Beck

Beck took the lo-fi sound of DIY indie rock to the Billboard charts in 1994 with his slacker anthem “Loser,” but his avant-pop palette extends well beyond the folk-rap beats and samples of that hit; encompassing everything from funk, soul, and psychedelia to wild experiments with feedback, toy instruments, and found sounds. Plus, his disjointed, surreal lyrics (which were often compared to Highway 61 Revisited-era Bob Dylan) made for an alt-pop sound that helped define the ‘90s and made Beck one of the most interesting musicians of his era.