Alternative Songs

Alternative rock grew out of college radio and the post-punk underground before breaking into the mainstream in the '90s. This page reaches back to the '80s with The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode and Pixies, then moves through the '90s of R.E.M., Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, The Verve and Counting Crows. Pixies' quiet-loud dynamics, in particular, became a blueprint for much of '90s alt-rock.

The 2000s are covered by Coldplay, Muse, Linkin Park's nu-metal crossover, and the emo and pop-punk of My Chemical Romance and Paramore, while Gorillaz, Twenty One Pilots and Imagine Dragons show how far the label has stretched since. The common thread is less a single sound than a sensibility: rock that favors mood, texture and introspection over straightforward swagger. Tap any title to open a list of songs that sit close to it in sound and feel.