30 alternative albums turning 30 in 2024

Between 1991's Badmotorfinger, playing Lollapalooza 1992, and successful slots opening for anyone who would ask them, Soundgarden was poised to break wide open. Released on March 8th, Superunknown did just that. Many of the band's punkier influences are less apparent and replaced with psychedlia, but the doom and gloom remains. Widely regarded as Soundgarden's best album, no music collection is complete without it.

We couldn't have seen it at the time, but March 8th, 1994 was a big day for music. Nine Inch Nails released their second full length, The Downward Spiral, on the same day as Soundgarden's Superunknown. How often does that happen? Trent Reznor and friends posted up in the Sharon Tate Murder House (where they also recorded the Broken EP) and recorded a multi-layered, textural, industrial opus that was far away from the dark synth-pop of Pretty Hate Machine. Selling over 4 million copies in the United States alone, the album set the template for hundreds of imposters to copy for the rest of the decade.

After hearing the band's smash single, "Seether", you'd be forgiven for writing them off as a clone of the Breeders. American Thighs was released on Minty Fresh, but through the strength of "Seether" they got the attention of Geffen Records, who scooped them up and re-released the album (and paid for a couple videos). A full listen of the album reveals more than what's on the surface, showing layers of thick guitars and sickly sweet harmonized vocals, revealing the pop underbelly beneath. 

Calling Johnny Cash "alternative" may seem like a stretch, but it should be noted that by the '90s, his popularity had come and gone a few times. While the music industry had more or less written off Cash, Rick Rubin urged him to record an album of stripped-down songs, featuring just Cash and his guitar. American Recordings brought Cash a new, younger audience, and provided something other than the hyper-processed country that was in vogue at the time.

The '80s kicked it off with great soundtracks, but the 90s perfected it (and also those dubious "music inspired by" collections). Whether you want goth rock, industrial, grunge, groove metal, post hardcore, shoegaze, or something else, The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack has you covered, and it all hangs together remarkably well. If that wasn't enough, it has one of the best songs The Cure ever recorded.

A lot of ink has been spilled about Courtney Love and her status as a musician, a mother, a wife, and a widow. Whatever your opinion of Love, Hole's second album, Live Through This, is a dynamic and ferocious record. In light of her husband's death, the album accidentally becomes a study in grief and survival. Hole would never reach this commercial — or creative — height again, so if you only have one Hole album in your collection, it should be this one.

Northern Ireland's Therapy? finally shed all traces of their noise-rock beginnings on 1994's Troublegum, in their arc to fully realize their Metallica-meets-Depeche Mode sound, which fully came to fruition on 1995's Infernal Love. While Troublegum didn't chart in the U.S., it was showered with accolades in the U.K., which is rare for an album about suiċide, unrequited love, and masturbatiōn. While the album has dark themes, it counterbalanced those with hooks for days. They never really reached above cult status in the U.S., but they're still making consistently great records 35 years into their career.

"F*ċk it, seven songs is enough for an album," guitarist Jerry Cantrell quips on the behind-the-scenes content of the home video Music Box. While technically an EP, it did peak at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, earn two Grammy nominations, and was certified 4x platinum in the U.S. If that weren't enough, Jar of Flies (along with 1992's Sap) was highly influential, sparking the trend of bands changing it up by releasing acoustic EPs to show off their range. Alice In Chains' darkness is still there, just expressing heaviness in another way.

March 8th, 1994 not only brought heavy hitters from Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails, it also brought the second album from L.A. alt-rock band Failure. The California trio were on their way to their high-water mark, 1996's Fantastic Planet, but on Magnified they began incorporating a more pop sensibility in their lyrics, with a heavy distorted bass. While critical reception was harsh, this album was still a favorite with their fans.

Pearl Jam's Vitalogy was the second-fastest selling album of all time; the first-fastest selling was their 1993 album, Vs. Between 1992 and 1994, there were few bands bigger than Pearl Jam, who were able to throw their weight around by vowing to stop making music videos and taking on Ticketmaster (and ultimately losing). Vitalogy is the band stretching out and veering close to folk rock while also courting hardcore (or, as close as they're ever going to get to it), and the bare-bones production is a refreshing change from (what some people think) is their overproduced debut, Ten.

Speaking of the rare band that was bigger than Pearl Jam in 1994, here's the biggest. MTV Unplugged in New York is certified 8x platinum in the U.S., and it's a grim reminder that an artist's death bolsters sales exponentially. The only Nirvana release that exceeds this one is Nevermind (Certified Diamond, in excess of 10 million copies sold), but when the album is released in a new edition every five years, it's to be expected. When Nirvana was announced as appearing on MTV Unplugged, many wondered how it could be pulled off. The result is a performance with some significant reworkings filled out with a lot of cover songs, but it's also a touching, raw, and intimate look at a band that so many felt they knew, but probably didn't.

