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Ranking the very best songs, bands, and musicians of the greatest decade for hit jams.

90s Music

Here are the greatest&nbsp;&#39;90s alternative songs, ranked by fans everywhere. Alternative music first got its start in the 1970s. It emerged from the independent music scene and embodies multiple rock traditions, such as the DIY nature of punk rock. The genre really began to hit its stride in the 1990s when a host of new artists adopted the label and played to sold-out crowds around the United States. Put on your favorite flannel shirt and get ready to throw up the devil horns because these are the most popular &#39;90s alternative songs.&nbsp;

Alternative rock often goes hand-in-hand with other genres. In the &#39;90s, grunge was all the rage. A lot of alternative artists at the time from Nirvana to Soundgarden incorporated grunge into their music style, but they were alternative all the same. One of the most prominent alternative bands of the era was The Smashing Pumpkins, who released&nbsp;Mellon Collie &amp; the Infinite Sadness&nbsp;in 1995. The double album would go on to sell over 10 million copies.&nbsp;

Which of the songs on this list do you remember jamming out to? Proud Gen-Xers will remember a lot of these songs on their high school dance playlists. This list of good &#39;90s alternative songs has some of the defining tracks of the era, so vote for the ones that speak to you.

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Crash Test Dummies

Want to listen to all these songs as a playlist? Switch to &quot;Info View&quot; to get all the videos on one page for easily playability!Ranked in order of preference for their one big hit song. Clearly, there are going to be a lot of artists who had big singles in the '90s and didn't make my list. Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments, but I'm not putting &quot;How Bizarre&quot; on the list...so don't bother asking...NOTE: I'm considering an artist a &quot;one-hit wonder&quot; if they had a big breakout single, and then basically faded from mainstream public view. Many of the artists listed below went on to release other singles (even if only from the album that also featured their big breakthrough hit) and other albums, particularly if you include their respective native countries. Some of them have even built up a devoted or cult following over the years. Many of them are still together. But for the purposes of this list, these are all artists who popped up on pop culture's radar between 1990 and 2000 and haven't really been heard from since.Who is the greatest one-hit wonder of the 1990s? It's up to you to decide.

poll

After checking out the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/top-one-hit-wonders-2010s/jovaughnbrown" target="_blank">most popular one-hit wonders of the 2010s</a>, enjoy this list of the greatest songs by &#39;90s one-hit wonders. Are you looking for your favorite 1990s songs, but don&rsquo;t know who the artist is? Browse through this list of the greatest songs by &#39;90s one-hit wonders to see if your favorite song made the list. Then you can see who the &#39;90s artist is and search for the album to listen to sometime. Ordered from the most popular one-hit song wonders from the &#39;90s to the least popular, you can find some great music by picking from the top of the list. Go ahead and vote for your favorite songs and artists from the &#39;90s as well, and they will get raised higher on the list.

Feel free to copy and paste from the list to make your own list of favorite &#39;90s music. That way, you will never forget the artists to your favorite 1990s songs again! If you don&rsquo;t see your favorite song or artist listed, go ahead and add it to the list. Then others can vote for it and you can see where it ranks on the list of great &#39;90s songs by one-hit wonders. If you need a little inspiration, you can see which <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/biggest-one-hit-wonder-year-born/michelle-nati" target="_blank">one-hit wonder</a> was the biggest from 1975 all the way through 2005!

The &#39;90s brought a change in the style of music. We went from the popular dance music and nostalgic love songs to the more hip-hop and alternative styles of music. Many of the most-loved songs from the 1990s were made by one-hit wonders. Even though these artists only produced one song that made the top 40s, many music enthusiasts will often find other songs from these &#39;90s artists that they enjoy just as much. Look through the list of great &#39;90s music from one-hit wonders to find your favorite songs and artists, and you may even find a new favorite type of music!

No Doubt

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Take a big whiff- &quot;mmmbop&quot;, it smells like the &#39;90s in here! An incredibly eclectic decade for music, the 1990s saw the rise in popularity of new genres and sounds never heard before (and rarely heard better). Bands of the &#39;90s created a unique sound and catchy lyrics in a way that captured the enthusiasm and disillusionment of the era. The &#39;90s bands and solo artists that populate this list cover all musical categories. If you&#39;re still feeling nostalgic, check out the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/fictional-songs-from-the-90s/ranker-music">best fictional &#39;90s songs</a> and the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-songs-by-90s-one-hit-wonders/ranker-music">greatest&nbsp;one hit wonders of the &#39;90s</a>.&nbsp;

From the East Coast/West Coast rap wars, to the grunge era, to low-fi garage rock, to &#39;90s rock bands, the Lilith Fair sound, and the teen pop takeover - 1990s music was rich with experimentation and style. Where else but in the MTV in your head can you find top artists like Nirvana, Wu-Tang Clan, No Doubt, A Tribe Called Quest, Oasis, Bikini Kill and Britney Spears in one place? Whether you were a fan of 90s alternative bands like Blind Melon, you were more dark and brooding and loved grunge music, or you couldn&#39;t get enough of popular, mainstream pop names like the Backstreet Boys, take a moment now and give some of your favorite &#39;90s music artists some love! Who are the most famous &#39;90s bands? Which &#39;90s singers led their groups to become the among best of the decade?

