Maybe because it was?

I can't address production from a technical point because I know zilch about it. But I like a clean sound, without a lot of special effects unless there's a good reason for them (i.e., something that ties to the lyrics or a specific atmosphere they're trying to create. Like the wind and chimes at the beginning of Wanted, or the robotic sound of the a capella repeats at the end of I Will Drive You Home, for ex.) I like to understand what's being sung without a lot of fuzziness or distortion or whatever it is, to mask the melody and/or lyrics.

And it's difficult for me to separate the lyrics and sing-ability from everything else. Even with a clean sound, if the lyrical content sucks or I can't sing along, it's pretty much lost me from the git. That's why I'll probably never like 2020, except for Luv Can.

All that said, without going back and listening to all of them, I'd probably go with These Days or Lost Highway as having the cleanest sound and THINFS as being the most cluttered (for want of a better word).