Chipmunks on 16 Speed — Vol. 1 [2015, pop/rock]: the best way to listen to Alvin and the Chipmunks

The band have arguably made some of their best material during the time when most of them were on heroin, even if just on and off, the band's future was very precarious, and they turned to songs of their childhood years to both fulfill contractual obligation and get some spiritual jolt from the stupor. It's no coincidence that most of the songs chosen are originally either bright and optimistic, or have wistful melancholy to them — in the time when many of Chipmunks' peers preferred grungy sound to counter the eighties' excess. This diversion and infusion of nostalgia for youthful cheer might've been what saved the band and let them continue their legacy, perhaps even giving the members some renewed appreciation of life.