Vote-Up your favorite &#39;90s artists and make sure to add any of your favorites that we left out! &nbsp;

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Automatic for the People

&nbsp;List of the best albums released in the 1990s, from the years 1990 to 1999. These albums span all music genres – though tend to focus largely on <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-genres-of-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">popular music genres</a> like rock, hip-hop, R&amp;B and pop – and cover both new '90s bands that exploded on the scene along with older acts from previous generations that continued making music at the time. The list order is based both on votes and on individual lists made by users – to have the most influence on the rankings, add your own list of favorite '90s albums.Popular trends in the '90s largely carried over from the previous decade, including a fascination with teen pop and dance pop music, along with the growing popularity of hip-hop and rap albums among a mainstream audience. The early 1990s were dominated by the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/west-coast-hip-hop-bands-and-musicians/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">West Coast gangsta rap</a> sound, particularly following the release of Dr. Dre's &quot;The Chronic&quot; in 1992. The mid '90s were notable for the shocking, violent deaths of two of the era's most popular rappers – Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Notorious BIG). Wallace's producer and collaborator, Sean &quot;Puffy&quot; Combs, went on to dominate the mainstream hip-hop charts in the ensuing years.Contemporary R&amp;B and soul – sometimes in the '90s grouped under the term &quot;urban music&quot; – also remained extremely popular with acts such as En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Babyface, and R. Kelly dominating the charts.Rock in the '90s was notable for the explosion of the &quot;grunge&quot; sound in the early part of the decade, with <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/bands-like-nirvana/music-lover?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">bands like Nirvana</a>, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam bringing the grimy, less polished style of the Pacific Northwest to mainstream radio. Later, the grunge trend melded with the popularity of what was termed &quot;alternative rock,&quot; an umbrella term incorporating styles as varied as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, and Sublime. British acts making up the &quot;Britpop&quot; sub-genre of rock, which remained popular throughout the decade, included Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and Supergrass.What are greatest albums of the 90s? Take a look here and you'll see.

Beck Hansen

A list of 90s greats making the best music today. While many of their contemporaries have either fallen to the wayside or split up, these 90s musical artists are managing to go strong nearly 20 years after they first broke onto the musical landscape. These musicians have defied logic and have released music within the past few years, some continuing strong, and others trying to make a last-grasp comeback, while drumming up interest in their music as a nostalgia tactic. This includes many of the musicians are considered to be the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-artists-of-the-_90s">greatest artists of the 90s</a>. This doesn't include 90s greats who currently tour because while they may be prominent on that front, touring without a new album doesn't mean they are making new music today.&nbsp;At or near the top are some of the biggest artists of the decade. Recognizable bands like Pearl Jam, Radiohead and Foo Fighters are among the most reliable groups in music today. They consistently release new material that manage to remain at or near the band's standard of excellence. Also, these bands manage to sell out arenas and stadiums across the globe, which is a testament to their staying power and ability to churn out great new songs. There are rappers on here, like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, along with electronic acts like The Chemical Brothers. In case you were wondering, even boy bands are on here, since after all, they were considered greats at one point to a certain generation of pre-teens and teens during the 1990s.&nbsp;Take a look at this list of 90s greats making the best music today. Remember, only include bands who have made new music this decade. If they've been dormant, there's no need to add them to list. The same goes for greatest hits collections, they don't count. But if you notice someone who is missing, feel free to him, her or them. Vote or rerank the list according to who you think is still making great music among the 90s greats out there.&nbsp;

Rappers

Method Man and Redman

The best '90s rappers and rap groups brought us some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-rap-songs-of-all-time/ranker-hip-hop?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best rap songs of all time</a> with artists like Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and the Notorious B.I.G. dominating the decade. Often described as the &quot;golden age&quot; of hip hop and rap, the 1990s introduced many rappers and rap groups that would go on to become <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/the-greatest-rappers-of-all-time/first-l" target="_blank">the best rappers of all time</a>.During the beginning of the decade, prominent acts and rappers like Ice Cube, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy led the charts as their fame, first established in the 1980s, continued. Each brought something new and interesting to the rap world, such as Ice Cube's 1991 release of &quot;Death Certificate,&quot; which dealt with real-world issues like racism, Los Angeles gangs, and drugs. As the decade continued, one of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-hip-hop-albums?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best rap albums of all time</a> came along in 1992. Dr. Dre's &quot;The Chronic&quot; made the now-legendary producer and rapper's name, along with the name of another up-and-coming rapper, Snoop Dogg, known around the world. Snoop and Dre represented the West Coast of the United States and alongside the late Tupac Shakur and the rest of the Death Row family, these rappers dominated the genre for the next several years. But there was another coast ready to battle for that top spot on the charts.Enter the Bad Boy family from the East Coast with top names like Sean &quot;Puff Daddy&quot; Combs and Christopher &quot;The Notorious B.I.G.&quot; Wallace. These two sides were crucial in the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that not only produced some of the top rap music of the decade but also ultimately ended the lives of 2Pac and Biggie, as both were tragically murdered.All of these rappers and their music influenced and ushered in a new generation of rappers, the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-_00s-rappers/whatevayoulike " target="_blank">best rappers of the 2000s</a>, and put up a good fight for the best decade for rap music ever. Which 90s rapper is your favorite? Vote for the ones you like the best below or add your favorite to the list!

1990s

The <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-albums-of-the-1990s">1990s</a>&nbsp;marked the era of epic girl groups. From major international tour-de-forces like the Spice Girls and&nbsp;TLC&nbsp;to lesser-known names such as Brownstone and Wild Orchid, these females were musical forces to be reckoned with. But what happened to these '90s girl groups, especially&nbsp;'90s&nbsp;girl&nbsp;groups&nbsp;who&nbsp;were&nbsp;one-hit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-songs-by-90s-one-hit-wonders/ranker-music">wonders</a>?Some '90s girl groups who were great <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-songs-by-one-hit-wonders/ranker-music">one-hit wonders</a>&nbsp;arguably became more notorious&nbsp;for the way they split than their music. A few onetime groups splintered into successful solo acts - Wild Orchid yielded Stacy &quot;Fergie&quot; Ferguson, who headed to the Black Eyed Peas not long after. Beyond their music, R&amp;B sensations like 702 and Brownstone featured several eventual stars of reality TV shows. But whether you remember the groups or not, you'll definitely recognize these hits.Vote up your favorites from this list of great songs by '90s girl groups.

