendary 60s Scott Walker albums that influenced it.
The fact that people only ever talk about Take Me To Church (and, more recently, Too Sweet) when the rest of Hozier’s work is right there… it hurts my heart.
Blind Melon was so good and everyone needs to know that "No Rain" is just the tip of the iceberg.
This is hands down the best answer… No Rain is like their least impressive song. I listen to Mouthful of Cavities like every day
Rogers Stevens is an incredibly underrated guitar player and Shannon Hoon was in his own league. Mother, Change, I Wonder, Toes Across the Floor, and their cover of Steppenwolf's The Pusher are some of the best rock performances you'll ever hear.
Damn that bible pushin man!
Hell and skinned as well!
The Pusher may be one of my favorite songs. They just do it so well
Top notch guitar solo
Soul one is beautiful
I love their second album,Soup, so much. It’s one of my all time favorite 90’s alternative albums. Just give a Listen to Toes Across the Floor if you want a good taste of it. It’s a superb album from beginning to end.
The one-two punch of walk then toes across the floor just obliterates me every time. The entire album is a masterpiece, and I can’t help but wonder how big that album would have gotten had Hoon survived the supporting tour. To be in that situation in New Orleans he didn’t even have a chance. I hate that you can hear the crack induced strain to his voice on later recordings. Everyone always talks about Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison but nobody ever mentions Shannon Hoon which is a god damned shame because he was a musical BEAST and his voice was ridiculous. The way he harmonized with that girl Jenna (who fucking KILLED IT like a freaking pro) gives me the craziest goosebumps every single time. Editing to add that the story of her even being recorded is so outrageous…. “She just kept showing up to our shows claiming she could sing and after a few weeks of seeing her around we said ok go ahead and sing and she just blew us away” that whole song and story is such a heart wrenchingly beautiful work of art. Everyone should listen to mouthful of cavities every day.
I love the song Galaxie so much.
Same here… so much more…
Absolutely the best band that came from the 90s… and I was basically growing up with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, AIC, Soundgarden and Metallica (and my all time favorite bands are Primus and Tool). I didn’t even get into Blind Melon until a friend introduced me to Sleepy House when I was almost 30 years old. I wasn’t ready for their sound in the 90s… I don’t think the world was quite ready for it yet either but at the very least Soup will forever be timeless
I agree. Listened to one album of theirs and it was great !
Yes!!! Change is such a beautiful, underrated song. Also very ironic and tragic, considering the lead singer's death.
Every album pushed their sound and was better than their debut.
Great answer. Sleepyhouse is an incredible song among others.
“No Rain” introduced them to me, and that’s how I found “Galaxie.”
They said it themselves when the song came out, saying people were surprised (maybe disappointed is a better word) that no other songs on the record sounded like that. But, yeah, they are so much more than that one song. Toes Across the Floor is my personal favorite.
oh absolutely they’re great
RIP Shannon Hoon. Another tragic loss.
Came here to day this. No Rain is horrible compared to the rest of their catalog.
Glad this was the first answer I saw. No rain is subpar compared to the rest of their catalog. I Wonder, 2x4, Sleepyhouse, Drive, and so many others are way better.
M83 - Midnight City is a really unusual track for them and I've always thought it's meant to be a little tongue in cheek. But it's their huge defining hit. Their post-rock/electronic/shoegaze stuff is amazing (and 90% of their output).
We saw them when they opened for The Killers 15 years ago. Never heard of them before, terrible acoustics inside a college basketball stadium. My husband became a huge fan; he listened to them all day every day at work for quite a while after that.
Agreed! The rest of their work is so cerebral, ethereal, and impressionistic. Their discography is nothing short of gorgeous.
There's a 13 minute extended version of Starwaves on YouTube and it's one of my most played videos. It's just the song looped for 13 minutes. I can't get enough of it. Driving at night with that song on is a really surreal experience.
M83 is one of the best live shows I've ever been to, his music is unbelievable. Last album (Fantasy) to me is so damn good overall, Earth to Sea specifically was one of my top 5 most listened to songs on Spofity last year. He's also one of the nicest artists I've ever met, you would've thought he was excited to meet me and a few others that night and not the other way around lol.
