Camper Van Beethoven - Key Lime Pie (1989)

Camper Van Beethoven, a California group active mainly throughout the '80s, were one of the lesser-known forerunners of the alternative rock movement, playing a brew of punk, folk, country, world music, jangle pop, ska, psychedelia, and pretty much whatever else you can think of; this band experimented almost non-stop with their sound, and ended up far-removed from even the 'typical' alt rock sound of the period, which is what makes them so important, and also what makes them so criminally overlooked; this album was the last released on their original run (they've since reunited), and it was their most financially - if not critically - successful album, and therefore their most recognizable and a great place to start; whatever your musical tastes, this is a band you need to know

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Beck - Mutations (1998)

Alright, hold onto your seats, because I'm going to break the unwritten rule of Odelay worship - this is the best Beck album that actually sounds like Beck (ie, the best Beck album that isn't Sea Change); anyone familiar with Beck knows that pigeonholing him into a genre doesn't really work, so I'm not going to bother, and instead will just say that this album has all the influences and styles of his other releases (yes, even Sea Change) culled together to create one sweeping artistic statement that can speak for his entire catalog...folk, hip-hop, alt rock, psychedelia, pop, funk; it's all here, and all in top form

To summarize? This is the perfect Beck album.

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Previous Posts:
Beck and the Flaming Lips - Live at Orpheum Theater