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A great one from Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – a record that explores his softer side, if you want to call it that – the trudging melodies, morose poetry and banshee wails offset brilliantly by soul stirring string parts and easier piano melodies! Definitely capping off the 80s and beginning the 90s on a high cresting wave of excellence, The Good Son is top shelf Bad Seeds, no doubt about it – reconciling his aggro roots with more of a chamber pop atmosphere, and his songwriting was rarely ever better than this. Titles include "Foi Na Cruz", "The Good Son", "Sorrow's Child", "The Weeping Song", "The Hammer Song", "Lament", "The Witness Song" and "Lucy". Cassette

Sure, their name marks them as part of that big world of prepackaged soul groups, and yes, their costumes on the cover may look a bit goofy – but over the years, this debut's got maybe a bit more staying power than some of their contemporaries! There's plenty of hip hop production in the mix – mostly handled by Dallas Austin, and with those kind of elements that you might find showing up in remixes of main cuts more than the album cuts themselves – but that also keeps things popping and hopping, and definitely does plenty to offset the youth in the vocals, which might not sound nearly as good on their own. So maybe think of the album as much as Austin's as it is the work of the group, and you'll get the vibe – with titles that include "Spyderman", "Mental Interlude", "Playground", "Little Soldiers", "Jealous Girl", "ABC", "That's My Girl", and "My World". Cassette