Critics' Choice 1991

1. REM Out Of Time [warner brothers]
In which the Georgia foursome decided to unplug, shake things up, swap instruments and reinvent themselves as an incredible string band. Peter Buck favoured mandolin over Rickenbacker, resulting in their first radio hit, the keening personality-crisis of ‘Losing My Religion’. Elsewhere, Mike Mills’s Beach Boys fetish was given its head (‘Near Wild Heaven’) and Stipe got to spout free associative prose (‘Belong’). The most bizarre moment was the almost insanely upbeat ‘Shiny Happy People’.
2. U2 – Achtung Baby [island]
3. Nirvana – Nevermind [geffen]
4. G.W McLennan – Watershed [beggar’s banquet]
5. Pierce Turner – Now Is Heaven[beggar’s banquet]