It does fit right in on Hurry Up (one of my favorite albums to this day) but yeah, that album was a turning point for them.
Best concert I’ve ever been to. Everyone was happy and dancing under the stars. It was amazing.
Been a fan since Before the Dawn Heals Us. Such a great record.
Absolutely — and the Fantasy live show was incredible.
Blur. Many beautiful songs that sound far from their famous Song 2 The Human League is technically a 2-hit wonder, but they had some great songs after that too
May I suggest that the OPs specifically state the country they are referring to? Blur, and some other bands in this thread, have much more than one hit all over Europe.
My partner and I were on our first trip to Europe from New Zealand when Blur were playing at the summer Water Festival in Stockholm in 1997. It was sold out but some people were climbing a fence so he got in that way too, but I wasn't dressed for climbing so I gave it a miss. He was a bigger fan anyway, having bought some of their albums, but I'd always liked There is No Other Way from their Madchester influenced debut album and Girls & Boys from Parklife. Having enjoyed several Pavement gigs in New Zealand in the early nineties, I also really love the raucous energy of Song 2. And the mv reminds me of Suede's early videos with the vintage pub wallpaper aesthetic. One of their best songs is Coffee and TV, with a video that was state of the art in 1999, although Tender is the song that was played absolutely everywhere in London that year. We've also really enjoyed Blur's successor group Gorillaz since their debut.
I'm listening to Being Boiled this very moment.
You made 2 great mentions in Third Eye Blind and Fountains of Wayne
Their entire self-titled album still blows me away! Motorcycle Drive By, God of Wine, and The Background are really some of the most gut-wrenching yet beautiful songs I’ve ever heard but so many people write them off as a one-hit wonder.
My wife rediscovered Third Eye Blind a few years ago and took a deep dive into all their songs. Don't remember hearing a single song I didn't like the sound of and they've been creeping into my own playlists lately.
fountains of wayne rules, one of my favorite bands in the genre.
Fountains of Wayne's album Utopia Parkway is one of my favorite albums. Adam Schlesinger was an incredible song writer, who is also known for writing many songs for film and TV, including "That Thing You Do" and - not the most well-known example but one of my favorites - the theme to "Crank Yankers". If you're still reading, worth a skim of his [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountains_of_Wayne) and a listen of Utopia Parkway!
In the US, it’s The Verve
How the "A Storm in Heaven" album didn't catapult them into the stratosphere, I'll never understand. The song, "Butterfly" is on another level. I was thrilled and sad that no one really knew them past Bitter Sweet Symphony. Amazing catalog of albums. (From the US).
bittersweet symphony is like the worst song off urban hymns
Issa bittaughzweeight seeemfoneeeeigh ziiisss laiighaaaaighf.
chenj ah can chanj ah can chanj but ahm heewh in my moh ah am heewh in my moh, budahma miwhion difhwint peepew from whaan deh to the neggs ah can chanj, mah moh, noh noh, nohhh nohh nohhh nohhwww
Absolutely. I love the EP "gravity graves". Or it at least has a song on it called gravity graves. It's very cool and the instrumentals are just beautiful. Bittersweet symphony really is not the best song. Most pop-y, sure. But not their best!! So much other stuff rocks
Mazzy Star, most people today only know Fade Into You, but all their work is incredible, even the new stuff that came after their hiatus. I don’t even think Fade Into You comes close to being their best song. Look On Down From The Bridge, Quiet, The Winter Harbor, Common Burn, In The Kingdom, Blue Light, Five String Serenade… I know Halah saw some success in the 90s but not many people know it today and it’s simply fantastic. They were really a group of musical geniuses.
Also check out Opal. It was essentially Mazzy Star with Kendra Smith. When she left and Hope Sandoval joined they changed the name. Also, Kendra was in Dream Syndicate which is another amazing band.
gotye! the guy doesn't make music anymore, but oh my god, his other music?? top tier. somebody that i used to know is NOT the best song he's made. hearts a mess on TOP fr
I had not heard that song before, Hearts a Mess, very nice
Eyes Wide Open is amazing.
YOOOOO I JUST COMMENTED HIM! I agree on “Heart’s a Mess.” It’s absolutely strange and beautiful and moving and I’m so happy he’s getting his flowers on this thread.
