R.E.M.: Murmur (I.R.S.)

R.E.M. HAS the most hypnotizing sound of any group playing rock today. That sounds like hyperbole, I know, but it's true. Thanks to their densely layered counter-melodies, relentless pulse and virtually incoherent vocals, it's easy to listen to this album three or four times in a row without feeling that you've heard enough (although by that point, your neighbors might think they have). In that sense, Murmur is the closest thing to a bag of potato chips on vinyl.