10 Rock Bands That Got Better With Age
9. R.E.M.
At the dawn of the '80s, no one could have predicted that a band like R.E.M. were destined for prime time right out of the gate. This was the decade that was dominated by neon colors and bands that liked to strut their stuff all over MTV, and suddenly there was this band coming out of college radio getting major airplay on the MTV with Radio Free Europe. The band may have been just as bewildered as we were, but some of their best work was yet to come.
From the first sounds of Murmur, the band were as curious to see where their sound would take them, flirting with different styles here and there while still bringing the catchy tunes on albums like Document and Life's Rich Pageant. Even though every one of these records had a handful of decent singles by college rock standards, the stretch of albums towards the end of the '80s and the beginning of the '90s became a sight to behold.
Nearly a decade after their debut broke the mold for the rest of their career, albums like Out of Time and Green were a good indication as to what the band was really capable of, making way for grand artistic statements like Automatic for the People and Monster. You might have the fear of losing that spark when you've been through a decade of music business, but this ragtag team from Georgia looked to music to make sense of where they were in life.