Romance

Here are the greatest &#39;90s love songs, ranked by fans everywhere. Ever since people began to fall in love, there have been songs to express those emotions. The &#39;90s certainly had no shortage of songs you would want to turn up smoothly while things were getting hot and heavy. From first dates to first dances, these songs have created memories and allowed couples to show how much they care. The most popular &#39;90s love songs haven&#39;t gotten out-of-date either. You could start playing&nbsp;any song on this list to your beloved and wait for them to swoon.&nbsp;

From pop stars to <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-heavy-metal-bands-that-i-know?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">heavy metal bands</a> showing off their sensitive sides, you will find an eclectic assortment of artists on this list. Each song has its own unique influences, but the one thing they all share is that they were all written from the heart.&nbsp;

This list of classic &#39;90s love songs should provide some inspiration for when you need to turn on some tunes during your next date night. Who needs to Netflix and chill when you can turn on one of these smooth jams? Lovers from all over the world are encouraged to vote for the love songs they like best. What do you play after you light some candles to set the mood?

Are you ready to party like it&#39;s 1999? When it was time to ring in the new millennium, there were plenty of songs to burn onto CDs for the celebration. Once everyone knew they were safe from the Y2K bug, they could dance their butts off while listening to some of the greatest hits of the last decade. The best &#39;90s party songs are still great to throw on a playlist today when you want to throw things back. Which songs from the decade do you still find yourself getting jiggy with?&nbsp;

When you have a &#39;90s themed party on the horizon, what will you play? Will you keep it mostly hip hop oriented with a lot of songs from Puff Daddy and The Fresh Prince? Or are you more of a pop fan? Your party guests will always be down to listen to some Christina Aguilera, Spice Girls, and Backstreet Boys. The songs from your youth are still popular, so bust out those parachute pants to show everyone you are a true &#39;90s kid at heart.&nbsp;

You could make one epic throwback playlist with this list of &#39;90s party songs, which has been voted on by partiers of all ages.&nbsp;

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Singers

Krist Novoselic

We all remember riding around on hot summer days, rocking out to bands like Sugar Ray and Creed. But now we&#39;re older, and whenever someone plays one of those songs, it&#39;s strictly with a grin just to see how long it takes for somebody to complain.

Some of the fellas on this list have carved out a nice career for themselves, like Eddie Vedder or even <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/gallagher-brothers-oasis/melissa-sartore?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the Gallagher brothers</a> of Oasis to a certain extent. Some of these dudes have been treading water for the past decade or so. Everyone loved guys like Adam Duritz, but the years haven&#39;t kind to either one of these rockers.

But where does that leave the famous names behind those songs? Well, they&#39;re kind of screwed.

If you&#39;re making a throwback playlist, then you will definitely need the best pop songs of the &#39;90s. Including <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/90s-songs-that-get-stuck-in-your-head/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">nostalgic hits</a>&nbsp;and old school classics, the list of &#39;90s pop songs features popular artists, like Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Sugar Ray, and Mariah Carey. Take a trip down memory lane with the top pop songs of the 1990s.&nbsp;

Vote up the best &#39;90s pop songs, and add your favorites if they&#39;re missing from the list.

If you're making a throwback playlist, here are <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-r-rated-action-movies-films/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the best R</a>&amp;B songs of the '90s. Including classic slow jams&nbsp;and old school hits, the list of '90s R&amp;B songs features popular artists, like Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, TLC, and K-CI &amp; JoJo. Take a trip down memory lane with the top R&amp;B songs of the '90s.&nbsp;Vote up the best '90s R&amp;B songs, and add your favorites if they're missing from the list.

If you're making a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-throwback-songs-v1/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">throwback playlist</a>, here are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-rap-songs-2020/music-lover?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best rap songs</a> of the '90s. Including hip hop classics&nbsp;and old school hits, the list of '90s rap songs features popular artists, like Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and Lauryn&nbsp;Hill. Take a break from mumble rappers&nbsp;and listen to the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/greatest-hip-hop-songs-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">top hip hop songs</a> of the '90s.&nbsp;Vote up the best '90s rap songs, and add your favorites if they're missing from the list.

Everybody enjoys thowbacks&nbsp;especially when you&#39;re singing&nbsp;the best &#39;90s duets for karaoke night. From R&amp;B classics and ballads to hip hop jams and country hits, this list of famous &#39;90s duet songs has somthing for everyone, including male and female duets. There are also plenty choices for those who rather rap instead of belting out high notes.&nbsp;

Vote up the best duets of the &#39;90s perfect for karaoke, and add your favorites if they&#39;re missing from the list.&nbsp;

From gloomy alternative rock, to wistful R&amp;B, the best sad &#39;90s songs are the Gen-X decade&#39;s answer to the bubbly synthpop and upbeat glam rock of the &#39;80s. This <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/sad-songs-in-german/majafred_n?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">list of sad songs</a> from the 1990s features a variety of depressing tobics.

From heartbreaking&nbsp;tales of loss, such&nbsp;as Eric Clapton&#39;s &quot;Tears in Heaven&quot; and Blink-182&#39;s &quot;Adam&#39;s Song,&quot; to lovelorn ballads like The Backstreet Boys&#39; &quot;Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely,&quot; these tragic tracks are ideal for anyone looking for a good, cathatric cry. There&#39;s no shame in that!

<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-songs-by-90s-one-hit-wonders/ranker-music" target="_blank">One-hit wonders</a>&nbsp;on albums can be a blessing and a curse for an artist. On one hand, having a hit is a great and life-changing thing. On the other hand, if the album fails, oftentimes the artist immediately fades into obscurity. For fans, it can be disappointing when you love a song, but the album it&#39;s on doesn&#39;t deliver as a whole. The &#39;90s and 2000s were full of such albums.