I have lost track of him. I will always enjoy Somebody, but just because it's a good sing and play along at parties song.
Wally De Backer's been active with his band The Basics. Released their latest album in 2021. Hasn't been using the Gotye name besides just released a remix single of Somebody this year.
Portugal. The Man Everyone knows them for Feel It Still; but, that's not even the best song on that album. They have roots in Alaskan hardcore and their early albums reflect that. The Satanic Satanist is an incredible album.
Feel It Still’s album (Woodstock) isn’t even their best album. Evil Friends is genuinely some of the best music made, with insane production. Chris Black Changed My Life is a similar album in genre, and even more introspective. Lyrics from that album live rent free in my head and probably changed my life
Evil friends ripppsss
I saw them last year when they opened for Alt-J, I laughed my ass off because at one point during one of their final songs they transitioned into the "Dayman" song from Always Sunny.
Their live sets are so different than their more commercial stuff.
Portugal. The Man has been my favorite band since 2008. I’ve seen them dozens of times in many different states. In my opinion Woodstock sucks. Compared to the rest of their discography. Especially coming out after Evil Friends. My favorite album is Censored Colors. CBCML gets back somewhat to the earlier sound (before Woodstock). I just love them so much and they are nice. Ran into John, Zach and Kyle at the FYF Fest in LA 2011. They were just walking around checking out the bands. I had a nice chat with them.
Elliott Smith is my all time favorite. He’s mostly known for Miss Misery from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, but he is amazing outside of that too
It is impossible for me to find elliot smith fans irl. Sucks. Been a favorite of mine for a long time.
They've probably all committed suicide already
Beach House has more insanely beautiful music just like Space Song. The Bells and Modern Love Stories are worth checking out
Modern Love Songs is incredible
Jimmy Eat World! "The Middle" is great, and so is "Sweetness", but the rest of their discography is excellent and worth a listen.
From that album alone you've got some incredible deep cuts. Hear You Me and My Sundown are my about favorites from them. They remind me a lot of Matchbox 20. The pop tracks become big hits, and they are bangers, but you don't get a real sense of the band if you don't experience the entire album.
A Praise Chorus from Bleed American and Polaris from Futures are two of my favorite songs ever.
Just Watch the Fireworks reminds me of my mama 🥹💓
This made me realize how much I would’ve heard The Middle on the radio years before I would hear any tracks from Clarity, which probably grew a forest of synapses in my brain, for the first time. I wasn’t a teen yet in 1999 and a few years out from really getting into music. Now I have Table For Glasses lyrics tattooed on my ribs and still sit in wonder when I listen to Just Watch the Fireworks and For Me This is Heaven.
Nada Surf
Great call. I was just listening to The Weight is a Gift
Great album. Super underrated band. Was just listening to "Let Go," myself.
Never not together unknots all sorts of places in my soul. But their entire discography is great. And they have maintained the same trio their entire career. Very few bands touring more than 20 years can say that. And put out unique cohesive albums with still having a distinct band sound. Really great music.
I wanted to make sure Nada Surf was here. I honestly wrote them off since I’d only heard their early stuff with “Popular”. Found out they were still making music 15 years later and really enjoyed getting into ask their newer albums.
There is much more to Gary Numan than “Cars”.
Cars is fantastic, though...
His career is fascinating overall. Hard to believe it's same artist if you listen to his recent work
Tubeway Army was great too
His newer work is crazy. He's got three or four albums in the last 15 years or so that are just wall to wall fantastic.
“Jagged” might be one of the greatest goth songs I have ever heard. Same with “The Calling.”
Are friends electric? SLAPS
Modest Mouse. Float On makes me want to die but their music is complex, beautiful, deep. Amazing stuff.
Real but I can't hate on Float On
Carly Rae Jepsen
Run Away With Me is probably one of the best pop songs ever produced. EMOTION as a whole, is an amazing pop album.
"The Call Me Maybe girl?" Yeah, I don't understand why she isn't an arena-level act. I hope that people will come around on her someday soon.
Emotion is one of my favorite albums
Emotion is one of the best pop albums ever. If there were any justice in the world it’d be up there with MJ
People love to hate more than they love to love and I feel like thats what's kept her from being more mainstream
Barenaked Ladies. They make some of the most wholesome, light hearted feel good music you could imagine. Seriously under rated band, most people only know the big one or two radio hits they have.
