Radiohead is the most artistically significant band of the past 20 years, maybe 30 years, and maybe ever. And no band since their old tourmates in R.E.M. has the capacity to divide its fans on this crucial subject: What is their best record. You have your Bends crusties, OK Computer hard-liners, the Kid A/Amnesiac Damascenes, the In Rainbows generation, et al. Like the elephant in the old Sufi parable, Radiohead feels like a completely different animal depending on which of us blind people is doing the groping. Rather than contribute another essay on the band’s indisputable significance/importance/excellence, we asked some Radiohead freaks to pick the one song that captures the quintessence of the band’s power. Unsurprisingly, we got one from each album. —Sean Nelson
“Stop Whispering,” Pablo Honey
I’m an unapologetic lover of Pablo Honey—horrors, I’m so sorry to even admit it!—and the rare fan of Radiohead who liked them eternally better before they wandered off into the mist that gathered around OK Computer, clouding my enjoyment ever since. How could anyone hear a song like “Stop Whispering” and conclude that they don’t need to go further in that direction? The insistence of the snare. The melodic-turned-metallic wall of guitars. The simple poem of a lyric that builds to a burned-out wail: Stop whispering. START SHOUTING. Yes, sir. I will. In 1993, and even now, I will shout. I will air-drum and throw my head back and rage at the top of my lungs. You can keep your future, with its hushed parlor tones and bleepy-bloops. I’ll be over here turning up the past, measure by thrilling measure, until I’m all screamed out—just as the rock gods intended. —Whitney Pastorek