The Bends
Having introduced more new songs on tour, Radiohead finished recording their second album by the end of 1994, and released "The Bends" in March 1995. The album was driven by dense riffs and ethereal atmospheres from the three guitarists, with greater use of keyboards than their debut. It received stronger reviews for its songwriting and performances. While Radiohead were seen as outsiders to the Britpop scene that dominated music media at the time, they were finally successful in their home country with "The Bends", as singles "Fake Plastic Trees", "High and Dry", "Just", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" made their way to chart success; "Street Spirit" placed Radiohead in the top five for the first time. "High and Dry" became a modest hit, but Radiohead's growing fanbase was insufficient to repeat the worldwide success of "Creep". "The Bends" peaked at No. 88 on the US album charts, which remains Radiohead's lowest showing there. Jonny Greenwood said "The Bends" had been a "turning point" for Radiohead: "It started appearing in people's [best-of] polls for the end of the year. That's when it started to feel like we made the right choice about being a band." In later years, "The Bends" appeared in many publications' lists of the best albums of all time, including "Rolling Stone's" 2012 edition of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" at No. 111.