Green Day　

Out of all the post-Nirvana alternative bands to break into the pop mainstream, Green Day were second only to Pearl Jam in terms of influence. At their core, Green Day were simply punk rev ..more

Linkin Park　

Although rooted in alternative metal, Linkin Park became one of the most successful acts of the 2000s by welcoming elements of hip-hop, modern rock, and atmospheric electronica into their music. Th ..more

Red Hot Chili Peppers　

Red Hot Chili Peppers was once called a mixture-rock band for its diversity of music styles. Fusing rock, funk, punk and rap into one, the pioneering modern rock band looks set to go on with its 20 ..more

Nirvana　

Prior to Nirvana, alternative music was consigned to specialty sections of record stores, and major labels considered it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off. After the band’s second album, 199 ..more

Depeche Mode　

Originally a product of Britain’s new romantic movement, Depeche Mode went on to become the quintessential electro pop band of the 1980s. One of the first acts to establish a musical identity based ..more

New Order　

Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 198 ..more

XTC　

XTC was one of the smartest -- and catchiest -- British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late ’70s. From the tense, jerky riffs of their early singles to the ..more

Pearl Jam　

Pearl Jam rose from the ashes of Mother Love Bone to become the most popular American rock ＆ roll band of the ’90s. After Mother Love Bone’s vocalist, Andrew Wood, overdosed on heroin in 1 ..more

SUM 41　

Talking Heads　

This eclectic, sometimes eccentric, and highly acclaimed rock band was formed in early ’70s when David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth met at the Rhode Island School of Design. Almost 10 years s ..more

R.E.M.　

R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, Radio Free Europe, was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American und ..more

The Cure　

Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late ’70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure. Led through numerous incarnations by guitarist/vocalist R ..more

NOFX　

Formed in Berkeley, California, in 1983 and relocating to Los Angeles not long afterwards, NOFX steered clear of major labels and commercial exposure over the course of their career, recording an i ..more

Dream Academy　

The appropriately named Dream Academy, an English folk-rock trio who hit it big in the early 1980s with the bucolic, Baroque pop single Life in a Northern Town, formed in London in 1983 around th ..more

Fairground Attraction　

British neo-skiffle pop quartet led by singer Eddi Reader (b.Aug 28, 1959, Glasgow, Scotland) and featuring guitarist Mark Nevin, guitaron player Simon Edwards, and drummer Roy Dodds. The ..more

Blink 182　

California trio blink-182 is the most popular band to emerge from the post-Green Day mainstream explosion of pop-punk. At a time when competition with teen pop and nu-metal were not unheard of, ..more

Wilco　

Debuting as a rough-and-tumble alt-country act and evolving into a mature and eclectic indie rock ensemble, Wilco rose from the ashes of the seminal roots rock band Uncle Tupelo, which disbanded ..more

THE DAMNED　

With punk’s history having entered a new millennium, the impact of the band initially judged the least likely to seems to grow ever more each day. The Ramones hold deserved pride of place for kic ..more

Sonic Youth　

Sonic Youth were one of the most unlikely success stories of underground American rock in the ’80s. Where contemporaries R.E.M. and Husker Du were fairly conventional in terms of song structu ..more

The Clash　

The Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers. Where the Pistols were nihilistic, the Clash were fiery and ideal ..more