Document

The darlings of Athens, Georgia may not have single-handedly pushed college rock to the forefront of '80s pop, but it's hard to imagine it happening without them. And when this 1987album yielded not only the ironic, uncharacteristically upbeat fave "It's theEnd of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," but also the band's first bona fide Top Ten pop hit with the bittersweet ballad "The One I Love." Producer Scott Litt's subtle mainstreaming of the band's sound here is an obvious plus. But it is the willingness of creative mainstays Peter Buck and Michael Stipe to tinker ambitiously with the band's sonic ethos, pushing it beyond the jangly, often lyrically opaque formula into more emotionally compelling territory that help Document pay its richest dividends. Other key tracks: "Finest Worksong," "King of Birds"