This 2-week dive into the albums ranked highest by critics in 1992 has been a bit discouraging. I’ve discovered a whole lot of murky and loud alternative rock that, for my money, is best left in the dustbins of history. Also a couple of rap albums and an extended disc of ambient noise.

So I’m happy to finish the span with a refreshingly melodic and resonant cut from k.d. lang. Lang followed her country crossover masterpiece Absolute Torch and Twang with 1992’s Ingenue, a full-on dive into adult contemporary territory.

The record came out shortly after lang herself did, a move that (along with her outspoken animal rights activism) alienated her from a segment of the country audience.

Like Lyle Lovett, lang was never an artist comfortably boxed into any genre, and this record made that clear.

Branching out paid off. Buoyed by the performance of today’s SOTD, ‘Constant Craving,’ the album went double platinum in the U.S. and became her top-selling record.