Whatever by Aimee Mann

Whatever, Aimee Mann's first solo album, came out on Geffen in 1993, a few years after 'Til Tuesday broke up and she struck out alone. She co-produced it with Tony Berg, Michael Hausman and Jon Brion, and it's where the songwriter behind "Voices Carry" really came into her own.

The new wave sheen is gone. In its place: clean, sturdy guitar pop and Mann's cool, wry voice delivering literate, sardonic songs about underdogs and dark corners, every hook sharpened to a point. "I Should've Known" is the song from it that has turned up on the countdowns. The reviews were good, the sales weren't what anybody had hoped, but its reputation has held: it was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. I'm with Stupid followed.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.