The B-52s may be known to you as either an eccentric, adventurous new-wave band or a highly successful, slightly kitschy pop group. But you’re unlikely to know or appreciate them for both these things. Still, the B-52s are one of the greatest alternative rock bands of all time.

Let me try to bring those two worlds together. These are the 10 best songs by The B-52s.

The Greatest 10 Songs by The B-52s

10. “Runnin’ Around”

The B-52s were loved by the American underground. And it’s easy to understand why. The group reimagined a 1970s where strange, artsy surf music had taken over the airwaves.

Besides, on their debut and on “Runnin’ Around,” the group plays everything by instinct, creating a sound and image that could not be replicated by anyone else.

9. “Good Stuff”

Critics and rock historians were proud and happy for the pop success of The B-52s. This doesn’t mean that it was always easy to get behind the group’s 90s releases.

“Good Stuff” sounds like a cartoon version of a ’90s Prince song. But if you can get past the campiness, it’s a good indicator of where the band’s strengths lie at this juncture in its career.

8. “(Meet) The Flintstones”

Yes, the band was always campy and rarely afraid to be kitschy. Those qualities were certainly exacerbated during the 1990s.

The B-52’s members had always designed themselves as cartoon characters. That’s why they fit so well to the live adaptation of “The Flintstones.”

And while longtime fans may wince at the notion, the band’s version of “(Meet) The Flintstones” is one of the most remarkable things that they ever did.

7. “Strobe Light”

I’ve a theory that if you blend together in perfect proportion the music of The Cars with that of Devo, you might get close to the sound of “Strobe of Light.”

A quirky pop single, “Strobe Light,” further solidified The B-52’s reputation as a party band unlike any other.

6. “Planet Claire”

If you think that new-wave was all about snappy suits and commercial pop songs, think again. Arguably, The B-52s is one of the finest bands of the genre, and certainly, one of the forward-thinking.

“Planet Claire” is one of the best songs of the era. With music that resembled a spy movie soundtrack played by young children, there was nothing quite like it.

5. “Give Me Back My Man”

Just as in Blondie, everyone in the B-52s was meant to play a different part. Singer Cindy Wilson, for the most part, was the charming, innocent member of the group.

On “Give Me Back My Man,” it’s Wilson’s pleading, along with the innovative orchestration, that helps to make this one of the most special releases in the band’s catalogue.

4. “Love Shack”

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of people. Then again, scoring a major hit rarely happened to a more strange-sounding band.

Of course, by the time of “Love Shack,” the B-52s had knocked back some of the eeriest tendencies. “Love Shack” was pop party music with a twist.

The hook remains the call-and-response between Schneider and Pierson/Wilson. It turned the “Cosmic Thing” album into a hit and changed the group’s trajectory from avant-pop daredevils into pop hitmakers.

3. “52 Girls”

How would a band even begin to cover the B-52s? Their campy B-movie soundtrack pop is entirely a creation of the artists who make up the band.

And while in an attempt to play one of their songs, you might pick up on the garage-rocker “52 Girls” as a possible candidate, listen closely to those vocal harmonies and tell me you can remain as confident?

2. “Private Idaho”

There aren’t many bands that dare to redo pop music in their own image. But that’s precisely what the B-52s did with songs like “Private Idaho.”

Led by Ricky Wilson’s sensational interpretation of what a surf-rock guitar could be, and the bizarre back-and-forth vocals produced by Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson, “Private Idaho” is one of the unexplainable great dance songs of all time.

1. “Rock Lobster”

Famously, John Lennon championed early The B-52s, principally, because he thought those reminded him of Yoko Ono’s music. Now, although Ono was rarely, if ever, in a position to score new-wave hits, there’s some truth to this.

The group, like R.E.M., came from the artsy small town of Athens, Georgia. They’d invented their own mini-universe of avant-garde and pop obsessions. And the group’s sound was created entirely by them in a way that only imaginative non-musicians could.

Yet, by the time the group released its infectious single, “Rock Lobster,” all of those bizarre touches came together to create one of the most memorable underground hits of the time.

This is the shining moment of The B-52s’ long-running, and often heralded, career. And, yes, “Rock Lobster” is one of the finest songs ever recorded.