Gordon

Barenaked Ladies’ 1992 debut was a million-seller in their native Canada and an unlikely triumph of goofy, acoustic, geek-chic whimsy at the grunge era’s peak. But in all honesty, Gordon is deeper, darker, and more musically deft than jokey standards like “If I Had $1,000,000” let on. Melancholy and biting satire haunt even its poppiest moments, and its intermittent side trips into ambient folk, jazzbo noodling, and bossa nova break pretty much every established rule for success.