Essential "alternative" albums?

gtbrown77

Always looking for a new direction to go in building my music collection I find myself coming back to the "alternative" genre time and time again. For the most part, I have all standards - Pearl Jam, STP, Nirvana, Pumpkins, REM, AIC, Soundgarden, RATM, etc. But I know there are a LOT more out there, and just wondering what some of the essential albums (or artists) are in your opinions. Thanks.

Matt Lukin

Well, I'm not sure what the exact definition of "alternative" is, but I'll try and give you some good records that I like.

Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Pixies - Doolittle
Pixies - Bossanova
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth - Sister
Sonic Youth - Dirty
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
Minus the Bear - Menos El Oso

Not much, but I really enjoy all these records.

red mos

Sonic youth- murray street
Eagles of death Metal- peace love and death metal (came out in 2004 but it is a great album)
Bush- sixteen stone
STP- Purple
Pixies- Surfa Rosa
Soul Asylum- Grave Dancer's union
Candlebox- The self titled album
Toadies- Rubberneck

gtbrown77

Matt Lukin wrote:

Well, I'm not sure what the exact definition of "alternative" is, but I'll try and give you some good records that I like.

Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Pixies - Doolittle
Pixies - Bossanova
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth - Sister
Sonic Youth - Dirty
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
Minus the Bear - Menos El Oso

Not much, but I really enjoy all these records.

Maybe a more appropriate title would be "modern rock". For anybody in/around Chicago, the kind of stuff they play on Q101.

That being said Matt Lukin, your suggestions def. fit into what I'm looking for (I'm guessing by the Pixies and Sonic Youth recommendations anyway)

NakedClown

LIVE - Throwing Copper
Counting Crows - August and Everything After
Seven Mary Three - American Standard

(Those three albums - and PJ - got me through high school)

Echoes

gtbrown77 wrote:

Maybe a more appropriate title would be "modern rock". For anybody in/around Chicago, the kind of stuff they play on Q101.

That being said Matt Lukin, your suggestions def. fit into what I'm looking for (I'm guessing by the Pixies and Sonic Youth recommendations anyway)

Modern rock is hardly alternative anymore, though

anyways, a liten to a lot of "alternative" music, so here's my picks

Pixies - Doolittle
Sonic Youth - Dirty
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Guided By Voices - Aline Lanes
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked rain
Buikt To Spill - Perfect From now On
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
Boris - Akuma No Uta
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Mogwai - Young Team
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead\Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Shugo Tokumaru - Night Piece
Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennaes To Heaven
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Slint - Spiderland
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Minus The Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
New Pornographers - Mass Romantic

A big list, as always, but I'll expand on any one of them, and they are all pretty damn fantastic albums

reeferchief

I'll list some bands and albums for ya

Eleven - Thunk
Local H - As Good As Dead
Local H - Here Comes The Zoo
Dinosaur Jr, every album is fucking brilliant
The Lemonheads, again every album
The Pixies, Again every album
Mudhoney, see the above three bands for referance
Blind Melon, see above
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
The Arcade Fire - Funeral

check em out.

Eraserhead

Echoes wrote:

Arcade Fire - Funeral
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennaes To Heaven
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Those are the correct answers.

MJSB74

Truly-Fast Stories From Kid Coma. Sounds like Soundgarden shagging The Doors. But in a good way. This record went largely unnoticed when released in 95, but any reviews ive seen for it have been 5 out of 5. Essential listening.

transplant

Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle
Sugar - Copper Blue
Dismemberment Plan - Emergency and I
Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime
Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice
Husker Du - Flip Your Wig
M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent

Westernsky

I think you need to go back a little further and throw in some 80's essentials to get a better overall "alternative" picture. . .

