15 Most Underrated Hard Rock Bands Of All Time

By the time the mid-80's rolled around, the punk and new wave genres were slowly melding together to create the alternative boom that we know today. While R.E.M. was the first sign of alternative music breaking through to the public, Husker Du stood apart from their contemporaries as a punk outfit with alternative tendencies.

For most of their early work, the band was deeply entrenched in hardcore punk, with many of their songs being sonic assaults on the senses. As the band ventured forward though, they started to incorporate different melodic layers into their sound on albums like New Day Rising and Candy Apple Grey. Songs like "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" or "I Apologize" could have easily been hits, but as time passed, the band's music tended to fall by the wayside.

Ironically enough, the grunge explosion that would happen shortly afterward ended up taking a lot of cues from the sounds that Husker Du had more or less trademarked. Nowadays, frontman Bob Mould has turned into the Forefather of Modern Indie Rock, as he continues to deliver his hard-edged melodies in his solo material. Being at the top of the charts may not have been in the cards, but if you've heard any pop punk, grunge, or alternative act in the past 20 years, you've heard a little slice of Husker Du's magic.