First let me define what I mean by “rated” (because without doing that, “underrated” doesn’t mean much.) I’m talking specifically about the “ratings” of people in the US because some of these bands are actually quite highly rated in the UK (The Stone Roses & Oasis being obvious examples.) I’m talking about a combination of lack of critical acclaim and lack of commercial success in the US compared to what I think they should have.

The bands are listed alphabetically, because that’s how I get down.

AKRON/FAMILY

I prefer Akron/Family’s debut album over anything Animal Collective has released. I know this puts me in the minority, but that’s exactly what I’m talking about! People aren’t giving this band it’s due. They are fantastic live too. Akron/Family has never made it in the Billboard 200 and while their music has received a reasonable amount of critical acclaim, it’s not been that much in comparison to quite a few bands I believe they are superior to.

THE BETA BAND

I don’t think these guys get anywhere near the respect they deserve. They did manage to crack the Billboard 200 album charts once (#200 with Hot Shots II in 2001) so I guess they haven’t been quite as overlooked as Akron/Family (having “Dry The Rain” featured in High Fidelity is probably the cause of that.) Like with Akron/Family their music has received a decent amount of critical acclaim in the US but still not as much as I think it should have got. They broke up in 2004 after having released four albums (counting The Three EPs as an album.)

I’d pick The Three EPs and Hot Shots II as my favorite Beta Band albums and they’re the ones I’d most recommend to you if you’re interested in checking out the band. But I have to admit to finding their final album (2004’s Heroes to Zeros) a bit hard to get into. It seems to be lacking something. Like I should like it, but I don’t.

CORNERSHOP

I’m placing Cornershop on this list pretty much entirely on the basis of how much I love their 1997 album When I Was Born For The Second Time. I find that album to be endlessly listenable. On the other hand I haven’t yet listened to their latest album (released in August of this year) Judy Sucks A Lemon for Breakfast and I was never able to really get into their 2002 album Handcream for a Generation. So I guess I’m really saying that this band released a really underrated album in 1997. Check it out.

The FLAMING LIPS

The Lips have received a lot of critical acclaim and recently they’ve even been able to achieve a pretty high level of commercial success (their latest album, Embryonic, reached #8 on the Billboard 200 album charts.) I’m mostly including them on this list because while their more recent material (their last few albums) have received a good amount of attention, I think their 90s output is too often overlooked. It’s (most of) those great ’90s albums that I’m including below. Buy ‘em all. They’re great.

OASIS

Oasis has easily achieved the highest level of US commercial success of any of the bands on this list so it may seem like they don’t belong but I’m mostly including them because of their lack of critical acclaim and also a lack of commercial success for their post Morning Glory albums (which I think are a lot better than people give them credit for, except for Heathen Chemistry - that one does suck.) It’s the albums I think are underrated that I’m including below (Morning Glory & Definitely Maybe tend to get a reasonable amount of acclaim.)

PRIMAL SCREAM

I have to admit that these guys are a bit hit & miss. Some of their albums are brilliant and some of them I have a hard time getting into. I’m including the brilliant albums below. While they’ve had seven top ten albums in the UK they haven’t even made the top 200 albums chart in the US once. That’s a real shame because Screamadelica, Vanishing Point, and XTMRNTR are among the best albums recorded in the last 20 years. If I had to pick just one band for most underrated in the US over the last two decades, I’d probably go with these guys.

SOUL COUGHING

This is another scenario sort of like Cornershop where I’m mostly a fan of a single album (1994’s Ruby Vroom) that I think hasn’t received the attention it deserves. Their other two albums are OK (well at least Irresistible Bliss is, El Oso doesn’t do it for me) but it’s their debut that really stands up well to repeated listening. Ruby Vroom really has a unique feel to it among all of the albums I own. I think it’s definitely an album that folks should give a listen to.

SPIRITUALIZED

They’ve entered the top 200 in the US twice (Let It Come Down reached #133 in 2001 and Songs in A & E reached #157 this year) so they aren’t completely non-existent in the US but still that’s nowhere near the success they should be enjoying. They’ve done a lot of great stuff but it’s Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space that really blew me away back in 1997 when it was first released and it still blows me away today, 12 years later. I think it’s among the greatest albums of all time.

THE STONE ROSES

These guys are probably overrated in the UK but conversely, they’re definitely underrated in the US. While their debut self titled album is often towards the top of “best album of all time” UK lists, it usually ranks towards the bottom (if at all) in US lists. And of course they’ve sold far more albums in the UK than in the US (although both of their albums did chart in the US: 1989’s The Stone Roses hit #86 and 1994’s The Second Coming hit #47.)

WEEN

I love these guys and I’m certainly not alone as they have a dedicated following but I definitely don’t think they get the sales or the critical acclaim that they deserve. They’re brilliant. If you’re new to Ween, check out the albums listed below.

The Beta Band, 1990s, The Stone Roses, The Flaming Lips, Soul Coughing

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