Editor's note: Everclear performs at 7 p.m. Sunday at BayFest. Here's a look at the band's best-of disc.

CD: "Ten Years Gone: The Best of Everclear 1994-2004"

Release: Oct. 5, 2004; Capitol Records

Style: Rock

Everclear is arguably the most famous band from the post-grunge era of the 1990s. It churned out several albums toting a few radio hits each and made a decade-defining tune with "I Will Buy You a New Life."

It seems silly for a band to have a compilation 10 years after its debut, especially when AC/DC has yet to have an official one. But in this case, it actually works. Most huge acts from the '90s made a few albums, generated some hits, then slowly faded and lived on through nostalgia. Matchbox Twenty is a prime example. Three albums (four if you count Rob Thomas' solo effort, which I do) after their first smash hit and "3 A.M." is still the most memorable song.

Everclear is guilty of the same thing, but for one tiny era on music's timeline, it was the "it" band in mainstream rock. Art Alexakis, despite his vocal shortcomings and cookie-cutter song themes, captured the attention and dollars of lonely, confused teenagers dealing with whatever life threw at them.

"Heroin Girl" is about a teenager who died during a drug binge; the lyrical hook "just another overdose" was an actual line said by a hospital worker who smugly brushed off his brother's death. "Volvo-Driving Soccer Mom" chronicles the life of the oh-so-pretty prom queen-type who married too young and aged too soon. "The New York Times" is a tribute to Sept. 11 victims inspired by articles in the namesake publication. "Summerland" is Alexakis' contribution to the endless list of love songs about two outsiders wanting to drive all night and leave town forever.

Even the two covers — Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" and Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" — are the kinds of songs that always make you return to a certain moment or person that meant the world to you.

Alexakis may never see the fame classic rock's ghosts enjoyed or "Thriller"-like record sales. But his lyrics are incredibly personal, yet so simple, they'll eventually evoke the same emotions in his fans that he felt growing up "a scared white boy in a black neighborhood," as he put it in "Father of Mine."

By normal standards, "Ten Years Gone" is a by-the-numbers compilation of radio hits with new cover art. But to fans who connected with the music, and perhaps Alexakis himself, it's a chance to end one era and move on. It's an album that's very good on its own merit and the best of Everclear's career.

The band could have announced a breakup the day after this CD's release, and it would have been a fine way to wrap up a career. I think Alexakis would have liked that scenario.

Jeremy Castillo is a graduate of Windward Community College and the University of Idaho.