The Housemartins

This exhilarating debut from the Housemartins marries a less fluid version of the Smiths' guitar pop with angelic, soul-tinged choirboy vocals (courtesy of Paul Heaton). They made a splash in Britain, where the band's cardigan-resplendent nerdiness, old-fashioned tunefulness and humorous Northern bite struck a chord with the country. The bonus disc features superior readings of "Flag Day" and "Think for a Minute," BBC sessions, R&B and gospel covers and a funny white guy acoustic rap. Heaton would go on to form the even more soulful Beautiful South, while bassist Paul Cook became Fatboy Slim.