Depeche Mode

A number of singles collections testify to the ongoing appeal of these Depeche Mode landmarks. Even Johnny Cash recognized it, covering "Personal Jesus" at his career's end. From morose romantic explorations to questions of philosophy and religion, Depeche Mode's catalogue touches life, death, and virtually everything in between.

With more hit singles over a quarter of a century than you can shake a stick at, the Depeche Mode classics just keep on coming. Whether new wave-era dance-floor excursion or hard-edged post-industrial dirge, the group's music features a depth and variety that rewards further investigation with a payoff worth talking about.

Nearly a dozen studio albums (not to mention fistfuls of remixes) have elevated Depeche Mode to iconic status, keeping fans returning for more years after the fact. The group's willingness to daringly reshape its material for singles and EPs lends still more flavour to their body of work. Check out Goldfrapp's gorgeous re-mix of "Halo".

More than twenty-five years of recording has done little to diminish the relevance of Depeche Mode. Pioneers of synth-pop, the band also truly epitomizes the genre for millions of fans. At first a nearly exclusive British taste — they're our homegrown Basildon heroes, after all — by 1990 they had achieved multiplatinum status in the U.S. Their not-so-secret weapon? A gift for merging melody and emotion that has assured their essential tracks a life beyond nostalgia.