I can’t help but look back on 1992 with nostalgic lenses. I was 17, and R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People came out at exactly the right time to make a major impact on how I approached and consumed music. In addition to its gorgeous, gliding Andy Kaufman tribute, other songs here that I actually knew and loved in ’92 include Deee-Lite’s ultra catchy ode to escapism, a great Kate Pierson showcase from The B-52’s somewhat maligned Good Stuff, perhaps my current favorite single by The Cure (not as overplayed as “Friday I’m In Love” or  “Just Like Heaven”) and definitely INXS’ best, most underrated single.

As with those gems, many of the other selections here happen to have been hits, but they’re good hits, from Shakespears Sister’s power-ballad with its dramatic, bonkers shift in the middle and L7’s surprisingly catchy Go-Go’s-from-Hell feminist anthem to the comforting faux-R.E.M. of Toad The Wet Sprocket and the second single from Madonna’s Erotica, a Latin-disco epic that has aged pretty well, audacious-lyrical-callback-to-“Vogue”-and-all. Lesser known are a track from Soho’s second album Thug, a big flop but far more ambitious than Goddess (which gave the world their only hit, “Hippychick”), Los Lobos’ slinky, exotica-friendly mood piece, the suitably prescient title track from Leonard Cohen’s The Future (nearly 25 years after his debut) and a gently undulating Sade album track that deservedly made it onto their greatest hits album two years later. Also, the shimmering opener on 10,000 Maniacs’ final album with Natalie Merchant is arguably the best thing she ever did with or without them.

Despite a few catchy novelties here (ravers Utah Saints gleefully sampling Kate Bush, Meryn Cadell essaying a postmodern take on a monologue inspired by 1950s educational films) and a few spirited pastiches there (Vanessa Paradis redoing classic Motown, Lindsey Buckingham cosplaying as Brian Wilson), this is a foundational year for introducing such soon-to-be-icons as Tori Amos and especially PJ Harvey—her “Sheela-Na-Gig” predicts where much of the rest of the decade will go, particularly for alternative female singer-songwriters. Thankfully, Annie Lennox, k.d. lang, and Suzanne Vega all adapt to the times (each in their own ways) as does ex-Hüsker Dü-er Bob Mould (via his short-lived trio Sugar), his pioneering melodic crunch providing inspiration for younger bands such as Ride and Catherine Wheel, whose exquisite shoegaze epic “Black Metallic” has somehow become one of my most-played tracks of the past five years.

1992: You Were The Chosen One

1. Annie Lennox, “Little Bird”
2. Utah Saints, “Something Good”
3. Deee-Lite, “Runaway”
4. The Cure, “High”
5. Suzanne Vega, “In Liverpool”
6. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “All I Want”
7. PJ Harvey, “Sheela-Na-Gig”
8. Soho, “Into the Void”
9. L7, “Pretend We’re Dead”
10. Ride, “Twisterella”
11. k.d. lang, “Constant Craving”
12. They Might Be Giants, “I Palindrome I”
13. Tori Amos, “Crucify”
14. Madonna, “Deeper and Deeper”
15. The B-52’s, “Revolution Earth”
16. R.E.M., “Man On The Moon”
17. Los Lobos, “Kiko and the Lavender Moon”
18. 10,000 Maniacs, “Noah’s Dove”
19. Sugar, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”
20. Meryn Cadell, “The Sweater”
21. Steve Wynn, “Tuesday”
22. Morrissey, “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful”
23. Vanessa Paradis, “Be My Baby”
24. Catherine Wheel, “Black Metallic”
25. Sade, “Like A Tattoo”
26. XTC, “Then She Appeared”
27. Concrete Blonde, “Someday?”
28. Shakespears Sister, “Stay”
29. The Darling Buds, “Please Yourself”
30. INXS, “Not Enough Time”
31. Leonard Cohen, “The Future”
32. Lindsey Buckingham, “Countdown”
33. George Michael, “Too Funky”