Significant longplayers from yesteryear
9 September 2026
Rock celebs R.E.M. (1980–2011) from Athens, Georgia
released their 10th album NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI
on 9 September 1996, today 30 years ago.
The members of R.E.M. consider the recorded album representative of the band at their peak, and fans generally regard it as the band’s last great record before a perceived artistic decline following drummer Bill Berry‘s departure. It has sold around seven million units, and has grown in cult status in the years after its release, with several retrospectives ranking it among the band’s best work.
Mike Mills bassist: “It usually takes a good few years for me to decide where an album
stands in the pantheon of recorded work we’ve done. This one may be third behind Murmur and Automatic for the People.”
AllMusic wrote: “New Adventures in Hi-Fi feels like it was recorded on the road. Not only
are all of Michael Stipe’s lyrics on the album about moving or travel, the sound is ragged and varied, pieced together from tapes recorded at shows, soundtracks, and studios, giving it a loose, careening charm.”
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM