Let's Active: Cypress (1986); Big Plans for Everybody (1988); Every Dog Has His Day (1989) A criminally underappreciated band, Mitch Easter as a writer and performer created three recordings with huge sonic presence, masterful melody and trademark vocals. I can't recommend these three recordings highly enough.

REM Murmur Before they became household names, REM recorded a great debut with Mitch Easter firmly rooted in folk-rock, quality songs and unique vocals. Songs like "Talk About the Passion" cemented their place in history. Just because they made it doesn't mean they didn't earn their stripes with this one recording. If you ever wrote them off for whatever reason, check this out. A beautiful record.

Game Theory: The Big Shot Chronicles Chiming guitars, intelligent lyrics, melody and powerful performances make this one of the best recordings from the '80s. Scott Miller is an important guitar pop artist in the '80s along with a scant few others like Tommy Keene and Let's Active.

The Grapes of Wrath: Now and Again (1989); These Days (1991) When others were oooohing and ahhhhing about Jellyfish and The Posies, both great bands, Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane had my ear. Both of these recordings are masterful Beatles-influenced guitar pop pieces.

Chris Stamey: It's Alright Stamey's songwriting was never better. Melody, great arrangements, intelligent lyrics, the whole package. A used CD staple, I have rescued this CD more than once because I can't bear to see it sell for less than full price.

Tommy Keene: Based on Happy Times (1989) If the world was fair, Keene would have been the one who became famous as opposed to Bryan Adams. This is a huge radio record with great song after great song. That Geffen dropped the ball with him will always be a mystery to me.