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Top 500 Alternative Rock Songs of All Time · Playlist · 476 songs · 796 likes.
- Depeche Mode - "Personal Jesus" (1990) The British electronic music band Depeche Mode released "Personal Jesus" as the lead single from their album Violator.
- Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991) Seattle-based grunge-rock band Nirvana were surrounded by huge music media buzz when they released "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as the lead single from their Nevermind album.
- R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion" (1991) R.E.M. were already celebrated as one of the top American rock bands before "Losing My Religion." They hit the top 10 on the album chart with their 1987 release Document, their 1983 debut Murmur was seen by many critics as one of the top rock debuts of all time, and the singles "The One I Love" and "Stand" both reached the pop top 10.
- U2 - "Mysterious Ways" (1991) In the late 1980s, U2 were arguably the world's biggest rock band. Their album The Joshua Tree was a worldwide smash, and they followed it up with another #1 hit around the world Rattle and Hum.
- Loser — Beck
- Bastards of Young — The Replacements
- Zombie — The Cranberries
- I Still Haven’T Found What I’m Looking For — U2
- Creep — Radiohead
- She’S Lost Control — Joy Division
- Man in The Box — Alice in Chains
- Here Comes Your Man — Pixies
- Head Like A Hole — Nine Inch Nails
- Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana
Beck’s 1994 hit Loser was extremely popular, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard charts. The song rose out of his time performing in bars and clubs while struggling to make a living; the singer would often come up with strange or bizarre lyrics to keep his audience’s attention. The track is a tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating tune that has been c...
Bastards Of Young was released in 1985 and was completely unique in its time. Modern music critics have called it one of the most iconic punk rock songs of all time, though it doesn’t fit perfectly within the genre. As a result, it is usually categorized as an alternative track. The song’s lyrics are about feeling isolated after moving to a new cit...
Irish band The Cranberries were in their heyday during the 1990s when they released the song, Zombie. The 1994 track is inarguably their most iconic, characterized by frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan’s wailing vocals on the chorus. It is about the era known as The Troubles in Northern Ireland; most specifically, it was inspired by the deaths of two you...
Irish band U2 released their album Joshua Tree in 1987. It has been widely regarded as their best work and features some of their most iconic songs, most notably I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. It is the definition of alternative rock, with heavy influences from gospel music. The song was nominated for two Grammy Awards and has been cou...
Mention Radiohead and the first song that pops into most minds is Creep. Released on the band’s debut album in 1992, it remains their top single. It wasn’t initially popular, but it eventually came to mainstream attention after heavy rotation on alternative radio stations. It gave them the reputation of being a “slacker” rock group, much like Nirva...
British band Joy Division was an early exploration into alternative rock. They released She’s Lost Control in 1979. The title is meant to be understood literally, as it was inspired by a woman suffering from epilepsy. Frontman Ian Curtis, who was also epileptic, witnessed the woman have recurrent seizures and later learned that she had suffocated i...
Alice In Chains was one of the leading bands in the developing grunge scene of the 1980s and 1990s, but much of its music also falls under the broader category of alternative rock. Their 1990 hit Man In The Boxwas one of their most successful singles, even receiving a Grammy Award nomination. The song was inspired in part by the modern meat industr...
Here Comes Your Manwas an alt-rock song that managed to find mainstream success, climbing to number three on the Modern Rock charts. Though this universal appeal helped make Pixies successful, it made the band members initially unwilling to record the track. They managed to find the line between alternative and pop music with this song about experi...
Head Like A Hole falls in an odd space between rock, electronic dance music, and indie, earning it an alternative label. The track, released in 1990, was an instant success and remains one of the band’s best-known songs. It solidified them as a pioneer of industrial rock, with its high energy and aggressive vocals and lyrics. The aggression was a k...
Often hailed as the anthem of Generation X, Nirvana’s 1991 song Smells Like Teen Spiritpropelled the band to international fame. The track is all about defying authority, as evidenced by the music video, which is almost as famous as the song itself. The video depicts a school of teens turning a high school assembly upside down when they decide to r...
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- Nirvana. The first band on our list is perhaps the most influential alt-rock band of all time, Nirvana. The year 1987 witnessed the birth of this band.
- R.E.M. Our next alt-rock band is R.E.M., one of the flagship groups of the alternative rock movement. Founded in 1980 and remaining active for 31 years, R.E.M.
- U2. The next group on our list, U2, might come as a surprise. After all, it was founded in the ’70s and might be considered a more mainstream rock band.
- Cage The Elephant. With Cage the Elephant, we take a jump into the alt-rock history of the twenty-first century. The band was formed in 2006 and found enormous success with their self-titled debut album.
Top 100 - Alternative Songs All-Time. Playlist • Agil Prasetyo • 2015. 882K views • 22 tracks • 1+ hours. Save to library. Smells Like Teen Spirit. Nirvana. 4:39. Kids (Official HD Video)...
May 1, 2024 · Over 20K music fans have voted on the 200+ Best Alternative Rock Bands & Artists, Ranked. Current Top 3: Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Nirvana
1. Monsters. All Time Low Featuring blackbear. 2. Broken. lovelytheband. 3. Uprising. Muse. 4. Savior. Rise Against. 5. Feel It Still. Portugal. The Man. 6. Madness. Muse. 7. The Pretender. Foo...
