Top 100 Alternative Rock Songs

Before alternative was a household term, bands like , The Cure , and R.E.M. were building a blueprint based on jangle pop, post-punk, and introspective lyrics. Key tracks defining this era include Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (1980), R.E.M.'s "Radio Free Europe" (1981), and The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" (1984). The Grunge & 90s Explosion

Alternative went softer, weirder, and more introspective. TOP 100 ALTERNATIVE ROCK SONGS

The 2000s answer to Let It Bleed . A frantic, funk-punk-reggae hybrid about lycanthropy. It sounds like nothing before or since. Before alternative was a household term, bands like

While America was grungy, Britain was swaggering. Before alternative was a household term

The Seattle sound blew the doors off.

isn't just a song. It is the sound of the alternative nation discovering itself in the dark.