Pavement might have fueled the underground with 1991's indie masterpiece Slanted and Enchanted, but it powered the rest of listening world with the release of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain in 1994. Not only did the group draft a near-flawless album, it rose above the ridiculous mythos of "indie cred" to become something far more valid and interesting: A first-class rock band.

The album expanded the boundaries for the "alternative" music scene in a way no other album this decade came close to doing. From the country-tinged "Range Life" to the mainstream-lined "Cut Your Hair," chief songwriter Steve Malkmus takes a mirror to his own funny sneer and gets comfortable with it, as the rest of the band puts forth a perfectly slacker performance. The end result is nothing less than an instant '90s classic.