Sparklehorse

This album established Mark Linkous as one of the most distinct singer/songwriter/producers to come down the pike in a while, leaving him in a category perhaps only otherwise occupied by late-inning Tom Waits. Compared to the high standard of the LPs that followed, however, this is a fairly simplistic, uneven collection. "Rainmaker," the album's great rock song, is backed brilliantly by its most brutal ballad, "Spirit Ditch," which opens with a heartbroken demand -- "I want my records back" -- and quickly waxes surreal.