Young Fresh Fellows

Nirvana may have broken the Seattle music scene, but in the alternate universe where music fans dwell, the Young Fresh Fellows are that rainy city's No. 1 sons. Influenced by Punk and '60s rock, the Fellows' music was as scrappy and catchy as that of the Replacements, but they jettisoned the 'Mats slacker introspection and instead littered their songs with smart pop culture references. Their first three albums are indie-pop masterpieces: The Men Who Loved Music (1987) quickly became an indispensable addition to every white guys record collection. They never bested such songs as "When the Girls Get Here" and "My Friend Ringo," but they carried on valiantly until the early '90s. These Fellows were witty and goofy, but they always managed to sneak in some honest emotion when you least expected it.