You can tell an important album by its ability to provoke a love/hate reaction. For better or worse, Smashing Pumpkins achieved that goal with their two-CD epic, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Six months after its release, reactions still range from "best album of '95" to "God, am I sick of that `rat in a cage' song." A little cynicism might be justified if all 28 songs on the album sounded just like the single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," but that's hardly the case. Instead Mellon Collie sports the epic sprawl of a '70s concept album, and the musical grasp of a band that's just hitting its stride. While a chunk of Mellon Collie features a recognizable, heavy-guitar, angst-ridden Smashing Pumpkins sound, its best moments are the ones that didn't get on the radio -- notably the pair of art-rock epics, the detours to Nine Inch Nails territory, and the string of sad, haunting pop numbers that ends the album. Even with relatively limited promotion, no tour, and no interviews -- and no hair on Billy Corgan's head when the band played Saturday Night Live -- Mellon Collie proved to be one of 1995's major events.

-- Brett Milano