Alternative rock

Alternative rock, often known as alternative music, alt-rock, or just alternative, is a subgenre of rock music that gained popularity in the 1990s and traces its roots back to the independent music scene of the 1970s. The term "alternative" is used to describe the music since it is different from commercial rock and pop. The original, wider use of the word referred to any artists who were affected by the sound or the do-it-yourself spirit of punk rock from the late 1970s.

The sound, social context, and geographical origins of alternative music have historically varied. Noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze were just few of the alternative rock subgenres that gained notoriety and attention in the 1980s thanks to magazine and zine coverage, college radio play, and word of mouth. Since stations like KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and WDRE-FM in New York were playing music from more underground, independent, and non-commercial rock artists, Billboard added "alternative" to their charting system in September 1988 to reflect the rise of the format across radio stations in the United States.

At the outset, various alternative genres received some mainstream attention, and big labels signed a few of acts like R.E.M. and Jane's Addiction. However, most alternative acts stayed with indie record companies and had little coverage in traditional media. Since Nirvana's breakthrough in the early '90s, when grunge and Britpop were at their height, numerous alternative acts have found commercial success.

Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Panic! at the Disco are just a few of the emo bands that achieved multiplatinum success in the 2000s. The financial success of bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes in the early 2000s sparked a new generation of alternative rock acts that took their cues from the sounds of garage rock, post-punk, and new wave.