The Cure - The Head On the Door

The Cure refocused and ultimately hit their stride with their sixth album, The Head on the Door, producing something which not only more effectively depicted gloom, but also showed enough pop smarts to make it memorable (and even danceable).

The band scored a hit with the infectious, New Order-ish "In Between Days" (which even managed to beat New Order at their own game) and the highly memorable "Close To Me", but the album's outstanding trait is its diversity - they managed to combine a wide variety of influences, not only that of contemporary dancefloor peers, but also by incorporating rhythms from the far east and South America to fine effect.

The Cure made more accomplished albums later on, and had bigger hits, but none combined artistic ambition with really catchy songs as well as The Head on the Door.