Oh believe me if anyone is going to go on and on about how consistent R.E.M. is it's me. I'd say that the overwhelming majority of their albums are great, and their first five records especially are consistently fantastic track to track, but Reckoning stands out not as their best album, but as their best collection of essentially perfect pop songs that can hold their own when viewed separately.
The same could be said about Automatic if it weren't for the instrumental number, which while I think is perfectly suited to the mood of the album, is not a great track on its own. And Ignoreland isn't that great either.
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