16. Devil Between My Toes (1987)

Fans who are only familiar with Guided by Voice’s post-1990 output might be surprised to find out that band used to sound a LOT like REM. The band’s debut LP Devil Between My Toes is basically a low-rent version of Murmur, albeit one punctuated by weird, dark, experimental detours. Which actually turns out to sound pretty cool. On “Discussing Wallace Chambers,” propulsive tom hits and jangly electric guitar trade blows with strange, jagged verses. The winning instrumental surf-rocker “Crux” is what the Del-Tones would sound like if they never saw a body of water bigger than Great Miami River. And “Old Battery” is such a masterful approximation of early REM that one wonders how huge GBV would have become, had they written more songs about falling in love and fewer songs about, well, old car batteries. Devil Between My Toes proves that, while GBV had a long way to go before they’d start changing the world, they always knew how to balance the bizarre with the catchy.