@seola30 So good that REM´s music gave you strength when you needed it. That´s a lot. And they have a lot of beautiful songs.
Personally I´m more of an „until Automatic for the People“–person but there are great songs on all of their albums. But that´s just me.
I think there are a few reasons why REM has not been widely rediscovered by a younger audience yet. Guitar music in general has become more of a niche in popular music. I just checked the US Charts: I´m not familiar with all the songs and artists but there´s hardly a rock song in the singles charts and in the album charts there´s a Greatful Dead-album on #18. So much for the younger demographic. And the younger artists and bands that do make rock music seem to reference or build on other styles than REM´s. I wouldn´t be surprised if at some point more young people discovered them, but rock history is so vast and offers so many styles, attitudes, signature sounds and expressions of emotions, that it may be just coincidence that so far they´ve been overlooked. Also a big part of REMs catalogue is not music that calls for attention, it´s more a world you can come in or relate to. I´m not a rock critic or historian, others could make these points much better, but I think there´s some truth to them.