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Your next stop should be at And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. Then Popular Songs (I love this record although I'm in a minority here for some reason). Then maybe I Am Not Afraid...

I'd avoid Summer Sun for now as I'd say it's their weakest with the present line-up, but again some people like it.

Then you've got their slightly rockier '90s stuff like Painful, Electr-O-Pura and May I Sing With Me, all still great.

Further back you've got their super-early stuff without James McNew, which I can't comment on as I haven't got around to those myself yet, but I get the impression it's not really thought of as an important part of their canon.

In between there are random gems scattered here and there, like The Sounds of the Sounds of Science, Nuclear War EP, Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics, etc. Dig in, Spotify is probably your friend here.

Enjoy!

If you like mellow, go for And Then Nothing Turned...

If you like the Sonic Youthier side, go for Electr-o-Pura, or Painful (I prefer the former).

All the others are sort of variations on those. The later stuff doesn't get quite as much love, but there a lot of DiSers who will stand up for Popular Songs and I Am Not Afraid...

Gonna give And Then Nothing a spin now...

And say that you should definitely give The Sounds of the Sounds of Science a thorough listen-through, very soon. It's a strange, beautiful journey, and it's one of my favorite sleeping records.

This is in conjunction with everyone else's advice, of course. If you like weird, fun oceanic themes, you should roll with it.

And then nothing..., Summer Sun (baffled by the stick this gets) and the Sounds of Science all go very nicely together, but don't seem typical of the band.

I'd say 'I'm not Afraid of you...' probably gives the broadest picture of their various styles.

Sure a few of the tracks veer into cheese territory (moonrock mambo = bad, let's be still = good) but on the whole it's melancholy and coherent and gorgeous. The 2 they did after that were a bit too 'greatest hits' with the cheesy tunes amplified (mr tough, periodically double or triple). The new one is giving Summer Sun a run for its money though. I love it.

All night at work now. Thanks for the idea.

For me it's their best album (and certainly most consistent), and not too dissimilar to the couple you've liked already. Popular Songs is also wonderful.

people tend to overlook it a bit. sure Ride the Tiger is pretty dull, but President Yo La Tengo and New Wave Hot Dogs are pretty killer. Fakebook has a lot of fans as well.

would much prefer to listen to them then Summer Sun (by a million miles) and even And then Nothing.... in most circumstances.

for Ride the Tiger because it's the first YLT album I owned / heard, but it's far from their best.

Virtually everything from New Wave Hot Dogs to Summer Sun is pretty magnificent, thereafter things get rather patchy, I think? That said, I've not heard Fade yet, it's at the top of my "to buy" list, OK?

If It's True

But I think it's safe to say that the gentle, Georgia-sung ballad is ALWAYS great.

Shadows, Tears Are in Your Eyes, I Feel Like Going Home, When It's Dark, Cornelia and Jane, etc.....