10 Perfect Albums That Will Make You Love Alternative Rock
2. Murmur - R.E.M.
If there's one outlet to thank for the rise of the alternative side of music, it would have to be college radio stations. Since they didn't have to conform to the usual restrictions that were set on the mainstream outlets, you got bands that were left of the dial playing music that no one had heard before, from the Pixies to the Replacements getting some airtime on the charts. They may have set the standard for college rock, but R.E.M.'s Murmur showed us alt rock's potential to go mainstream.
Which is strange considering how little you're able to get out of this record from just the vocals. Whereas most fans would try to sing along to their favorite tunes, it's borderline impossible to figure out what Michael Stipe is getting at half the time, either mumbling the words or being incomprehensible when he does step up to the mic. What it lacks in lyrical cohesion though it makes up for in melody, as the rest of the band give you some of the most radio friendly hooks ever to be heard on the college rock airwaves.
And this wasn't just a success by alternative standards either, with it being voted one of the best albums of that year on MTV at the same time that Michael Jackson's Thriller was still ruling the airwaves. The '80s pop starlets still had a firm grip on the charts, but just maybe there was a place for the more misfit side of rock and roll in the mainstream.