Out Of Time

In defence of the original list, it's very difficult to choose which REM albums should be included bhecause they're all consistently good. This one does feel like a big oversight though.

Good album of R.E.M., but certtaintly not their best. Still great songs Losing My Religion, Near Wild Heaven, Country Feedback and some forgettable ones Belong, Radio Song, Low, Endgame.

Any of their first 8 albums could have been included on the list. I feel like the one you hear first tends to have the most personal impact, so it's different for everyone.

I really enjoyed this album and it's one of my favorites from R.E.M. For the record, I love "Shiny Happy People" and loved Kate Pierson's participation in this.

Probably should have been on the original list over "Green". This not only has two of their biggest hits, but it's also one of their most musically diverse. I like the folksy tinge on it. Definitely wouldn't blame anyone for thinking it's their best.

This is, for me, a stone cold classic. One of the 1st CDs I bought, and I still absolutely love it. One of my 2 favorite REM albums (Monster being the other one - and they couldn't be further apart in sound). They were in a groove here, and some of it may have aged a little poorly (Radio Song, Shiny Happy People) but they are catchy as anything, and they are held up by the absolutely beautiful melancholy of some of the other tracks. And that bass in Belong - yes please!

I like R.E.M. and this is my favorite album from them. Should have been on the main list. Good share!

This feels like one that could be on the main list so I’m glad it’s here. A solid rem album.

I had forgotten how much folksier this album sounded than their other albums.

R.E.M. is one of my favorite artists, but I feel like this album hasn't aged as well as their others. Radio Song is probably the worst blending of rap into a rock song. The track warrants a skip every time. Though it suffers from being overplayed, Losing My Religion is still stellar. Favorite track is Texarkana.

Prior to doing this list of wasn’t a big fan of REM. It was a little bit before my time and I always felt their music was a tad depressing but I like some melancholic music. They just never stuck with me. It took Out of Time for me to finally come around on them. Which makes sense as this had their most popular song but overall the whole album is more upbeat than their previous entries on the list. This one I could revisit. A lot of the negatives I’ve had on their previous albums get set aside here for a more commercial album that is easier to enjoy. 6.7/10

I’m 50/50 if this is needed on the orginal list given all the other REM albums on their it’s a hard choice on which one to switch out for this one, but on its own merit it’s still a good album, so if it’s your personal favourite REM then fair play.

How was this not in the original list?

The beginning of their hot period

I got into the older stuff from REM and even though a lot of the guys who turned me on to that in college thought this inferior I loved it from the start. Fantastic album!

This is a fantastic album. I actually have it saved offline on my Spotify already. 5/5.

The missing R.E.M. album on the original list. It's the best one for me

Buen disco y buenas personas. Por eso, 5.

One of my least favourite albums by them. Still a 5 star for this list

Excellent. The songs are good to great.

In yet another instance of the "critics" vs. the audience, here is a case of the audience ultimately having the upper hand in my book. This album's success is mostly owed to two of its singles, "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People", which are huge bangers, of course. I kind of understand why that latter song sometimes had a mixed reception by the "critics" mentioned up there, given its oh-so-elated chorus, but for me this is a little unfair to sum up that hit to that only feature, even if it's so striking on a first listen. There are also some subtly melancholic minor-laden harmonies in its verse, and Kate Pearson, from the B52's, gives tons of vocal energy to the proceedings. Another point of contention is probably the nods to rap on the opener "Radio Song", courtesy to KRS One's participation. But, for me, being picky about that opener is kind of missing the tongue-in-cheek point of a song that is still otherwise very evocative and well-constructed overall. Speaking of controversial cuts, yeah I admit that "Belong" is a little lackluster, and also that "Endgame" is more a long "la la la" interlude than anything else. That said, I can't help feeling the "critics" acted as if there were never deeper cuts in previous REM albums. *Out Of Time* is not perfect. But this was also the case of LPs such as *Life's Reach Pageant* and *Document*, still top-tier REM records in my book. So OK, you may have two or three underwhelming songs max in this record, yet the rest is just awesome. Beyond "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People", you have three other lively wonderful compositions for instance. ("Near Wild Heaven", "Texarkana", "Me In Honey", also with Kate Pearson). You also have "Low", an incredible song and a masterclass in restraint and tension that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time. And finally, you have the full-blown folksy tones of "Half A World Away" and "Country Feedback" -- pointing towards the direction of subsequent LP "Automatic For The People" without ever having to blush about the comparison. So yeah, to be honest, I would happily trade *Green* for *Out Of Time* in the original list, while keeping the other three or four other REM albums mentioned there. Is that just me? Well, a whooping 3.96 global score as of now in this generator surely suggests this sort of positive opinion about that LP is actually shared by quite a few (shiny happy) people. Out of time, but not out of sight. And certainly not out of minds. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 43 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 50 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 98 --- Émile: voir ma toute dernière réponse sous le disque *Triage* au-dessus.

Alternative rock, folk rock, chamber pop. 2 megahits. Un 4.

