released acclaimed albums, commencing with their debut Murmur (1983), and continuing yearly with Reckoning (1984), Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987) and Green (1988).

Berry left the band the following year, and Stipe, Buck and Mills continued as a musical trio, supplemented by studio and live musicians, such as the multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow and the drummers Joey Waronker and Bill Rieflin.

After the electronic experimental direction of Up (1998), which was commercially unsuccessful, Reveal (2001), referred to as "a conscious return to their classic sound",[2] received general acclaim.

Looking for a change of sound after lukewarm reception for Around the Sun (2004), the band collaborated with the producer Jacknife Lee on their final two studio albums—the well-received Accelerate (2008) and Collapse into Now (2011).

The pair discovered that they shared similar tastes in music, particularly in punk rock and proto-punk artists like Patti Smith, Television, and the Velvet Underground.

[10] They played their first show on April 5, 1980, who were supported by the Side Effects at O'Brien's birthday party held in the same church, performing a mix of originals and 1960s and 1970s covers.

recorded their first single, "Radio Free Europe", at producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after a recommendation by Peter Holsapple.

agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to return to North Carolina and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon.

Lyrically, Stipe began to create storylines in the mode of Southern mythology, noting in a 1985 interview that he was inspired by "the whole idea of the old men sitting around the fire, passing on ... legends and fables to the grandchildren".

's core support, the band was beginning to chart hits on mainstream rock formats; however, the music still encountered resistance from Top 40 radio.

In a departure from Green, the band members often wrote the music with non-traditional rock instrumentation including mandolin, organ, and acoustic guitar instead of adding them as overdubs later in the creative process.

The band also performed "Losing My Religion" with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Madison–Morgan Cultural Center, in Madison, Georgia, as part of MTV's 10th-anniversary special.

Even though the group had intended to make a harder-rocking album after the softer textures of Out of Time,[7]: 216  the somber Automatic for the People "[seemed] to move at an even more agonized crawl", according to Melody Maker.

The decision to forgo a tour, in conjunction with Stipe's physical appearance, generated rumors that the singer was dying or HIV-positive, which were vehemently denied by the band.

In contrast to the sound of its predecessors, the music of Monster consisted of distorted guitar tones, minimal overdubs, and touches of 1970s glam rock.

Time's writer Christopher John Farley argued that the lesser sales of the album were due to the declining commercial power of alternative rock as a whole.

parted ways with manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against him by a member of the band's home office in Athens.

Nigel Godrich was taken on as assistant producer, and drafted in Screaming Trees member Barrett Martin and Beck's touring drummer Joey Waronker.

[40]: 248–249  Reveal shared the "lugubrious pace" of Up,[7]: 303  and featured drumming by Joey Waronker, as well as contributions by Scott McCaughey (a co-founder of the band the Minus 5 with Buck), and Ken Stringfellow (founder of the Posies).

Al Friston described the album as "loaded with golden loveliness at every twist and turn", in comparison to the group's "essentially unconvincing work on New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Up".

[42] Similarly, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called Reveal "a spiritual renewal rooted in a musical one" and praised its "ceaselessly astonishing beauty".

The band recorded with producer Jacknife Lee in Vancouver and Dublin, where it played five nights in the Olympia Theatre between June 30 and July 5 as part of a "working rehearsal".

"[64] Long-time associate and former Warner Bros. Senior Vice President of Emerging Technology Ethan Kaplan has speculated that shake-ups at the record label influenced the group's decision to disband.

[89] Each member is given an equal vote in the songwriting process; however, Buck has conceded that Stipe, as the band's lyricist, can rarely be persuaded to follow an idea he does not favor.

Spin's Charles Aaron wrote that by 1985, "They'd shown how far an underground, punk-inspired rock band could go within the industry without whoring out its artistic integrity in any obvious way.

[100] Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums stated that "Their catalogue is destined to endure as critics reluctantly accept their considerable importance in the history of rock".

"[112] During his show at the 40 Watt Club in October 2018, Johnny Marr said: "As a British musician coming out of the indie scene in the early '80s, which I definitely am and am proud to have been, I can't miss this opportunity to acknowledge and pay my respects and honor the guys who put this town on the map for us in England.

One example is during the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, Stipe wore a half-dozen white shirts emblazoned with slogans including "rainforest", "love knows no colors", and "handgun control now".

[117] Stipe himself ran ads for the 1988 election, supporting Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis over then-Vice President George H. W.

[118] In 2004, the band participated in the Vote for Change tour that sought to mobilize American voters to support Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.