Stereolab is one of the best bands of the last 20 years. One interesting thing about them is it seems like everybody rates their albums differently. Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Transient... are probably the two most popular, but I've heard someone vouch for almost all of their albums as their best at some point. In an age where most groups only release music every two or three years, it's amazing how prolific they were from 1992-2001. But with a sound as unique and polished as theirs, pretty much anything they attempted was very good at the least.
"French Disko" and "Metronomic Underground" are my favorite tracks, with "The Noise of Carpet" and "Tone Burst" not far behind.
If you should cross Stereolab with Sonic Youth... I actually hold Stereolab in higher regard because of the amount of good songs that are spread out on albums, ep's and singles. There are also a few real good mixes of simpler Lab songs.