&#39;90s&nbsp;one-hit wonders are a real nostalgic phenomenon nowadays, and it seems like there were too&nbsp;many of them to count - from <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/forgotten-90s-boy-band-hits/carly-silver" target="_blank">boy bands</a> to hip-hop artists to rock groups. Do you remember the feeling you got when you put on Deep Blue Something&#39;s&nbsp;11th Song&nbsp;and realized that &quot;Breakfast At Tiffany&#39;s&quot; was pretty much a catchy anomaly on an album of duds? And let&#39;s be honest, everyone was a little disappointed when they listened to that <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/lou-bega-albums-discography/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Lou Bega album</a> in full after car jamming to &quot;Mambo No. 5.&quot;

Get ready to relive some truly bland moments in music history and vote on the most disappointing albums of the &#39;90s and 2000s.&nbsp;

What are the most underrated &#39;90s songs? These all-too-often overlooked masterpieces from the pre-Y2K era come in a variety of&nbsp;forms, from&nbsp;obscure songs by the decade&#39;s biggest rock stars, to forgotten pop singles from &#39;90s one-hit wonders. Many are simply great songs from the 1990s that, for whatever reason, have never received the acclaim that they deserve.

It&#39;s time to change that, and it&#39;s up to you to give these unappreciated tracks their due.&nbsp;

Do you think Basement Jaxx&#39;s &quot;Red Alert&quot; was ahead of its time? Should &quot;Lovefool&quot; have propelled The Cardigans to lasting international fame?

Vote up the most criminally-underrated &#39;90s songs below, and be sure to add the decade&#39;s best classics&nbsp;that define your random &#39;90s music playlist.

No Diggity

Let's set the mood for this list of '90s slow jam high school dance songs: It’s your first dance. The lights go down, and everyone is stuck against the gymnasium wall. No matter what the book says, there are no perks to being a wallflower. Something needs to happen to get everybody grooving. You can’t do it with the chicken dance, and everyone hates the limbo. Every DJ worth his salt knows the one sure thing to get any party started is a slow jam from the '90s. You can’t fight it, so you might as well give in. No matter what you do, these songs make are going to make you a slave to the rhythm, and you’ll be out on the dance floor until ten minutes past curfew. Try and not get freaky while you check out this list of the ultimate '90s slow dance songs.Admit it, you can’t resist dancing and singing along to songs like “Pony,” “No Diggity,” and “Are You That Somebody.” When those beats hit the speakers, it’s humanly impossible to not bust even the smallest of grooves. If the tracks on this list don’t at least make you bob your head then you may need to get your pulse checked - no anti-R&amp;B zombies up in here. Why are you still reading this when there’s a list of '90s top dance hits percolating for you after the jump?Which slow jam makes you bump 'n' grind the hardest?

Relationships

It&#39;s hard to get over an ex, but the best &#39;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-80s-breakup-songs/ranker-music?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">90s breakup songs</a> can get you through like few other eras of music. What better place could there be to look for angry breakup songs than the&nbsp;age of grunge? Who better to reinvent yourself (or wallow) with than &#39;90s it-girls like Britney Spears?&nbsp;

Whether you favor R&amp;B, alternative rock, or country, this list of good&nbsp;&#39;90s breakup songs has something to help heal your ailing heart.&nbsp;

Music for Your '90s Playlists

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Nostalgia

These 100 bands and artists' music helped define the &quot;alternative&quot; rock era of the '90s and influenced the next generation of indie rock this century.

The Best Alternative &amp; Indie Bands of the 1990s

Best Musicians Lists, Top 10 Bands- Find any Band List at Ranker

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Top Music List: Top 10 Music Lists and Entertaining Rankings

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AMAZON

Nirvana

Nirvana was an American grunge band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Despite releasing only three full-length studio albums in their seven-year career, Nirvana has come to be regarded as one of the most influential and important rock bands of the modern era.
In the late 1980s Nirvana established itself as part of the Seattle grunge scene, releasing its first album Bleach for the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. The band eventually came to develop a sound that relied on dynamic contrasts, often between quiet verses and loud, heavy choruses. After signing to major label DGC Records, Nirvana found unexpected success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit", the first single from the band's second album Nevermind. Nirvana's sudden success widely popularized alternative rock as a whole, and the band's frontman Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation", with Nirvana being considered the "flagship band" of Generation X.

Pixies

The Pixies are an American rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group currently consists of founders Black Francis, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering. Co-founder Kim Deal left in 2013 and was replaced by Kim Shattuck as live bass player for a few months, then by Paz Lenchantin for the band's 2014 tour. The Pixies achieved relatively modest popularity in their home country, but were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and Israel. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances, but reunited in 2004. Despite limited commercial success, their jarring pop sound subsequently influenced bands such as Nirvana, Radiohead, The Strokes, Bush and Weezer.
The band's style of music contains a range of elements, including psychedelia, noise pop, hard rock, surf pop, and surf rock. Black Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer. He has written about a number of offbeat subjects in the band's songs, such as extraterrestrials, surrealism, incest, and biblical violence.
The group is credited with having an influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has comprised Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. The band's fifth member is drummer Matt Cameron, who has been with the band since 1998. Boom Gaspar has also been a session/touring member with the band since 2002. Drummers Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Abbruzzese and Jack Irons are former members of the band.
Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album, Ten, in 1991. One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, over the course of the band's career, its members became noted for their refusal to adhere to traditional music industry practices, including refusing to make proper music videos or give interviews, and engaging in a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
To date, the band has sold nearly 32 million records in the U.S. and an estimated 60 million worldwide.

