Bed

Quirky and cutesy in a tomboy sort of way, Juliana Hatfield scored a big hit in the early '90s with "My Sister" but was quickly cast aside when the alt-rock empire started to crumble. Bed is largely inspired by her two-year battle with Atlantic Records over one of her albums they decided not to release because they felt it was unmarketable. More emotionally substantial than her past efforts, the disc conveys frustration without resorting to self-pity, and whimsy without becoming too silly. Hatfield bitches about her past hassles with lines like, "You're so down on me / I think it is a fad so I don't feel so bad anymore" ("Feel So Bad"), but she ultimately rediscovers the sheer joy of making music, playfully paying homage to John Mellancamp's "Jack and Diane," Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, and the Stones' "Brown Sugar" along the way. --Jon Wiederhorn