In a nutshell: Bad Religion rock, and they rock HARD. And Stranger than Fiction, despite being their "sellout" album (their first on a major label), which soured many long-term fans (as such moves inevitably do), is surely their most balanced, most accomplished, all-around best effort.

A friend of mine described Bad Religion as "punk with a thesaurus." And that's accurate, to a certain extent: how many other punk bands have a vocabularly which includes "sallow," "dichotomy," and "sagacious," or lyrical nuggets like "languid wills and torpid minds" or "poignant morose wonder"?

Nonetheless, this is by no means dispassionate intellectualism. Bad Religion may have a penchant for five dollar words, but there is powerful emotion behind them. Anger, yes, of course, is dominant: there aren't many tranquil punks. But, as Bad Religion chronicle and judge the follies of mankind, they convey a wide range of feeling: pity, sympathy, scorn, remorse, and equal parts hope and resignation, all backed with dark and ironic humor.

Sadly, this was Brett Gurewitz's last album with the band as a full-time member. The best songs here are his work: the title track (If I could fly/High above the world/Would I see a bunch of living dots/Spell the word "Stupidity"?), "Incomplete," "Better Off Dead," "Infected," "Hooray for Me...," "21st Century (Digital Boy)" -- all Gurewitz compositions, all insightful, funny, blistering, without drifting into joyless polemic as Greg Graffin has been known to do.

Final advice: crank up the volume, and play frequently.

I agree with the reviewer below, this was the weakest album I heard from Bad Religion (I only have 4 BR albums) but that doesn't necessarily mean that its bad I mean compared to the joke that punk music has turned into nowadays its like a masterpiece. Stranger Than Fiction is packed with great punk tracks that are filled with brilliant hooks and catchy lyrics like on previous Bad Religion albums it's also the first Bad Religion album I bought since I heard alot of great things and I wasn't disappointed the only problem is that the album needs a few more listens to appreciate. The best songs have to be Better off dead, The handshake (which is about greedy music executives) and the awesome punk track Infected with its yeah-yeah chorus line and Inner logic with its smart lyrics, 21st century digital boy is the big single release from this album and its worth checking out along with Marked and the great and catchy pop song Slumber and Incomplete was a great opening song. The only bad songs were Hooray for me and Tiny Voices which sound a bit generic, Stranger Than Fiction shows more mature musicianship from these guys and Greg is a good songwriter but I still preferred their earlier stuff since it sounded more raw and less mainstream, Suffer was a much better album in my opinion and its one of my favorites but still you should definetely check out this great album especially if you're looking for some proper punk rock music.

The last Bad Religion album wich deserves 5 stars. They managed to release 6 masterpieces in 7 years. Of course it had to end someday. But before Brett's departion, and dropping into Mediocrity. They released my favourite Bad Religion album, Stranger than Fiction.
It's my favourite because Greg's songwriting is at peak level here, the vocals NEVER HAVE BEEN BETTER. Wich you can hear immediatly after the opener "Incomplete".
"Slumber" is their best ballad ever, the best track "Inner Logic" is so great because of the catchy chorus.
This is BR's best album, even the terrible Rancid infested "Television" can't ruin that for me.
The european version is WAY superior to the US release, it has got two extra songs, "News from the Front" and "Markovian Process" wich makes sure the closes with a BLAST (and not with a rerecording of "21st centruy digital boy")

This was the very first Bad Religion album I had ever heard, just as I was starting to get into punk in 7th grade. Years later, I am a huge Bad Religion fan, and if it wasnt for this album, that would not be the case. That being said however, let me make it clear that this is not their best album. Its not even in the top 3. Dont get me wrong, it is a great cd, but in comparison to their earlier recordings on Epitaph, well, it just doesnt compare. Lyrically however, Bad Religion remain on top of their game, despite what some other reviewers on this website say. You CANNOT look at this cd, or any other Bad Religion cd for that matter solely on the basis of music, or you will be missing half of the total package. The strong beliefs and sincerity of the lyrics have influenced me far more than the music has, and I can easily say that I have forgotten about other cds that have sounded like this musically, but just dont compare from a lyrical and intellectual standpoint. If you are a avid Bad Religion fan looking for another album to wet your appetite, then I strongly suggest this record. If you are a new fan looking to purchase your first BR album, then I would have to recommend either Suffer, No Control, or Against the Grain. A great cd none the less, and the one that started my affliction with Bad Religion.

Bad Religion leaving Epitaph for Atlantic?!?!? Selling out? New corporate style? Luckily not so! Bad Religion keeps their style and their attitude intact on this album. The fact remain though that the sound DOES change, it seems more "advanced" and produced than earlier, but the messages does not seem to have been flawed by the change of label(though the reasons for doing so elude me). I read a review where a mr. Brian Seiler claimed that punk rock was getting stupid, and Bad Religion represented this. I can agree to some extent in the first claim, although the second claim I find iresponsible. How can anyone find the lyrics to songs like Television, Slumber or The Handshake dumb?!?! "This album is not meant to be enjoyed on a philosophical level" and "If you read the lyrics to the songs, you'll get the standard flow of I-don't-want-to-grow-up anti-establishment rhetoric...". Does this mean that if something, be that a text or an idea is written so people can actualy understand it, that it is "un-philosophical" or unworthy? What exactly I am to put in to that I am not sure of.
Bottomline is that Bad Religion still offer meaningful and intelligent texts, without compromising.