Radiohead

Radiohead are  an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals) and Philip Selway (drums, percussion). They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994.
After signing to EMI in 1991, Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992. It became a worldwide hit after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Their popularity and critical standing rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), brought them international fame; noted for its complex production and themes of modern alienation, it is often acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s and one of the best albums in popular music. Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), recorded simultaneously, marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating influences from experimental electronic music, 20th-century classical music, krautrock, and jazz. Kid A divided listeners but was named the best album of the decade by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and The Times.
Hail to the Thief (2003) mixed rock and electronic music with lyrics inspired by the War on Terror, and was Radiohead's final album for EMI. Their subsequent releases have pioneered alternative release platforms such as pay-what-you-want and BitTorrent; Radiohead self-released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), as a download for which customers could set their own price, to critical and chart success. Their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011), an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive looping and sampling. A Moon Shaped Pool (2016) prominently featured Jonny Greenwood's orchestral arrangements. Jonny Greenwood, Yorke and Selway have released solo works.
Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide by 2011. Their work places highly in both listener polls and critics' lists of the best music of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins (or Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1988 by frontman Billy Corgan (lead vocals, guitar), D'arcy Wretzky (bass), James Iha (guitar), and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums), the band has undergone many line-up changes. The current lineup features Corgan, Chamberlin, Iha and guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries, they have a diverse, densely layered, and guitar-heavy sound, containing elements of gothic rock, heavy metal, dream pop, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, shoegazing, and electronica in later recordings. Corgan is the group's primary songwriter; his musical ambitions and cathartic lyrics have shaped the band's albums and songs, which have been described as "anguished, bruised reports from Billy Corgan's nightmare-land".The Smashing Pumpkins broke into the musical mainstream with their second album, 1993's Siamese Dream. The group built its audience with extensive touring and their 1995 follow-up, the double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands of the 1990s. However, internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales led to a 2000 break-up.
In 2006, Corgan and Chamberlin reconvened to record a new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist. After touring throughout 2007 and 2008 with a lineup including new guitarist Jeff Schroeder, Chamberlin left the band in early 2009. Later that year, Corgan began a new recording series with a rotating lineup of musicians entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which encompassed the release of stand-alone singles, compilation EP releases, and two full albums that also fell under the project's scope—Oceania in 2012 and Monuments to an Elegy in 2014. Chamberlin and Iha officially rejoined the band in February 2018. The reunited lineup released the album Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. in November 2018.

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Soundgarden

Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear on every album), and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer in 1986, while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990. The band dissolved in 1997 and re-formed in 2010. Following Cornell's suicide in 2017 and a year of uncertainty of the band's future, Thayil declared in an October 2018 interview with Seattle Times that they would not continue as Soundgarden; they did, however, reunite in January 2019 for a one-off concert in tribute to Cornell.
Soundgarden was one of the seminal creators of grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle, and was the first of a number of grunge bands to sign to the record label Sub Pop. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label (A&M Records in 1989), though they did not achieve commercial success until they popularized the genre in the early 1990s with Seattle contemporaries Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana.
Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun". In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction. After more than a decade of working on projects and other bands, Soundgarden reunited in 2010, and Republic Records released their sixth studio album, King Animal two years later.
As of 2012, Soundgarden sold more than 10.5 million records in the United States, and an estimated 25 million worldwide. VH1 ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style, Stipe's distinctive vocal quality and obscure lyrics, Mills's melodic basslines and backing vocals, and Berry's tight, economical style of drumming. R.E.M. released its first single—"Radio Free Europe"—in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.
By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to enter the mainstream, R.E.M. was viewed by subsequent acts such as Nirvana and Pavement as a pioneer of the genre. The band released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound and catapulted it to international fame. R.E.M.'s 1994 release, Monster, was a return to a more rock-oriented sound, but still continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members.
In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. Its 1996 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, though critically acclaimed, fared worse commercially than its predecessors. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Stipe, Buck, and Mills continued the group as a trio. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success, despite having sold more than 85 million records worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, announcing the split on its website.

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne Staley. Starr was replaced by Mike Inez in 1993. William DuVall joined the band in 2006 as co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, replacing Staley, who died in 2002. The band took its name from Staley's previous group, the glam metal band Alice N' Chains.Although widely associated with grunge music, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal elements. Since its formation, Alice in Chains has released six studio albums, three EPs, three live albums, four compilations, two DVDs, 43 music videos, and 32 singles. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell (and later Cantrell and William DuVall). Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on the 1992 acoustic EP Sap, and his role continued to grow in the following albums, making Alice in Chains a two-vocal band.Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 30 million records worldwide, and over 14 million records in the US alone, with two No. 1 albums and six Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. The band has had 18 Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, 5 No. 1 hits, and 11 Grammy Award nominations. Their debut album, Facelift, featuring the hit single "Man in the Box", was released in 1990 and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA, selling over two million copies. In 1992, the band's second album, Dirt, was released to critical acclaim and was certified quadruple platinum. Their second acoustic EP, Jar of Flies, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1994, becoming the first ever EP and first Alice in Chains release to top the charts, and it has been certified triple platinum. The band's third album, Alice in Chains debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1995 and is certified double platinum.Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onwards due to Staley's substance abuse, which resulted in his death in 2002. The band reunited in 2005 for a live benefit show, performing with a number of guest vocalists. They toured in 2006, with William DuVall taking over as lead vocalist full-time. The new line-up released the band's fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue, in 2009, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, received gold certification by the RIAA and two Grammy nominations. The lead single, "Check My Brain", became the first Alice in Chains song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 92. Their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, was released in 2013 and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The band toured extensively and released several videos in support of these albums. Alice in Chains' sixth studio album, Rainier Fog, was released in 2018, debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up.  Jim O'Rourke (guitar) was a member of the band from 1999 to 2005.
Sonic Youth emerged from the experimental no wave art and music scene in New York before evolving into a more conventional rock band and becoming the most prominent of the American noise rock groups. Sonic Youth have been praised for having "redefined what rock guitar could do" using a wide variety of unorthodox guitar tunings and preparing guitars with objects like drum sticks and screwdrivers to alter the instruments' timbre. The band is considered to be a pivotal influence on the alternative and indie rock movements.
After gaining a large underground following and critical praise through releases with SST Records in the late 1980s, the band experienced mainstream success throughout the 1990s and 2000s after signing to major label DGC in 1990 and headlining the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. In 2011, Ranaldo announced that the band was "ending for a while" following the separation of married couple Gordon and Moore. Thurston Moore updated and clarified the position in May 2014: "Sonic Youth is on hiatus. The band is a democracy of sorts, and as long as Kim and I are working out our situation, the band can't really function reasonably." Gordon refers several times in her 2015 autobiography Girl in a Band to the band having "split up".

Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in 1988 in Cleveland, Ohio. Singer, producer and instrumentalist Trent Reznor was the only permanent member until the addition of English musician Atticus Ross in 2016.
Reznor recorded the debut NIN album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), while working as a janitor at a Cleveland recording studio. After feuding with the label TVT Records about promotion, Reznor signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992), with a different sound. Albums The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999) were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Following a hiatus, NIN resumed touring in 2005 and released their fourth album, With Teeth (2005), to further success. Following the release of Year Zero (2007), Reznor left Interscope, saying the label had "ripped off" fans. NIN continued touring and independently released Ghosts I–IV (2008) and The Slip (2008) before a second hiatus. In 2013 NIN released their eighth album, Hesitation Marks (2013), under Columbia Records, followed by the EPs Not The Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album, Bad Witch (2018).
Reznor typically assembles a live band to perform with him. The band has varied over the decades, and as of 2019 includes Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini, and Ilan Rubin. NIN tours often employ thematic visual elements and elaborate light shows, and songs are often rearranged for performance.
NIN have sold over 20 million records and have been nominated for thirteen Grammy Awards, winning for the songs "Wish" and "Happiness in Slavery" in 1992 and 1996 respectively. In 1997 Time named Reznor one of the most influential people, and Spin has described him as "the most vital artist in music". In 2004 Rolling Stone placed NIN at 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. They were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, their first year of eligibility, and again the following year.

Weezer

Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals).
After signing to Geffen Records in 1993, Weezer released its debut self-titled album, also known as the "Blue Album", in 1994. Backed by music videos for the singles "Buddy Holly", "Undone – The Sweater Song", and "Say It Ain't So", the Blue Album became a multiplatinum success. Weezer’s second album, Pinkerton (1996), featuring a darker, more abrasive sound, was a commercial failure and initially received mixed reviews, but went on to achieve cult status and critical acclaim years later. Both the Blue Album and Pinkerton are now frequently cited among the best albums of the 1990s. Following the tour for Pinkerton, bassist Matt Sharp left the band and Weezer went on hiatus.
In 2001, Weezer returned with the "Green Album", with new bassist Mikey Welsh. With a more pop sound, and promoted by singles "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun", the album was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. After the Green Album tour, Welsh left the band and was replaced by current bassist Scott Shriner. Weezer's fourth album, Maladroit (2002), achieved mostly positive reviews, but weaker sales. Make Believe (2005) received mixed reviews, but its single "Beverly Hills" became Weezer's first single to top the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the first to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2008, Weezer released the "Red Album", featuring "TR-808s, synths, Southern rap, and baroque counterpoint". Its lead single, "Pork and Beans", became the third Weezer song to top the Modern Rock Tracks chart, backed by a  Grammy-winning YouTube music video. Raditude (2009) and Hurley (2010) featured more "modern pop production" and songs co-written with other artists, achieved further mixed reviews and moderate sales. The band's ninth and tenth albums, Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014) and the "White Album" (2016), returned to a rock style and achieved more positive reviews. Their eleventh album, Pacific Daydream (2017), featured a more mainstream pop sound. In 2019, Weezer released an album of covers, the "Teal Album", followed by the "Black Album". Weezer has sold 10.2 million albums in the US and over 35 million worldwide.

Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney.
Founded by Farrell and original bass guitarist Eric Avery, following the disintegration of Farrell's previous band Psi Com, Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from the early 1990s alternative rock movement to gain both mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States. Jane's Addiction's first release was a self-titled live album in 1987 and quickly caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records. The band's first two studio albums, Nothing's Shocking (1988) and Ritual de lo habitual (1990), were released to widespread critical acclaim, and an increasing cult fanbase. As a result, Jane's Addiction became icons of what Farrell dubbed the "Alternative Nation". The band's initial farewell tour, in 1991, launched the first Lollapalooza, which has since become a perennial alternative rock festival.
The band briefly reunited in 1997, with Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, replacing Avery on bass guitar. In 2001, a second reunion took place, with Martyn LeNoble—and later Chris Chaney—occupying the role of bass guitarist. In 2003, the band released its third studio album, Strays, before dissolving again the following year.
In 2008, the band's original line-up reunited and embarked on a world tour. Eric Avery, however, subsequently left the band in early 2010 as the group began working on new material. The band released its fourth studio album The Great Escape Artist in 2011, with Chaney returning to the band for its recording and subsequent tour. In 2016, Jane's Addiction were nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Beck