Industrial rock band Stabbing Westward started in 1985, but didn't sign with Columbia for their debut until 1993. Despite slots opening for Depeche Mode and Killing Joke, Ungod did not sell a huge amount of copies. Thirty years later, they've still only sold about 150,000. Don't let that detract you — it's a dark and brooding piece that's still worth a listen. The band learned the key to selling albums was leaning out of the industrial sound, and by the time of their 2002 breakup, they were closer to Creed than Nine Inch Nails. But fear not, they reformed in 2016 with a renewed love of synths and drum machines.

Do you vote with your wallet? If you do, would you go back in time and stop yourself from buying Definitely Maybe so you wouldn't have to hear about the Gallagher brothers sniping at each other for the last three decades? If you did, you'd miss out on some competently made Beatles pastiche work. You'd also miss out on Liam Gallagher calling Noel Gallagher "a potato." At any rate, Definitely Maybe was a smashing success, and although it only scored single platinum in the U.S., it went 8x platinum in the United Kingdom.

While all the newer industrial bands were pushing their way to the front, a certain number of the old heads were getting out of the way. Chris Connelly made his bones collaborating with Ministry and RevCo, but back in 1991 he started carving out a solo career in the vein of a dark David Bowie. On his third solo album, Shipwreck, he stretches himself even further while exploring personal themes of loss. The result is catchy, yet harrowing; beautiful, yet haunting. Shipwreck is a great addition to any '90s collection, even if you never heard it back in the day.

York, Pennsylvania's Live blew open their career with their second album, Throwing Copper. With five singles, the album sold over 8 million copies, but the band was never able to repeat this commercial (or critical) success. They were immediately beset upon by personal and musical differences, but they kept the lineup going until 2009 — and then they really fell apart. It's an incredibly consistent album (depending on your thoughts on the treatment of "placenta"), but if you don't already have it, do yourself a favor and pick up the 25th anniversary edition. This version includes the previously unreleased "Hold Me Up" (featured in Zack and Miri Make a Porno), and their set from Woodstock '94.

While punk rock never really completely goes away, there are few who would argue against crediting Green Day as bringing it to the mainstream as grunge was walking out the door. As they say, major labels abhor a vacuum. Green Day became a household name (despite a lead single saying "masturbatiōn" in the lyrics) on their third album, with some help from major label Reprise/Warner. The album came out in February, but didn't really break big until June, which makes sense because punk is a "summertime" genre if there ever was one. The album sold over 10 million copies in the U.S., and ushered in a new era of pop-oriented punk.

The Offspring were following close behind Green Day, with their third album, Smash. The album became the first album on Epitaph to go gold and platinum, and at that time became the highest selling independent album. Not unlike Dookie, the album was released in April, but took some time to get moving and didn't really hit big until the fall of 1994. Smash was a little harder-edged, but still sold over 6 million copies in the U.S., which helped them get signed to Columbia, where they put out a seemingly never-ending stream of bad novelty songs.

While Green Day and Offspring were breaking through, Bad Religion had already been around for 14 years and were releasing their eighth album, Stranger Than Fiction, their first for Atlantic Records (although Atlantic re-issued their prior album, Recipe For Hate). While Bad Religion didn't manage to sell millions, or even one million, Stranger Than Fiction is one of their more popular albums. The singles "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected" still get played today. While they didn't break through in a major way like the young'uns behind them, they still paved the way for those bands and managed to release four albums over six years on Atlantic, which is almost unheard of for a major label.

What exactly was R.E.M. up to leading into 1994's Monster? I'm not sure anyone knows. After the prior two albums experimenting with acoustic instruments and pianos, this might be considered their "back to basics" record. The reception was mixed, and the album was the last one to match sales of their prior two, and copies littered the used CD bins for years. That being said, the singles still performed well, and even "Star 69" which was not released as a single, still peaked at 74 on the Billboard chart.

With their roots in hardcore and hip hop, to say nothing of "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)", uniquely primed the Beastie Boys for a post-Rage Against the Machine and post-Judgment Night Soundtrack musical landscape. Lead single "Sabotage", with its ironic Spike Jonez video was inescapable four months before the album's release. Although it sold less than half of their debut, Licensed to Ill, it is still regarded as one of their best albums.

