25. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ygJKglA6s The Flaming Lips had been making tripped out experimental music for years, but on The Soft Bulletin they added a poppier accessibility that helped them reach a wider audience. The Soft Bulletin was psychedelia for the masses. Combining spacey instrumentation, twinkling pianos, synthetic strings, buzzing and beeping electronics and trashcan techno-percussion with Coyne's echoey, otherworldly voice. The Lips recorded an art-rock masterpiece. 24. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvzOfm0ZhS8 An extremely casual hip-hop album, The Low End Theory ignores the ego-heavy rap of its cohorts, rhyming casually about women and the music industry. Q-Tip brings his natural charisma, as he and MC Phife trade rhymes over smooth jazz, full of stand up bass and brass sections. The Low End Theory was about as laid back as rap could get. 23. Weezer - Pinkerton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_XnVHDA0fI The follow up to their wildly popular debut finds Weezer searching for new artistic heights. Rivers Cuomo dives deeper, bringing more personal lyrics. Topics range from falling in love with a lesbian to lusting for a Japanese teenager after receiving fan mail from her. Fans expecting more of the poppy garage rock that made their debut so great were sorely disappointed, leading to the album originally being viewed as a failure. However, it has since been recognised for its more artistic approach and considered a great success. 22. U2 - Achtung Baby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnU7MKGz0tc Seeking a change, and some fresh ideas, U2 set up shop in Berlin. Heavily influenced by a new found appreciation for industrial dance music, U2 underwent an incredible transformation. The music is rougher and more dissonant than their previous efforts, and it works marvellously. Razor-edged guitar bursts, creeping angst and paranoia, surrounded by echoing and crackling, Achtung Baby was U2 rediscovering music, and performing it excellently. 21. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Airplane Over The Sea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TudLjZ_4VhU A very stark and, at times, disturbing album, In The Airplane Over The Sea is a brilliant freak-folk masterpiece. Led largely by Jeff Mangum's furious acoustic strumming and strained vocals, the music may not be for everyone, but those who truly appreciate it are swept away by it. Backed by the occasional horn bursts and a few bits of fuzzy guitar, Mangum sings about strange topics: holy rattlesnakes, the King of Carrot Flowers and even a two-headed boy. Quite. In The Airplane is a truly odd album, but an excellent piece of work all the same.