Joy Division - Substance (a good sampler)
Replacements - Tim/Pleased to meet me
The Cure - Head on the Door/Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me
Husker Du - Zen Arcade/Candy Apple Grey
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
The Smiths - Hatful of hollow/Queen is dead
Bob Mould - Workbook
Television - Marquee Moon
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sugarcubes - Life's too good
Jesus & Mary Chain - Automatic
Pixies - Surfer Rosa/Doolittle
Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll
Janes Addiction - Janes Addiction XXX
Yo La Tengo - Painful

. . . and this is some of the other -alternative- stuff that was out there in the 90s:
Luna - Lunapark (1992)
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
Dinosaur Jr - Where you been (1993)
Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (1993)
Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (1992)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Now I got Worry (1996)

Echoes

ahhh shit how could I forget the Jesus and Mary Chain, Dismemberment Plan, and Yo La Tengo, and not mention Talk Talk. Those bands are pretty much essential

bucket1988

Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
Live - Throwing Copper (its aleady been mentioned but its awesome)
Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends
Temple of the Dog - Self-titled (although I assume you already have this)
Collective Soul - Self-titled

UKDave

Arcade Fire - Funeral
Beck - Odelay
Blind Melon - Blind Melon
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Nick Cave - Abattoir Blues / Lyre Of Orpheus
eels - Beautiful Freak
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's
Strokes - Is This It
White Stripes - any

Enjoy!!

karma defect

I would have to recommand you the following

Mogwai - Come on die young
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
Blonde redhead - Misery is a butterfly
June of '44 - Four great points
Explosion in the sky - The earth is not a cold and dead place
Malcolm Middleton - Into the woods
Mars volta - De-loused in the comatorium
The Dresden dolls - The Dresden dolls
Tom McRea - Tom McRea
Damien Rice - "O"
dEUS - In a bar under the sea
dEUS - The ideal crash
The Broken social scene - You forget it in people
The Black keys - Rubber factory
Motorpsycho - Trust us
Motorpsycho - Blissard

catefrances

MJSB74 wrote:

Truly-Fast Stories From Kid Coma. Sounds like Soundgarden shagging The Doors........

i'd like to see....oops.. hear that.

Alessiana

Echoes wrote:

Modern rock is hardly alternative anymore, though

anyways, a liten to a lot of "alternative" music, so here's my picks

Pixies - Doolittle
Sonic Youth - Dirty
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
Guided By Voices - Aline Lanes
Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked rain
Buikt To Spill - Perfect From now On
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
Boris - Akuma No Uta
At The Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Talking Heads - Remain In Light
Mogwai - Young Team
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead\Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Shugo Tokumaru - Night Piece
Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennaes To Heaven
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Slint - Spiderland
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Minus The Bear - Highly Refined Pirates
New Pornographers - Mass Romantic

A big list, as always, but I'll expand on any one of them, and they are all pretty damn fantastic albums

wow, great *great* choices. Drop none of these but add

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

Broken Social Scene - You forget it in people

dredge - el clielo (god, I CANNOT recommend this strongly enough.. gaaah might be my favorite album of the decade)

The Mars Volta - Deloused and In the Creamtorium AND Frances The Mute (think Led Zepplin meets... oh man uhm... jazz? no uh, latin america? no uh... just get it) FYI - this band was started by two geniuses from At The Drive-In after that band imploded.

Arcade Fire's EP - which was re-released last year

People In Planes - I like them... just picked up the CD, think "system of a down vocal harmonies over alt rock music"

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - Source Tags & Codes but anything by them will do. I love their latest, "Worlds Apart".

Explosions in The Sky - anything and everything. all instrumental but wow

last but Not least, the CD which has been eaten by my m.fucking room:

Porcupine Tree's Deadwing (think musical orgasms from a master art rock composer). GOD I HAVE TO FIND THIS ALBUM!

::stabs wall::

Give me my fucking CD you *bitch*, she wails.

>
.

intodeep

transplant wrote:

Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle

Lots of good answers on here, but this albums deserves more love. It is great

mrwalkerb

not sure how "alternative" this is but London Calling is essential in every sense of the word. and throw in some social D as wel as REM's entire output from 1992-1996

kdpjam

psychedelic furs, pavement, the replacements, the cure, modest mouse, my morning jacket, the smiths, the flaming lips, sebadoh, guided by voices.......ETC

Echoes

Alessiana wrote:

wow, great *great* choices. Drop none of these but add

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

Broken Social Scene - You forget it in people

dredge - el clielo (god, I CANNOT recommend this strongly enough.. gaaah might be my favorite album of the decade)

The Mars Volta - Deloused and In the Creamtorium AND Frances The Mute (think Led Zepplin meets... oh man uhm... jazz? no uh, latin america? no uh... just get it) FYI - this band was started by two geniuses from At The Drive-In after that band imploded.

