10 Most Iconic Alternative Rock Albums

Over the course of history, alternative music has meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. As far as the business is concerned these days, it tends to favor any type of music that gets on the charts that can be described as "experimental" compared to the starlets of the world. In the late '80s though, the Pixies found their niche by making pop music with an indie edge.

Then again, it would be hard to picture the pop stylings of something like Debaser getting on the radio any time soon. Although Frank Black always had a taste for the zany sounds of rock and roll, the hooks on these songs are still absolutely amazing, with Monkey Gone to Heaven having a sinister edge and Here Comes Your Man being the greatest slice of indie pop to come out before the waves of alternative crashed into the shore.

There's also the sudden dynamic shifts in every one of these songs, with tracks like Gouge Away practically writing the manual on how to write an alt rock song, being used by everyone from Soundgarden to Stone Temple Pilots to Bush. Even though the Pixies were never quite able to dominate the competition once the '90s rolled around, nothing can take away from this little nugget of indie rock joy.