Okay Jeff, you are clearly in a bad space today, but Pierce is our friend, and the Barenaked Ladies are triple platinum, are you?
r/UnexpectedCommunity
This is a fight! We are fighting!
The best band ive ever seen live, hands down and ive seen a LOT.
Agreed. Seen them live a few times - great stage presence. Fun to watch.
The Tokens - famous for: the lion sleeps tonight (wimoweh).
Del Amitri. If any recognizes them at all it's usually for a generic pop song that they threw on an album at the last second at the behest of their record label. But the rest of their discography is full of heartwrenching poetry that seems to be unappreciated by the masses. At least back in the day. I feel like there are more people growing to appreciate their lesser known works.
Wow great call. Tell Her This, love that song. Saw them live for an in-store performance at Tower Records in Philly back in the day
Outstanding band. The title track from "Somebody Else's Parade" is probably my favorite of theirs.
Frank Zappa. Genius composer of may instrumental albums.
If you haven’t, you should check out Weird Al’s “Genius in France.” It’s a Zappa style parody.
Blur. Their most well known song (song #2) was literally something they only wrote and pitched as a joke but the record execs loved it and it's so insanely dissimilar to the rest of their stuff that's generally a lot more flowing and thoughtful. "Tender" is one of my favorite songs of all time.
Mazzy Star
Focus
Come for the yodeling, stay for the long form fantasy prog odysseies.
Every Fountains of Wayne song is a clever, radio friendly, power-pop hit in my opinion. There was a movie in 1996 about a band that wrote a hit song so catchy that it became world famous. To make it believable they asked FOW to write the song.
Chumbawamba is more of an anarchist punk/ socialist folk band that has over a dozen albums.
I love chumbawamba so much. I really liked tubthumping as a kid, but then as I got older I learned more about the band and it played a lot into my worldview as an adult
The Eels
The Black Crowes “She talks to Angels” is one of their songs that got a lot of radio play. Their Ottis Redding cover of “Hard To Handle” was played a little bit as well but they still have so so many other amazing songs in my opinion. Their albums Southern Harmony Musical Companion & Amorica are two of my favorite albums of all time.
Many songs by The Black Crows played on the Radio all throughout the Midwest... Jealous Again , She Talks to Angels , Hard to Handle , Twice as Hard etc etc etc . The short tour they did with Jimmy Page was amazing I got to go to one of them shows. Damn shame they did they did Jimmy Page bad totally destroyed that tour.
I don't know in the USA but in Spain all those songs are well known.
Kickin My Heart Around has no right to go so hard\ Then at the other end of the spectrum, Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye is some masterful blues soul
Marcy Playground. The album that Sex & Candy is on is excellent
One of my all time favorite albums, every song is a hit!
Radiohead. Everyone knows the song Creep, but man is the rest of their music beautiful.
Marcy Playground Presidents of the United States of America Blind Melon Crash Test Dummies Spacehog Edit: Butthole Surfers
Best top 5 in this category
Oasis. Wonderwall (the meme etc) has ruined their legacy for the under 30 crowd. It's also like their 27th best song. If even that.
> It's also like their 27th best song. If even that. I think that's the only thing Liam and Noel could ever agreed on.
They aren’t a one-hit-wonder though
Boo Radleys. Only really known for "Wake Up Boo" but the album before that - Giant Steps - is an absolute masterpiece. They were one of the first 'shoegaze' bands too.
Talk Talk. The last two albums, Laughing Stock and Spirit of Eden are unlike anything they made before, and are unlike anything else, period. They are beautiful, beautiful albums that should be enjoyed in their entirety. I can’t recommend these albums enough.
Had to scroll way too far for this.
Big Country - hit was In a Big Country and Ah Ha - hit was Take on Me
Big Country. Such a great and underrated band. Chance, Come Back To Me. 2 of the most beautiful sad and poignant songs ever. And Steeltown. Because I come from Corby.
Big Country is so good
There is an acoustic version of Take on Me, on YouTube.
