10 Rock Albums That Were Ahead Of Their Time

10. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

The 80's will forever be remembered as a glorious neon-colored age for music. No matter what genre you were into, everything in this decade sounded absolutely massive from the drum sounds to the glittering keyboards underneath every other instrument. The scene was so concerned with their grand soundscapes that many seem to sidestep Violent Femmes' indie debut.

The Femmes are certainly not unknowns by any stretch, with songs like "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Blister In the Sun" becoming fixtures of the alternative rock scene. However, the band doesn't seem to get enough credit for launching the indie rock boom long before people were ready for it. Even though bands like the Pixies and R.E.M. were already paving the way for the alternative scene, those acts still felt like products of the 80's first and foremost.

With its ramshackle performances and blemished production, this is an 80's album whose heart belongs in the 90's. Ironically, the rest of the world seemed to think that too, with much of the band's famous songs gaining traction during the alternative explosion years after they had been released. Violent Femmes were not the first alternative band out there, but in terms of the typical alternative sound, they are the true antecedents for the 90's scene.