John Mayer: The Essential Album-by-Album Guide

ROOM FOR SQUARES (2001)
Key Tracks: "No Such Thing," "City Love"
Quick Take: Mayer's mix of adult-alternative and light rock combines the pouty swoon of Jeff Buckley, the literate class of Sting, and the nice-guy approachability of Dave Matthews. Room for Squares is a deceptively charming record and a perfectly honest reflection of its author: The album soaks in its just-out-of-college white-guyness and all the existential baggage that comes with it — the discovery of adult love ("Your Body Is a Wonderland"), the first lament of lost youth ("No Such Thing," "83"), and the difficulty of settling into one's own skin ("My Stupid Mouth," "Not Myself"). Although its unrepentant mellowness starts to wear by the end, the record's finely sketched lyrical snapshots and subtle melodies seem to be grooming Mayer for soccer-mom heartthrobdom.

Room For Squares (Columbia)