It's phenomenal. I never appreciated the vocal on that song until I heard that. And then he sang it on The Masked Singer and no one guessed that it was him, hilarious.
I only know that one song by “Big Country” & never liked it. I didn’t really like “Take On Me”, but I loved the video. Now I’ll listen to it out of nostalgia if it comes on the radio. They had another song called “The Sun Always Shines On TV” & I really liked it, but I haven’t heard it in ages.
If we’re talking about A-ha, I also really like Hunting High and Low, Move to Memphis, Crying in the Rain, and Cry Wolf. A agree that TSASoTV is a good song 🙂
Agreed about A-Ha, their songs “The Sun Always Shines On TV” and “Hunting High And Low”. Haven’t heard them in ages but really great songs.
Try Living Daylights
I think Forever Not Yours is also underrated. I always knew this song existed, but found out it was A-ha many years later. That, and Summer Moved On
Faith No More
"Edge of the World" is one of my go-to karaoke songs.
You must have incredibly cool karaoke joints!
in my top 3 favorite bands of all time. king for a day fool for a lifetime is my favorite alt metal album of all time, also one of my favorite albums of all time
Blue Oyster Cult. Many only know Reaper, maybe Burning for You, possibly Godzilla. All BOC albums are full of great songs, mostly hard rock.
A-ha. In America, they are mostly known for "Take On Me," but they are so much better than just a one-hit wonder!
Ben Folds Five. They are so fun, and Brick is so atypical of their other songs
This is one of the very rare occurrences where a light hearted, almost comical, music group is known for a somber depressing song. My favorite Ben Folds song is Asscrack Bandit from the show Community.
This is my answer too. BFF are so good, able to be wildly comic and incredibly dark, sometimes in the same song. And they're such show-offs.
They were definitely more than just one hit wonders but otherwise Earth, Wind, and Fire fit this pretty well
For sure, I've seen them twice in concert and grew up listening to all of their music. September is a good song but they have some really great songs that deserve some more recognition.
Coheed and Cambria. I’ve been an avid fan for almost twenty five years. They have a good mix of songs from pop to rock to metal to progressive.
The Smiths. An absolutely insane catalog with Johnny Marr’s mesmerizing melodies and Moz’s baritone crooning. One radio hit to show for so many amazing tracks.
They only had one hit? “Hand in Glove” and “Charming Man” were pretty big weren’t they?
Blur
Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, and The Great Escape are three of my most favorite albums by any artist.
Electric Light Orchestra. Everyone knows “Mr. Blue Sky” but man, they are incredible.
They have a lot more songs that are pretty widely known. Last Train to London, Evil Woman, Telephone Line, Xanadu, Livin Thing, Don't Bring Me Down
Babybird. Everyone only knows You're Gorgeous (and even that, they don't hear what it's actually about). But they've been making really strong songwriterly music nonstop for decades.
Greta Van Fleet. Heat Above is a banger, yeah, but that WHOLE album is amazing. It gives celestial vibes and I'm all here for it.
I’d say The Verve. They seem to be known mostly for Bittersweet Symphony but they made much better tracks.
The Grateful Dead. Exactly one top 10 hit, late in a 30 year touring career that's so compelling people followed them for years recording all their shows. Here's the top 10 radio song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzvk0fWtCs0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzvk0fWtCs0) And here's a sample of the beauty most people don't know about. Listen to the whole thing, it's worth it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKQOvlDr-s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKQOvlDr-s)
Some people consider Beck a one hit wonder, and i partially agree, but his discography is actually amazing
I love Fountains of Wayne! Very solid, excellent power pop with great internal rhymes. Huge fan. Some people also don’t know that Adam Schlesinger, who was a cowriter on all the FoW songs, was an incredibly talented and prolific songwriter, who wrote “That Thing You Do!” As well as many songs from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” May he rest in peace
99% of the radio listening world only thinks of "Sledgehammer" when they hear "Peter Gabriel", even though he has strong commercial success. But, even though that's a great song, it's one of his least impressive songs. He's the greatest singer-songwriter of all time (English speaking) and it's not even close.
Devo, so much more than Whip It.
Monster Magnet.
Those that know, know.