Beck Hansen (born July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide genre styles. Today, he musically encompasses folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 13 studio albums (3 of which were independently released), as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.
Born in Los Angeles in 1970, Beck grew towards hip-hop and folk in his teens and began to perform locally at coffeehouses and clubs. He moved to New York City in 1989 and became involved in the city's small and fiery anti-folk movement. Returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, he cut his breakthrough single "Loser," which became a worldwide hit in 1994, and released his first major album, Mellow Gold, the same year. Odelay, released in 1996, topped critic polls and won several awards. He released the country-influenced, twangy Mutations in 1998, and the funk-infused Midnite Vultures in 1999. The soft-acoustic Sea Change in 2002 showcased a more serious Beck, and 2005's Guero returned to Odelay's sample-based production. The Information in 2006 was inspired by electro-funk, hip hop, and psychedelia; 2008's Modern Guilt was inspired by '60s pop music; and 2014's folk-infused Morning Phase won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards on February 8, 2015. His thirteenth studio album, Colors, was released in October 2017 after a long production process, and won awards for Best Alternative Album and Best Engineered Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. His fourteenth album titled Hyperspace is due in 2019.With a pop art collage of musical styles, oblique and ironic lyrics, and postmodern arrangements incorporating samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and sound effects, Beck has been hailed by critics and the public throughout his musical career as being among the most idiosyncratically creative musicians of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock. Two of Beck's most popular and acclaimed recordings are Odelay and Sea Change, both of which were ranked on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The four-time platinum artist has collaborated with several artists and has made several contributions to soundtracks.

The Cranberries

The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was replaced as lead singer by Dolores O'Riordan in 1990. The band officially classify themselves as an alternative rock group, but incorporate aspects of indie pop, post-punk, Irish folk, and pop rock into their sound.The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, which became a commercial success. The band has sold over 40 million records worldwide (and over 14 million in the US), achieved five top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?; No Need to Argue, To the Faithful Departed, Bury the Hatchet, and Stars: The Best of 1992-2002) as well as having eight top 20 singles on the Modern Rock Tracks chart ("Linger", "Dreams", "Zombie", "Ode to My Family", "Ridiculous Thoughts", "Salvation", "Free to Decide", and "Promises").In early 2009, after a six-year hiatus, the Cranberries reunited and began a North American tour followed by shows in Latin America and Europe. The band recorded their sixth album Roses in May 2011, and released it in February 2012. Something Else, an album covering many of the band's most popular songs along with new orchestral accompaniments provided by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, was released in April 2017. The album also included three new songs: "The Glory", "Rupture" and "Why?"
On 15 January 2018, lead singer Dolores O'Riordan was found dead of drowning in a London hotel room. She had recently arrived in London for a recording session. The Cranberries confirmed in September 2018 that they would not be continuing as a band, releasing their final album In the End in April 2019 and disbanding afterward.  Noel Hogan stated: “the Cranberries was the four of us. We don’t want to do this without Dolores. So we’re going to leave it after this.”

Tool

Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up includes drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist since 1995, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour. Tool has won three Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums topping the charts in several countries.
To date, the band has released four studio albums, one EP and one box set. They emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first studio album, Undertow (1993), and became a dominant act in the alternative metal movement with the release of their follow-up album Ænima in 1996. Their efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of personal evolution continued with Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006), gaining critical acclaim and international commercial success. Their fifth studio album, Fear Inoculum, their first in thirteen years, will be released on August 30, 2019. Prior to its release, the band has sold over 13 million albums in the US alone.Due to Tool's incorporation of visual arts and very long and complex releases, the band is generally described as a style-transcending act and part of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and art rock. The relationship between the band and today's music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by censorship, and the band's insistence on privacy.



Pavement

Pavement was an American indie rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. The group mainly consisted of Stephen Malkmus (vocals and guitar), Scott Kannberg (guitar and vocals), Mark Ibold (bass), Steve West (drums) and Bob Nastanovich (percussion and vocals). Initially conceived as a recording project, the band at first avoided press or live performances, while attracting considerable underground attention with their early releases. Gradually evolving into a more polished band, Pavement recorded five full-length albums and nine EPs over the course of their decade-long career, though they disbanded with some acrimony in 1999 as the members moved on to other projects. In 2010, they undertook a well-received reunion tour, and will perform two 30th anniversary shows in 2020.
Though only briefly brushing the mainstream with the single "Cut Your Hair" in 1994, Pavement was a successful indie rock band. Rather than signing with a major label as many of their 1980s forebears had done, they remained signed to independent labels throughout their career and have often been described as one of the most influential bands to emerge from the American underground in the '90s. Some prominent music critics, such as Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, went so far as to call them the best band of the 1990s. In their career, they also achieved a significant cult following.

Dinosaur Jr

Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name.
The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels earned the band a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock. Creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drum duties on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing four albums thereafter.Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, hearkening back to 1960s and 1970s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.

Fugazi

Fugazi (; foo-GAH-zee) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty.
Fugazi are noted for their unique sound, blending elements of dub/reggae with high energy rock and punk/hardcore-styled guitars, as well as for their approach to the business of music, which found success while avoiding all contact with the corporate music industry. The band, and others from the punk and hardcore scene leading up to the early 1990s, were among the early adopters of what grew to be known as the DIY ethic.
Fugazi have performed numerous worldwide tours and produced six studio albums, a film and a comprehensive live series, gaining the band critical acclaim and success around the world. Fugazi has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2003.

