Joy Division evolved in leaps and bounds after scrapping an album's worth of tracks the band deemed nonrepresentative (a handful became their first EP). Unknown Pleasures remains one of rock's most startling debuts. 

 You can feel the band slip into that darkness on Closer. Released after Curtis' death and again produced by the extraordinary Hannett, it's an almost impossibly heavy listen, full of unsettling melodies, sepulchral riffs, and funereal tempos. 

 Still is a "beat the boots" double album collecting stray studio tracks and live material from the band's final show. The production is awfully rough, but you get a good sense of the band's muscular live power. 

 The 1988 release of the fabulous anthology Substance brought Joy Division a whole new generation of fanatical, deep-feeling, black-clad followers; it was the first time many suburban American kids had ever heard the band. 

 Permanent is a shoddy collection of context-free album tracks that are better understood in their original settings.  

 Heart and Soul is everything all but the most severe fan would ever need: both albums, the crucial singles. It's a brilliant representation of a moment when four young men wandered into the most profound alienation, just to see what was there. 

 The Nineties live albums are better recorded and present a more well-rounded look at the band's strengths, while the BBC sessions are tight and tough.  

 The Nineties live albums are better recorded and present a more well-rounded look at the band's strengths, while the BBC sessions are tight and tough.  

 The Best of Joy Division is redundant, picking from the two proper albums plus Still and tossing in a bonus disc that contains all of The BBC Sessions.