Either/Or by Elliott Smith

Part of what elevates Either/Or from a very good record to a great one is the songwriting, which operates with a rare kind of intelligence. Smith wrote with extraordinary specificity, populating his songs with particular images and situations, and yet these details never feel self-indulgent or opaque. Instead, they function as entry points into emotional truths that are broadly, sometimes devastatingly, recognisable. His songs are inhabited by loners and searchers, people caught in cycles they cannot quite escape, reaching for connection and meaning in a world that doesn't always offer either. Featured songs:AlamedaThe Ballad Of Big NothingBetween The BarsAngelesPictures Of MeSay Yes