The low-budget debut Almost Killed Me, which unexpectedly made the Hold Steady a word-of-mouth sensation, overflows with guitar raunch and motormouth poetry, chronicling a cast of lost kids who bounce from song to song, zonked on sex and drugs and religion in the Midwestern badlands.  

 The low-budget debut Almost Killed Me, which unexpectedly made the Hold Steady a word-of-mouth sensation, overflows with guitar raunch and motormouth poetry, chronicling a cast of lost kids who bounce from song to song, zonked on sex and drugs and religion in the Midwestern badlands.  

 The band’s version of a classic rock opera, Tad Kubler and new keyboardist Franz Nicolay playing Killebrew-size riffs as Craig Finn sings about sin (“Tramps like us and we like tramps”) and salvation (“She crashed into the Easter Mass /With her hair done up in broken glass”).  

 The band’s version of a classic rock opera, Tad Kubler and new keyboardist Franz Nicolay playing Killebrew-size riffs as Craig Finn sings about sin (“Tramps like us and we like tramps”) and salvation (“She crashed into the Easter Mass /With her hair done up in broken glass”).  

 Virgin Digital Sessions is a live album highlighted by the acoustic gem “212-MARGARITA,” about a temptress who calls herself Margarita “because I’m green and misleading and I’ve had too much tequila.”  

 Virgin Digital Sessions is a live album highlighted by the acoustic gem “212-MARGARITA,” about a temptress who calls herself Margarita “because I’m green and misleading and I’ve had too much tequila.”  

 The Hold Steady go for a more conventional rock-radio sound, with choruses, melodies, not much guitar, and botched synth-heavy production. But the songs stick anyway, especially “Stuck Between Stations,” “Chips Ahoy,” and the sad rocker “You Can Make Him Like You.” 

 The Hold Steady go for a more conventional rock-radio sound, with choruses, melodies, not much guitar, and botched synth-heavy production. But the songs stick anyway, especially “Stuck Between Stations,” “Chips Ahoy,” and the sad rocker “You Can Make Him Like You.” 

 A decent live document from the band, but it pales in comparison to the previously released Virgin Digital Sessions. 

 A decent live document from the band, but it pales in comparison to the previously released Virgin Digital Sessions. 

 A Positive Rage documents a typical show in Chicago, giving a taste of the boozy, sweaty camaraderie that earned their reputation as the most crowd-flattening live band around.  

 A Positive Rage documents a typical show in Chicago, giving a taste of the boozy, sweaty camaraderie that earned their reputation as the most crowd-flattening live band around.  

 Stay Positive is a darker and weirder, especially if you include a pair of essential b-sides. Constructive Summer” and “Stay Positive” were punk anthems, while “Sequestered in Memphis” had two desperate drunks tangling over a deceptively laid-back swirl of piano and horns.  

 Stay Positive is a darker and weirder, especially if you include a pair of essential b-sides. Constructive Summer” and “Stay Positive” were punk anthems, while “Sequestered in Memphis” had two desperate drunks tangling over a deceptively laid-back swirl of piano and horns.