As one of the most successful power-pop revival artists of the '90s, Matthew Sweet's mainstream popularity has risen and fallen with time. While his music is still beloved, Sweet is now considered more of a cult artist. But there's no denying that his jangly power-pop and clever lyrics have always made him a distinctive singer/songwriter.

Sweet started writing music as a high school student in Lincoln, NE. He attended college in 1983 at the University of Georgia in Athens, just in time to join in the thriving alternative music scene there. Like any struggling singer/songwriter, he played gigs, spreading word-of-mouth until 1985, when he secured a recording contract with Columbia. His debut LP, Inside, came in 1986. The record's title aptly describes Sweet's public reception. He flew under the radar, and would continue to do so, remaining inside the alt-rock scene and out of sight of the mainstream.

But 1991's Girlfriend changed everything. By this point, Sweet's marriage had fallen apart, giving him plenty of material to write about. He recorded Girlfriend with a live band, and the unique sound slowly crept up on the public, eventually scoring a hit with the title track. The record went gold, the first of several successes for Sweet.

Breaking out of the underground wasn't easy, but with 1993's Altered Beast and ‘94's 100% Fun, Sweet found himself playing to larger and larger crowds. His strong, power-pop songs were catchy, and certainly struck a chord with college listeners. Though 100% Fun also eventually went gold, Sweet never managed to retain his popular following. In 1997, he released Blue Sky on Mars, but the door he'd wedged open to mainstream success was slowly closing. Afterwards, Sweet was mostly known as a cult artist (though his cult following is fairly sizable). He's continued recording, and is still valued by critics and fans alike.