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

1. Dream Syndicate
2. Husker Du
3. Nirvana
4. The Feelies
5. R.E.M.
6. U2
7. Franz Ferdinand
8. The White Stripes
9. Arcade Fire
10. Interpol
11. Coldplay
12. Matchbox Twenty
13. The Strokes
14. Modest Mouse
15. The Killers
16. Bush
17. Radiohead
18. Mudhoney
19. Camper Van Beethoven
20. The Replacements
21. Garbage
22. Jimmy Eat World
23. The Fray
24. Primal Scream
25. The Presidents of The United States of America
26. Dinosaur Jr.
27. The Jesus and Mary Chain
28. Pearl Jam
29. Soundgarden
30. Linkin Park
31. They Might Be Giants
32. Happy Mondays
33. Foo Fighters
34. The Smiths
35. Nine Inch Nails
36. 10,000 Maniacs
37. Cake
38. The Verve
39. Green Day
40. Jane’s Addiction
41. The Black Keys
42. Counting Crows
43. Soul Asylum
44. Weezer
45. Red Hot Chili Peppers
46. The Smashing Pumpkins
47. Stone Temple Pilots
48. The Cranberries
49. Dave Matthews Band
50. Wilco
51. No Doubt
52. Suede
53. The Lemonheads
54. 30 Seconds To Mars
55. Pixies
56. Muse
57. The Dandy Warhols
58. Cage The Elephant
59. Incubus
60. The Wedding Present
61. Sonic Youth
62. Imagine Dragons
63. Love and Rockets
64. Blur
65. Goo Goo Dolls
66. Three Days Grace
67. Firehose
68. Stereophonics
69. Butthole Surfers
70. Our Lady Peace
71. The Afghan Whigs
72. The Stone Roses
73. Queens of the Stone Age
74. Third Eye Blind
75. Audioslave
76. James
77. Social Distortion
78. Everclear
79. My Chemical Romance
80. Paramore
81. The Cure
82. Pavement
83. 311
84. Echo & The Bunnymen
85. Placebo
86. Kings of Leon
87. Hoobastank
88. Arctic Monkeys
89. Toadies
90. Live
91. Filter
92. Vertical Horizon
93. The All-American Rejects
94. Kasabian
95. Ride
96. The Fall
97. Violent Femmes
98. Pulp
99. Creed
100. The Breeders

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