The greatest alternative rock artists and bands that you’re about to find on Alt77’s list have a few things in common. They all wrote and recorded incredible songs and albums. They all challenged the format of pop music, introducing stylistic elements that were uncommon. And they all made a few listeners feel uncomfortable.
There’s great artistry in the music of all the bands on the list, but not all of them are superbly accomplished musicians. There are great hits for which some of these bands are known, but none set out to be pop hitmakers. Some of these bands still play to stadium crowds, while others are remembered with affection by a brainy few.
This is Alt77.com’s Top 100 Greatest Alternative Bands and Artists of All Time, with some honourable mentions sprinkled at the end. All of these artists, in one way or another, changed the world of music and deserve the highest recognition.
Top 100 Greatest Alternative Bands and Artists of All Time
1. R.E.M.
R.E.M. had the ideal career trajectory, with a perfect rise and a swift ending. No band could’ve asked for more, and few in the history of popular music ever influenced more peers than this little band from Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.
The sound of their 1980s albums was artsy and intimate. It brought them recognition on college radio and on the club circuit. By the end of that decade, they had graduated to national acclaim while sacrificing none of their artistic ethos.
By the 1990s, R.E.M. made another leap forward. Their albums and singles like “Losing My Religion” or “Man on the Moon” had turned them into a globally successful band capable of packing in stadiums. If anything, their sound had become even more adventurous.
Their final decades were spent in a similar manner, with singer Michael Stipe and his bandmates testing the boundaries of pop-rock music. R.E.M., then split up. It was done amicably, without fuss. They were titans of alternative rock by that point, with each era of the group having spawned countless imitators.
2. Nirvana
Nirvana, like others on this list, started out as a small, noisey, artsy band with no expectations for success. When that did come calling, Kurt Cobain, the band’s main songwriter, didn’t hesitate. Instead, he pivoted the band’s sound toward a more pleasing, pop-oriented style while retaining the group’s punk edges and quirkiness.
It worked. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was an instant success. Grunge and the band’s peers were stars. And this Seattle trio earned the kind of fame reserved in the past for bands like The Beatles.
Sadly, Cobain and Nirvana would not make many albums, and the singer passed away in 1994. Fortunately, Nirvana’s material influenced hordes of bands. While Cobain was no guitar virtuoso in the style of Eddie van Halen, “Nevermind” surely helped drive the sale of guitars during that period.
Nirvana existed for a short time and made only a handful of records. Their songs, however, are some of the best-known and respected in alternative rock.
3. Pixies
Pixies, it can be argued, made a few albums during their early career that have never been bested. “Surfer Rosa” and “Doolittle” are colossal achievements.
And, while the strangeness of the band dubbed by David Bowie as “the psychotic Beatles” makes them hard to pin down and copy, a great number of the bands on our list have professed their admiration for Pixies.
The loud-soft dynamics, the taboo subject matter of some of the lyrics, and Frank Black’s over-the-top howling find their way, in part, into the works of Nirvana, Radiohead, PJ Harvey or Weezer. Pixies are one the defining alternative rock bands and judged on their early records; they are one of the best bands that ever existed.
4. Radiohead
Radiohead was the most ambitious British rock band to make it big during the early 1990s. Not that you could tell from first spotting the band.
The initial success of the single “Creep” earned the group the ill-fitting label of grunge, while the fame of their peers, like Blur and Oasis, had them labelled as Britpop.
Radiohead were much more than that. Restlessly creative and brave, the band took their audience on wild journeys that had record execs foaming at the mouth and calling it “career suicide.”
Instead, Radiohead built its own music scene and outlived the genres it was once lumped with. Thom Yorke and his bandmates have created albums such as “OK Computer” and “The Bends” that have been the steering committee for alternative rock ever since the 1990s.
