Top 100 Alternative Rock Bands
100 Greatest Alternative Rock Bands
Alternative Rock also known as ‘alternative’ is a popular genre of Rock music. One of the most popular music genres in recent years, alternative music has gone onto become a culture. This article brings to light the best alternative rock bands.
The underground movement in the 80s led to the beginnings of the alternative scene. The independent music scene witnessed many bands experiment with lyrical and musical structure thereby paving the way for the alternative sound. Alternative rock became insanely popular in 90s and has gotten bigger in the 2000s. While the usage of the word ‘alternative’ in the realms of music represents a genre, it is commonly used as an umbrella terms to represent various facets in the social context. The local underground scene helped resurrect the alternative sound to another level. Alternative rock gained momentum through college radio airplay, magazine and ezine circulation.
Furthermore, word of mouth publicity about local bands played a pivotal role in making alternative rock a global phenomenon.
Alternative helped define and shape various musical styles that have gone onto become popular subgenres of rock. While alternative rock was not considered mainstream when it emerged initially, the genre did gain mainstream prominence in the 90s. Many bands in the alternative rock scene released music albums independently. Only few bands managed to strike record deals with major record labels in the 90s. A number of major record labels were reluctant to sign new bands; however, after the success of Nirvana, many record labels signed upcoming bands in the alternative scene.
In the late 90s the alternative band frenzy rose to a new level. The variety of musical styles that emerged made way for a new breed of alternative bands in the 2000s. While alternative took a hit with the emergence of the grunge revolution, many alternative bands struck recording deals with major record labels. Bands such as Dream Syndicate, The Feelies and Husker Du are often cited as pioneering acts that helped the alternative scene gain momentum. Alternative rock has grown in popularity globally. The experimentation in musical styles will determine a new alternative sound in the future. Alternative is here to stay.
The space below showcases a list of the best alternative rock bands of the 80s 90s and 2000s.
100 Greatest Alternative Rock Bands
- Dream Syndicate
- Husker Du
- Nirvana
- The Feelies
- R.E.M.
- U2
- Franz Ferdinand
- The White Stripes
- Arcade Fire
- Interpol
- Coldplay
- Matchbox Twenty
- The Strokes
- Modest Mouse
- The Killers
- Bush
- Radiohead
- Mudhoney
- Camper Van Beethoven
- The Replacements
- Garbage
- Jimmy Eat World
- The Fray
- Primal Scream
- The Presidents of The United States of America
- Dinosaur Jr.
- The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Pearl Jam
- Soundgarden
- Linkin Park
- They Might Be Giants
- Happy Mondays
- Foo Fighters
- The Smiths
- Nine Inch Nails
- 10,000 Maniacs
- Cake
- The Verve
- Green Day
- Jane’s Addiction
- The Black Keys
- Counting Crows
- Soul Asylum
- Weezer
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Stone Temple Pilots
- The Cranberries
- Dave Matthews Band
- Wilco
- No Doubt
- Suede
- The Lemonheads
- 30 Seconds To Mars
- Pixies
- Muse
- The Dandy Warhols
- Cage The Elephant
- Incubus
- The Wedding Present
- Sonic Youth
- Imagine Dragons
- Love and Rockets
- Blur
- Goo Goo Dolls
- Three Days Grace
- Firehose
- Stereophonics
- Butthole Surfers
- Our Lady Peace
- The Afghan Whigs
- The Stone Roses
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Third Eye Blind
- Audioslave
- James
- Social Distortion
- Everclear
- My Chemical Romance
- Paramore
- The Cure
- Pavement
- 311
- Echo & The Bunnymen
- Placebo
- Kings of Leon
- Hoobastank
- Arctic Monkeys
- Toadies
- Live
- Filter
- Vertical Horizon
- The All-American Rejects
- Kasabian
- Ride
- The Fall
- Violent Femmes
- Pulp
- Creed
- The Breeders