Bush came flying out of the gate, following the path beaten down by grunge, Nirvana in particular. When Sixteen Stone was released, the band got a lot of flack for aping Nirvana in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death. Truthfully, the album was recorded months before that. While reception was mostly positive, there were some detractors. Hindsight being 20/20, today the album is a competent grunge pastiche. Fans in the U.S. scooped it up (6 million-[plus copies), but in their native U.K., the reception was decidedly more chilly. All the same, when not taken too seriously, it is a fun listen.

On L7's third album (or fourth, depending on how you count 1991's Smell the Magic), the band strays from the heavy grunge of their breakthrough, Bricks Are Heavy. While there are definitely heavy moments, Hungry For Stink explores different guitar tunings, and expands on their musical toybox with samples and keyboards (courtesy of Faith No More's Roddy Bottum). While this album may not be the highest regarded in their catalog, their aggressive feminist anthems remain.

Odds are very good you've never heard this one. Course of Empire were briefly labelmates with Tool and Matthew Sweet, before Zoo Entertainment went under. Initation was their sole album for the label, but it seems they were given free rein to do whatever they want. In the '90s, hidden tracks on CDs became pretty common place, but Course of Empire managed three. One in the pre-gap, one at the end, and another buried in distortion that could only be heard on a mono stereo system. Course of Empire were a mix of Killing Joke, big-band music (without the horns), a slice of prog, and a dash of T. Rex-styled glam. They managed three albums on three labels, but like many of their contemporaries, they were done in by major-label chicanery.

Stone Temple Pilots' Purple was very nearly as successful as their 1992 debut, Core. Their sophomore album saw the band moving away from grunge and more into psychedelia and blues, which also meant they were dodging their earlier comparisons to Pearl Jam. Purple debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for three weeks. Substance-abuse issues would start to affect lead singer Scott Weiland, and the band wouldn't reach this height of popularity again.

Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Meat Puppets had been playing their unique brand of cowpunk and alt rock since 1980. They broke big with Too High To Die, no doubt helped by their appearance with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged. Lead single "Backwater" was their most successful single, and they returned to the underground shortly after that. While they didn't move the units they did in 1994, Too High To Die casts a long shadow over the decade as it is still regarded as one of the best rock albums of the decade.

Take everything in this list so far: Slow acceptance of debut album, struggling under major-label indifference, unstable lineups, Toadies had it all. Rubberneck was released in August of 1994, but didn't go gold until 1995, and took until 1996 to go platinum. The combination of a fairly popular video for "Possum Kingdom" and relentless touring allowed them to grind on, releasing five singles over two years, which is unheard of, especially when none of them did nearly as well as "Possum Kingdom". By the time their followup was released in 2001, it was too late, but if one felt so inclined it would be worth it to track down all of the b-sides that appeared on soundtracks between their debut and Hell Below, Stars Above.

The Reverend Horton Heat is ostensibly a psychobilly band. To describe it in layman's terms, it sounds like if metal was invented in 1959, and it's coming out of a classic Ford pickup, and the pickup is on fire, and every time it goes around a corner, crushed PBR cans fall out. Also, the devil is riding shotgun. The Rev's third album was his first for Interscope and was produced by Ministry's Al Jourgensen. You may have heard songs from this album in the games Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, and the film... Free Willy 3: The Rescue.

Detroit's Sponge had a real moment exiting 1994 and entering 1995. Releasing Rotting Piñata in August 1994 made them a little too late to have a summer hit, but instead the singles carried over into the next year to give them their summer hit. As a result, they toured with any and everyone the could, which helped push their debut to selling over 500,000 copies. Soon, however, things would fall apart for Sponge. Despite having well-reviewed follow-up albums, the interest just wasn't there from the fans. Even still, Rotting Piñata remains a fun hard-rock album today.

The Jesus Lizard were a band that just could not sell out. It's not that they didn't try, there just weren't enough freaks and weirdos picking up what they were putting down. Even a split single with Nirvana in 1993 did practically nothing for their profile. What else was there to do other than do what they do best? The band released Down, a 40-minute slab of frantic and unsettling noise rock. The next year they'd sign with Capitol Records, but again, the move did nothing for them. But we'll always have Down.

Mark Lanegan's second album was recorded over four years in bits and pieces in between commitments with Screaming Trees. While the frustration almost caused Lanegan to hurl the master tapes of Whiskey for the Holy Ghost into a river, fortunately he didn't because the result was one of the best-regarded albums in his discography. This is the beginning of Lanegan's dark blues journey that his fans love so much.