Only knew their big singles, this was a good album overall

This LP surprised me with how much personality the band showed on each track, the hits are the hits for a reason of course but there’s a stronger artistic sense of self that hasn’t registered for me on other R.E.M. albums. The slower parts did drag out somewhat, but overall this was a great listen from a band who I mistakenly thought I knew back to front.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Radio song, Losing my religion, Near wild heaven, Shiny happy people, Texarkana

Why wasn't this on the original list?

R.E.M. already had 4 albums on the original list and I agree with all the other comments saying it is tough to choose. I think 4 is maybe a little too many, but still they have bangers and even being a surface level fan I'm know they have a ton of good albums you could argue about which should be included. I have no real strong preference. I personally think this isn't as good as the other ones, but it's not like I felt bad about having to listen to it. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No. Can replace one of the other albums and I wouldn't complain.

Losing My Religion is still a monster hit. Shiny Happy People is also a great tune. The non singles are not super impressive.

It's a very good album with some great songs on it

July 23, 2025 HL: "Losing My Religion", "Near Wild Heaven", "Shiny Happy People", "Texarkana" wot if REM but country 🤠 The 4 in the original list are probably sufficient to show how their sound evolved throughout the 80s, but I've been relishing this deeper dive into their music nonetheless. I now have listened to every one of their albums between Murmur and Automatic.

Loved this album when it came out. I had a cassette I carried everywhere my sophomore year in college. As an R.E.M. album, it's a bit of a mixed bag, with the band taking some creative risks with more varied arrangements and experiments in genre. Although it mostly works well, the opening collaboration with KRS-One is a memorable dud in the band's discography. Still lots of little gems to be found here, as well as arguably the best/most beloved song R.E.M. ever made. Fave Songs: Losing My Religion, Near Wild Heaven, Me in Honey, Country Feedback, Half a World Away, Shiny Happy People, Texarkana

Yeah, I do like R.E.M. they are good. I guess this album is closest to their melancholy masterpiece Automatic for the People, which is an easy 5 stars for me. There are a couple of great singles on here but I just don’t love it.

Losing My Religion is one of those dreary songs that you wish was listed on every pub juke-box, along with anything by The Verve. Selecting any of those tracks won't, as you might normally expect from a pub juke-box, start playing your selection, but would instead correct you directly to The Samaritans. Because if you're playing it in the pub, you don't need to be in the pub, you need to be in therapy. However - the album does pick up. Shiny Happy People is, of course, the stand-out track from this disc. DGAF what you say - it's lovely pop, and Kate Pierson is great on it. "Belong" is also pretty close to the top. Most of the rest of the album wallows in melancholy, and it has to get a ding for it. Shout out to "me in honey".too.

Alternative rock, folk rock, chamber pop. 2 megahits. Un 4.

Good album but with the 4 something R.E.M. albums already included this one is somewhat excessive

It’s a bit of a shock this wasn’t on the original 1001 list… until you remember R.E.M. already had four albums represented. With Green, Murmur, Document and Automatic For The People I think Robert Dimery ,for once, made the right choice in picking 4 albums that show R.E.M.'s growth over the years and are arguablyy better albums than this one. While Losing My Religion is a song of such brilliance it almost drags the whole record up by itself, the rest isn’t quite in the same league. Belong and Near Wild Heaven are strong, but too many tracks lean toward filler. I realised that I rarely grab this album if I want to listen to some R.E.M. And now, having gone through it a few times over the last days, I'm almost afraid to say that for me, this album would barely crack my personal R.E.M. Top 10. Still, even an uneven R.E.M. record is better than most bands’ best.

This album is amazing!

All time classic. But just a bit too much of the same all the time

I feel like I might be repeating myself (occupational hazard of these lists, and I can't be bothered to look up past reviews) but my REM fandom peaked at Life's Rich Pageant and the last thing I actually purchased was Green on cassette. I don't dislike this, but my interest in the band had pretty well waned at this point and revisiting it now I feel the same way. After being bombarded by radio play and the videos at the time I sure don't feel a need to ever hear Shiny Happy People or Losing My Religion again. I'd also forgotten they'd turned in a fine example of that awkward 90s phase epidemic "we don't have any idea how to integrate hip hop into our white rock" numbers in Radio Song. Adequate but not inspiring.

Some real hits in there, but not enough cheer to push me above 3 stars tonight

Religion = lost

Not a fan of R.E.M really. I get that "Losing My Religion" is a massive track, but it's incredibly overplayed. "Shiny Happy People" and "Near Wild Heaven" are pretty good, but otherwise the rest is a bit bland. Maybe a greatest hits would be better.

Well this certainly was an R.E.M. album, wasn't it? Definitely sounded exactly like the FOUR R.E.M. albums on the official list.

I love R.E.M. but this is not one of my favorites by them. Still good, but just feels a little flat to me. 3 stars.

pretty good! solid 3.

I'm not a big fan of R.E.M. I generally don't like the vocal style. However, this definitely has some bangers on it and I can see why they are popular but on the whole it's just not for me.

I don't really understand how I know certain REM songs but I do! They're solid songwriters, cannot deny that but it's not all massively my thing tbh. I appreciate them for their legacy though

No. This has to be on the original list. 3 2

Dull