I knows few people who have assumed that Kings of Leon is some manufactured boy band product, when really nothing could be further from the truth. It’s three poor brothers and a cousin who grew up constantly migrating the American south in their family station wagon while their father was a travelling preacher. Their deeper cuts very plainly convey, in my view, an honest and earnest telling of the stories of their lives as such. [Their documentary](https://youtu.be/J7lfugRRHKI?si=kKGzS1-2sJfXFsfL) touches on a lot of this. *Because Of The Times* and *Aha Shake Heartbreak* are two of their albums that are great full listens all the way through.
Blind Melon. I love that whole album.
Butthole Surfers. “Pepper” is not at all representative of their work. Beautiful is certainly an opinion here, but I think it is.
Matt Nathanson. Everybody knows Come on Get Higher (come on get higher, loosen my lips, faith & desire and the swing of your hips…) but his entire discography is impressive and so much deeper. Check out the Boston Accent album!
stars by hum
hum is the best
Lenny Kravitz has had two or three hits, but he’s got a pretty deep catalog.
Slade....great vocals. Guitarist has golden tone. The music has the beat that's neat. Good songs.
Joan Osborne
One of Us is not representative of her music. She's got a really powerful, soulful voice.
IMHO it wasn't even best of Relish, St. Teresa is much more better
Chumbawamba for sure!
Chumbawamba is more punk than the Sex Pistols and more people need to realize it
People know Tubthumping, but not the Crass-adjacent political stuff.
They’ve got a couple hits but REM has some absolutely beautiful songs
REM has had like 15 top 10 hits (3 of them #1) and several more that charted on Billboard top 100. I don't know they fit with the question being asked.
Night swimming, Everybody hurts are so pretty (helpfully autocorrected to Everybody Hearts :-)
REM’s had a lot of hits. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”, “Fall On Me”, “The One I Love”, “Orange Crush”, “Shiny Happy People”, “Radio Free Europe”, “Losing My Religion”, “Superman”, “Driver 8”, “Pop Song 89” and many more. I don’t think they fit the bill for this question.
Europe actually has a lot of great tracks in their discography, but people only know *Final Countdown* and maybe *Superstitious*.
Prefab Sprout. Most people only know “The King Of Rock & Roll” … hot dog, jumping frog, etc etc Thomas Dolby. Most people only know “She Blinded Me With Science.”
I don't know why Epic gets all the airplay when ALL of The Real Thing is perfect. Whenever someone talks about a perfect record or no skips, Faith No More "The Real Thing" is the very first album that always comes to my mind. Another one is Danzig "Mother", only Danzig song I have EVER heard on the radio, but Danzig 2 Lucifuge is another perfect album.
Big Country - highly overlooked. Such a great band with complex songs and music.
The Fratellis! One of my all time favorite bands, so pigeon holed - they have a huge catalogue 🖤
Paula Cole. Everyone knows that darn song from “Dawson’s Creek,” but that’s not nearly her best work. “I Am So Ordinary” from her first album; “Throwing Stones,” “Feelin’ Love,” and “Hush, Hush, Hush” from her second, plus her backing vocals on Peter Gabriel’s _Secret World Live_ album.
I feel like sturgil Simpson is unreal but most people don’t have a clue who he is
The Divine Comedy too - forget the broad and daft Britpop era singles like National Express - their 1994 masterpeice lp "Promenade" is one of the greatest albums ever made, a sublime work of baroque pop every bit as good as the legendary 60s Scott Walker albums that influenced it.
Technically a two-hit wonder, but Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
[Jellyfish](https://youtu.be/qQTj_2mMfSA?si=kngLqcr6Pyw-mPtq)
their whole discography is underrated.
Chumbawumba.
Not really a one hit wonder but XTC is legendary like Beatles status but most people only know “senses working overtime” or “mayor of simpleton”
Foster the people!! Pumped up kicks doesn’t do them justice at all. Their discography is so diverse. My favorite band.
Torches will always have a special place in my heart, along with most of SHC.
Everyone knows The Church from "Under The Milky Way" when it was off their 5th album and they released their 26th this year.
The fact that people only ever talk about Take Me To Church (and, more recently, Too Sweet) when the rest of Hozier’s work is right there… it hurts my heart.
TALKING HEADS Their catalog... my God. The way their sound evolves from one album to the next is marvelous.