Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s touring tribute to R.E.M. has renewed discussion about which of the band’s albums is their best. The article argues that R.E.M.’s songwriting is often underrated, partly because their democratic creative process made it difficult to identify a single driving genius, and partly because attention shifted from Michael Stipe’s early obscurity to the band’s later mainstream success.

Fans remain divided between the group’s independent 1980s work on I.R.S. and their major-label albums of the 1990s. Murmur was long viewed as the defining early record, while Automatic for the People was commonly considered the peak of their later period, but the band’s 15-album, 30-year career has produced no settled consensus. The article suggests that personal entry points and differences in production may shape preferences as much as any clear decline or change in the band’s artistic identity.