Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet had one pretty big hit, the sparse and sugary “Girlfriend” from his 1991 album of the same name, but he held more sway in the ’90s alt-rock boom than one pretty big hit would suggest. As a songwriter, he was neither cool enough for slacker snobs nor populist enough for post-grunge megastardom, but Sweet pumped out (and still pumps out) classic power-pop of a sturdy sing-along sort. He put out a second disc of ’60s covers with The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs (Under The Covers, Vol. 2) in 2009, and recently released his latest solo album, Modern Art, which would’ve been the perfect soundtrack to an episode of The O.C. if that show were still on the air. 

Updated 10/03/2011