To mark NME.COM's fifteenth birthday, we've selected the 150 tracks that have meant the most to us over the site's lifetime.
You can also stream the whole lot as a Spotify playlist. From 1996 to the present day, it's a decade-and-a-half of incredible music.
Words: Priya Elan, Luke Lewis, Tim Chester, Mike Williams, Tom Goodwyn, Rebecca Schiller, Krissi Murison, Emily Mackay, Matt Wilkinson, Laura Snapes, Jamie Fullerton, Alan Woodhouse.
Released: December 1996
The pinnacle of the Manics' blockbuster phase, 'Australia' sounded grandiose and full of confidence - no wonder it got hammered on the radio for months - but lyrically it was the opposite: full of paranoia and self-doubt. Nicky Wire wrote it about the aftermath of Richey Edwards' disappearance, wanting to escape, get as far away from home as possible. It's a biting evocation of personal collapse ("My cheeks are too yellow, think I'll take another pill"), powered by a toweringly anthemic chorus. A very Manics combination. (LL).
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