Garbage

Garbage is an American rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1993. The band consists of Scottish musician and lead singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig. All four members are involved in songwriting and production. Garbage has sold over 17 million albums worldwide.The band's eponymous debut album was critically acclaimed upon its release, selling over four million copies and achieving double platinum certification in the UK, US and Australia. It was accompanied by a string of increasingly successful singles from 1995 to 1996, including "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains". Follow-up Version 2.0, released in 1998 after a year in production, was equally successful, topping the UK Albums Chart and receiving two Grammy Award nominations. Garbage followed this by performing and co-producing the theme song to the nineteenth James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999).Despite critical acclaim, Garbage's third album Beautiful Garbage failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors. Garbage quietly disbanded amidst the troubled production of their fourth album Bleed Like Me, but regrouped to complete the album, which was released in 2005 and peaked at a career-high number four in the US. The band cut short their concert tour of Bleed Like Me, announcing an "indefinite hiatus", emphasizing that they had not broken up, but wished to pursue personal interests. The hiatus was briefly interrupted in 2007, when Garbage recorded new tracks for their greatest hits retrospective Absolute Garbage. Garbage ultimately reunited in 2011, and self-released 2012's Not Your Kind of People to positive reviews via their label Stunvolume. Their sixth album Strange Little Birds was released in 2016.

My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine are an alternative rock band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1983. Since 1987, the band's lineup has consisted of founding members Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig, with Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe. Known for their use of distortion, pitch bending, and digital reverse reverb, My Bloody Valentine's musical progression resulted in the band pioneering an alternative rock subgenre known as shoegazing.
Following several membership changes and unsuccessful releases, My Bloody Valentine signed to Creation Records in 1988. The band released a number of successful EPs, including You Made Me Realise, Glider and Tremolo, and two studio albums, Isn't Anything and Loveless on the label. Loveless, which has been described as the band's magnum opus and one of the best albums of the 1990s, was a major critical success. However, the band were dropped by Creation Records after its release due to the album's extensive production costs. In 1992, My Bloody Valentine signed to Island Records and recorded several albums worth of material, although remained largely inactive. Following the departure of Googe and Ó Cíosóig in 1995, My Bloody Valentine later disbanded in 1997.

PJ Harvey

Polly Jean Harvey  (born 9 October 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, writer, artist, poet and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist and saxophone player. The band's frontman, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio and subsequently began her professional career. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. Since 1995, she has released a further nine studio albums with collaborations from various musicians including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey and Eric Drew Feldman and has also worked extensively with record producer Flood.
Among the accolades she has received are the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) and Let England Shake (2011), respectively—the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice—eight Brit Award nominations, seven Grammy Award nominations and two further Mercury Prize nominations. Rolling Stone awarded her 1992's Best New Artist and Best Singer Songwriter and 1995's Artist of the Year, and listed Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love (1995) and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the NME Awards. In June 2013, she was awarded an MBE for services to music.

Elliott Smith

Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument was the guitar, though he also used piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica. Smith had a distinctive vocal style, characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery", and used multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures, and harmonies.
After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994, with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars (KRS). In 1997, he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery"—included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting (1997)—was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1998.Smith was a drinker and drug user, and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depressive disorder. His struggles with drugs and mental illness affected his life and work, and often appeared in his lyrics. In 2003, aged 34, he died in Los Angeles, California, from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted or the result of homicide. At the time of his death, Smith was working on his sixth studio album, From a Basement on the Hill, which was posthumously completed and released in 2004.

Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced by Pavement, Pixies, XTC, and Talking Heads, the band rehearsed, rearranged, and recorded demos for almost two years before finally signing with small-town indie label K Records and releasing numerous singles.Since their 1996 debut This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, the band's lineup has centered on Brock and Green. The band achieved mainstream success with their fourth album Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004) and its singles "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty". Judy performed on every Modest Mouse album until his departure in 2012. Guitarist Johnny Marr (formerly of the Smiths) joined the band in 2006, shortly following percussionist Joe Plummer (formerly of the Black Heart Procession) and multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, to work on the album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007). Guitarist Jim Fairchild joined the band in 2009. The band's sixth album Strangers to Ourselves was released on March 17, 2015.

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born 21 November 1965) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and DJ. Over her four-decade career, she has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on a range of influences and genres spanning electronic, pop, experimental, classical, trip hop, IDM, and avant-garde music.
Born and raised in Reykjavík, she began her music career at age 11 and first gained international recognition as the lead singer of the alternative rock band the Sugarcubes, whose 1987 single "Birthday" was a hit on UK and US indie stations and a favourite among music critics. After the band's breakup, Björk embarked on a solo career in 1993, coming to prominence as a solo artist with albums such as Debut (1993), Post (1995), and Homogenic (1997), while collaborating with a range of artists and exploring a variety of multimedia projects.
Several of Björk's albums have reached the top 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart, the most recent being Vulnicura (2015). Björk has had 31 singles reach the top 40 on pop charts around the world, with 22 top 40 hits in the UK, including the top 10 hits "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me", and "Hyperballad". She is reported to have sold between 20 and 40 million records worldwide as of 2015. She has won the 2010 Polar Music Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in recognition of her "deeply personal music and lyrics, her precise arrangements and her unique voice." Björk was included in Time's 2015 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She was ranked both sixtieth and eighty-first in Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers and songwriters lists respectively. Björk also won five BRIT Awards, and has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards.
Outside her music career, Björk starred in the 2000 Lars von Trier film Dancer in the Dark, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I've Seen It All". Her 2011 album Biophilia was marketed as an interactive app album with its own education program. Björk has also been an advocate for environmental causes in her home country Iceland. A full-scale retrospective exhibition dedicated to Björk was held at the New York Museum of Modern Art in 2015.

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The group recorded several albums and EPs on an indie label, Restless, in the 1980s and early 1990s. After signing to Warner Brothers, they released their first record with Warner, Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992). They later released The Soft Bulletin (1999), which was NME magazine's Album of the Year, and then Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002). In February 2007, they were nominated for a BRIT Award for "Best International Act". The group has won three Grammy Awards, including two for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. They were placed on Q magazine's list of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die" in 2002.

These 100 bands and artists' music helped define the &quot;alternative&quot; rock era of the '90s and influenced the next generation of indie rock this ...