5. The Smiths
The Smiths seemed like an impossibility. They wrote songs about the modern British way of life. Their lyrics were brainy, and tortured. The band’s limelight was shared by one shy intellectual, Morrissey, and by a cool, visionary guitar player, Johnny Marr. And, they played as if the world needed to listen.
Without a huge number of great songs The Smiths wouldn’t have achieved what they did. Still, without the numerous peculiarities of the band, they wouldn’t have either. Their guitar pop songs were filled with pro-vegetarian slogans, anti-monarchy chants, and the kind of gallows humour that endeared Morrissey to millions.
The Smiths were an extraordinary band, one of the best in alternative music and nothing that’s happened, or will, can change that.
6. The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was the original alternative band. Interested in modern art and in chaos just as much as in writing songs, the group was endorsed by New York’s intelligentsia, including artist Andy Warhol.
This meant that The Velvet Underground never operated in the same way as other rock bands of the time. The band performed during happenings and art shows. Their choices of instruments and the way they played them was atypical. And, Lou Reed wrote songs about taboo topics covering sex, religion and violence.
And while The Velvet Underground did not achieve commercial acceptance, as producer/musician Brian Eno had predicted, they helped inspire practically every one of the few who bought one of their albums.
7. Pavement
Pavement reshaped alternative music without much effort. At least so, it seemed. The band, started by college students stuck in the big city, were originators of a laid-back, cryptic style of music that would find numerous followers.
Singer Stephen Malkmus always seemed to be delivering secrets that only the band and converted audience were in on. The critics loved them, especially since they offered an alternative to the hard-rocking alternative rock dominating the charts.
Pavement’s influence can be heard across modern indie and alternative rock. The quality of albums like “Slanted & Enchanted” has been matched by very few. And they didn’t even seem to try.
8. Ween
Ween was always destined for cult-hero status. But as more attentive modern audiences have decided, they’re also destined for rock star status.
While marginally successful during their glory days, the duo of Gene and Dean Ween created a remarkable discography that encompasses most of the music genres that our readers might be able to conjure in their mind.
By the time the band finally slowed down, albums like “The Mollusk” or “Chocolate and Cheese” had finally started to be regarded as masterpieces of alternative music. The quality of their work and the weirdness of their inner mythology make them a valuable addition to this list.
9. Björk
Björk started out making music as a teenager on the remote and picturesque island of Iceland. Being partly cut-off from both Europe and the U.S. meant that the young musician’s style and taste developed in a way that was atypical, original.
By the time she had departed The Sugarcubes and launched her solo career, Björk’s eclectic taste and willingness to experiment made her one of the most fearless artists in alternative music.
The Icelandic singer has also always been able to charm audiences. Few risk-taking musicians have achieved her kind of success. The effect of albums like “Debut” or “Homogenic” is still felt across alternative music.
10. Jane’s Addiction
Jane’s Addiction role in the rise of alternative music is undersung. At the end of the 1980s, in L.A., they’d single-handledy helped start a bidding war between record labels for this out-there, audacious art-punk unit.
In fact, many of the U.S. bands on this list were signed because of the labels’ new found appetite for this kind of music.
Predictably, the original run of Jane’s Addiction didn’t last long, but produced a couple of great albums such as “Ritual de lo Habitual.” Even more surreal was the return of the band as well as the reality television popularity achieved by singer Perry Farrell, and, especially, guitarist Dave Navarro.
In fairness, some of the band’s records may sound dated to modern audiences. But to not include Jane’s Addiction because of their effect on alternative music would be massively unfair.
11. Oasis
Oasis‘ Gallagher brothers were champions of the British working class who, for a while, looked and sounded like The Beatles. They even had songs that were nearly as good.
The rise of Oasis was meteoric. Their first two albums, “Definitely Maybe” and “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory”, made them international stars.
The downfall was slow, however. The band received less attention outside of Britain beyond the 2000s, while many of their compositions remained strong. Regardless, Oasis is one of the best alternative bands of all time, and Liam Gallagher might come to my house in the night if I say otherwise.
12. Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails tested just what audiences were willing to accept during the 1990s. Spurred by a bleak, nihilistic worldview and Ministry-inspired industrial rock that reflected these beliefs, Trent Reznor unleashed a vision for his band that was frightening as it was all-conquering.
By the late 1990s numerous influenced bands, like Marilyn Manson, had started to cramp Nine Inch Nails’ style. After delivering a number of beautifully tortured record, Reznor opted to evolve the group’s sound. Nine Inch Nails remain one of the most important alternative bands for what they’ve done and also for what they are doing.
13. The Cure
The Cure is one of the most dependable bands in alternative rock. Like R.E.M. and very few others, Robert Smith’s group has made highly influential, great-sounding albums across multiple decades.
And, while The Cure may always find themselves under the label “gothic rock,” the perfect pop instincts that created singles like “Friday, I’m in Love” or “Lovecats” help them retain their status as one of the best bands in the alternative music space.
14. The Replacements
The Replacements knew how to screw everything up except for a good song. In Paul Westerberg, the band had one of the most talented songwriters of his generation. Between them, The Replacements was a group that could turn out blind drunk to their own shows or deliver moments of pure magic.
Their discography reflects that. They are screw-ups everywhere, and fans of great rock music love them. “Tim” and “Let It Be” are some of the best albums ever made, and not even The Repalcements’ reputation can affect that.
15. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
When Nick Cave started The Bad Seeds, the Australian had earned the reputation of a troublemaker for his part in the beautifully anarchic group The Birthday Party.
The Bad Seeds started out in a similar fashion but gradually moved toward more intellectual, albeit no less dark, territory.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have made more good and great albums than the majority of rock bands, and the Cave is recognized as a global symbol for The Arts.
16. Talking Heads
Talking Heads‘ discography is, practically, a manifesto cocerning alternative rock. Started out in New York during the American dawn of punk-rock, the group shared little with the muscular sound of bands like The Ramones. What they did have in common was a love for the bizarre and a drive to achieve success.
This affection for the unusual meant that Talking Heads’ records became ever more experimental and complex as the years progressed. This didn’t seem to upset regular audiences, however. During the late 1980s, Talking Heads were one of the biggest alternative bands in the world, rivalled only by the likes of R.E.M. or U2, and their status remains unchallenged today.
17. Joy Division
Joy Divison is a band whose imitators are hiding in plain sight. In fact, no other band is as often copied in modern alternative music than this Manchester group led by singer Ian Curtis.
The dark, brooding sound, led by Peter Hook’s basslines and Curtis’ morose lyrics helped spark the post-punk and gothic-rock movements. The fact that Joy Division only recorded two studio albums before succumbing to tragedy lends an air of mystery, naturally. Still, for influence alone, Joy Division is one of the most important alternative bands on the list.
18. The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses, by the time the band hit its peak, made greatness seem effortless. Highly confident, to the point of conflict, Ian Brown and The Stones Roses came armed with a sound that balanced Beatlesque melodies with modern dance music. Their aesthetic, too, recalled the Summer of Love.
For a while, The Stone Roses injected colour into Britain and made millions believe in their greatness. It was over before you knew it, but the lessons were clear. The Madchester scene had been partly started by them, but Britpop would be started because of them.
19. Soundgarden
Soundgarden needn’t have produced “Black Hole Sun” to have on this list. Still, without the “Superunknown” album they’d likely had been lower in our Top 100 Greatest Alternative Bands and Artists.
By the time Chris Cornell and Soundgarden had been accepted by grunge fans, they’d already made sensational, grimey, strange albums such as “Badmotorfinger.” The band had acquired a reputation as being the mix of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath of the rock underground. Yet, this didn’t fully explain experimental nature of some of their musical ideas.
When it was over, after Cornell’s untimely passing, Soundgarden had left behind a powerful, diverse body of work that very few artists can even competently imitate.
