10 Most Iconic Alternative Rock Albums

It's pretty much impossible to talk about the alternative revolution and not bring up the foundational movement known as grunge. Although the Seattle scene may not have intended on crossing the threshold into the mainstream, the likes of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were integral in wiping hair metal off the map and ushering in a new wave of authentic rock and roll. If you had to distill this sound into one album though, you can't really do much better than Nevermind.

Granted, it's almost not even fair, considering the songs that Kurt Cobain had to work with here. Whereas other alt-rock acts had their fair share of radio ready singles, any song off of this record would be enough to sustain any other act's entire career, with the shimmering sounds of Come As You Are playing off the snideness of something like In Bloom. Even though songs like Jeremy and Black Hole Sun have their moments, Smells Like Teen Spirit is still one of the greatest songs of the era by reigniting rock music on MTV.

Past the handful of singles, the deeper cuts like Something in the Way still spoke to legions of fans, bringing together anyone who had ever felt ostracized in their own adolescence. It's probably not as artistic as In Utero, and it might not even be the best Nirvana album, but without Nevermind, none of the alt-rock we know today would be here.