20. Beck
Beck is a visionary and one of the artists best equipped to represent alternative music. Willing to shift through genres seamlessly, able to add weirdness that was charming, not repellent, and occasionally able to predict the future of music, Beck could’ve been one of the great cult heroes of his time.
Instead, almost without explanation, Beck’s music became highly successful during the 1990s. He continued switching styles at his fancy, often standing on the cutting edge of whatever was coolest and most daring. While his recent work has been more conventional, it’s no wonder or surprise that Beck should find himself on Alt77’s list.
21. Pearl Jam
22. Alice in Chains
23. New Order
24. The White Stripes
25. Red Hot Chili Peppers
26. PJ Harvey
27. Belle and Sebastian
28. Primal Scream
29. Depeche Mode
30. Dinosaur Jr.
31. The Strokes
32. Rage Against the Machine
33. XTC
34. Blur
35. Sonic Youth
36. Weezer
37. Fugazi
38. The Jesus and Mary Chain
39. The Verve
40. The Smashing Pumpkins
41. Wilco
42. Faith No More
43. The Cramps
44. Modest Mouse
45. The Sisters of Mercy
46. The Offspring
47. My Bloody Valentine
48. Hüsker Dü
49. The B-52’s
50. Suzanne Vega
51. Violent Femmes
52. Morrissey
53. Foo Fighters
54. Wire
55. Muse
56. Liz Phair
57. Butthole Surfers
58. Queens of The Stone Age
59. Pulp
60. Siouxsie & The Banshees
61. Neutral Milk Hotel
62. The Hives
63. The La’s
64. The Breeders
65. Alkaline Trio
66. The Jam
67. Public Image Ltd
68. Stone Temple Pilots
69. Interpol
70. The Black Keys
71. Supergrass
72. Screaming Trees
73. The Libertines
74. Phoenix
75. Fountains of Wayne
76. The Flaming Lips
77. Echo & The Bunnymen
78. Elliott Smith
79. MGMT
80. Bauhaus
81. Spiritualized
82. Mudhoney
83. Kyuss
84. TV On The Radio
85. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
86. Arcade Fire
87. The Walkmen
88. The Dandy Warhols
89. Gang of Four
90. Manic Street Preachers
91. The Stranglers
92. Ride
93. Spoon
94. Love and Rockets
95. Christian Death
96. Sebadoh
97. Spacemen 3
98. The Vines
99. Ty Segall
100. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Looking for a deeper dive? Check out our Greatest Alternative Bands and Artists of All Time Playlist together with Alt77’s other playlists dedicated to alternative music.
Honorable Mentions
101. Big Star
102. The Vaselines
103. Saint Etienne
104. Cocteau Twins
105. The Pretenders
106. Blondie
107. The Shins
108. Arctic Monkeys
109. Death Cab For Cutie
110. Social Distortion
111. The Jayhawks
112. Built To Spill
113. Thee Oh Sees
114. Sufjan Stevens
115. Soul Coughing
116. The The
117. Concrete Blonde
118. Galaxie 500
119. The Feelies
120. Jim Carroll Band
121. Melvins
122. Guided By Voices
123. Marilyn Manson
124. The Killers
125. The Nails
126. The Charlatans
127. The Mission
128. The Housemartins
129. Vampire Weekend
130. The Vaccines
131. The Go-Go’s
132. Talk Talk
133. Peter Murphy
134. Happy Mondays
135. The Bangles
136. Big Wreck
137. Fiona Apple
138. Morphine
139. Daniel Johnston
140. The Dead Milkmen
141. Moby
142. Mad Season
143. The Church
144. Eels
145. Live
146. Klaxons
147. Mando Diao
148. Matthew Sweet
149. Fun Loving Criminals
150. Godsmask
If you’d like to listen to more on the subject, be sure to check out Alt77’s Greatest 100 Alternative Songs of the 1990s. As well, subscribe to Alt77’s Spotify playlists of the songs discussed in these articles.