Arcade Fire's EP - which was re-released last year

People In Planes - I like them... just picked up the CD, think "system of a down vocal harmonies over alt rock music"

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - Source Tags & Codes but anything by them will do. I love their latest, "Worlds Apart".

Explosions in The Sky - anything and everything. all instrumental but wow

last but Not least, the CD which has been eaten by my m.fucking room:

Porcupine Tree's Deadwing (think musical orgasms from a master art rock composer). GOD I HAVE TO FIND THIS ALBUM!

I wouldn't consider the Wolf Parade album "essential," but "Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts" -> "I'll Believe In Anything" is beyond awesome and possibly the best 2-song transition of last year.

BSS is amazing, should belong there too. I don't know if I could consider The Mars Volta in that list, but if I put them on it would only be the first album. Frances the Mute was just too empty for me. I like the first song, really like the last song, but the middle 3 songs just did nothing for me at all.

Dredg and Porcupine Tree are both good, but I just haven't listened to them enough, I guess, so I don't really know them all that well.

EiTS is excellent too, I can't see how I forogt The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, which is my favourite by them, since it is sitting on my shelf right in front of me. The Arcade Fire EP has some good songs but isn't anything superb.

redsdisease

Fugazi- 13 Songs, The Repeater, Red Medicine etc.
Mudhoney- Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and March to Fuzz
The Meat Puppets- Too High to Die
Mission of Burma- Vs.
Morphine- Like Swimming
The Presidents of the United States- The Presidents I and II
Primus- Frizzle Fry
Q and Not U- No Kill Beep Beep/ Power
The Minutemen- Double Nickels on the Dime
At The Drive-In- In/ Casino/ Out
Sonic Youth- Evol, Siter, Daydream Nation, Dirty, Sonic Nurse etc.

Alessiana

Echoes wrote:

I wouldn't consider the Wolf Parade album "essential," but "Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts" -> "I'll Believe In Anything" is beyond awesome and possibly the best 2-song transition of last year.

BSS is amazing, should belong there too. I don't know if I could consider The Mars Volta in that list, but if I put them on it would only be the first album. Frances the Mute was just too empty for me. I like the first song, really like the last song, but the middle 3 songs just did nothing for me at all.

Dredg and Porcupine Tree are both good, but I just haven't listened to them enough, I guess, so I don't really know them all that well.

EiTS is excellent too, I can't see how I forogt The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, which is my favourite by them, since it is sitting on my shelf right in front of me. The Arcade Fire EP has some good songs but isn't anything superb.

I guess I'm not as precise as you are. For example, how could PIP be considered essential when they're as new as they are? I just like their SOAD vocal meets QOTSA vibe thing, and I'm not much of a QOTSA fan either.

I do think Wolf Parade are essential but perhaps that album needs another year out and about for it to percolate. Neil Young's influence has such a long reach it touches multiple styles. I love this CD. They sold out last night where I live or I would have been there and taping SNL instead of suffering between songs.

El Cielo is... indescribable. Please you must pick this up, listen for a few weeks and get back to me/us. As a complete work I love el cielo more then either of PJ's last two albums.

Porcupine Tree have been around for more then 10 years but their last two CDs show an amazing application of art rock songwriting chops. Not that the composer didn't have the ability before, but he's more focused now. I don't think anyone working in that form at present is as brilliant as he is. Deadwing may take time to assimilate if the style is off putting. But when you're listening to a 12 minute song and 3 minutes into the bridge you realize the composer isn't finished with his variations... I dunno. It fucking blew me away. The numbers are estimates as I don't have the CD (fucking bitch room), and I can't remember the titles of the songs but maaaan.

.

Echoes

Alright, I'll download El Cielo or pick it up if I see it used at the shop this week. I hear lots of good stuff about it.

I didn't think I was that precise really, I was just giving my reasoning on what you mentioned, heh.

Alessiana

Echoes wrote:

Alright, I'll download El Cielo or pick it up if I see it used at the shop this week. I hear lots of good stuff about it.

I didn't think I was that precise really, I was just giving my reasoning on what you mentioned, heh.

mmmffppphhhtt

You have to get it. I'm DYING dying DYing dyING d.y.i.n.g to talk to you about it, but ya gotta promise to give it time iffen you don't like it right off.

.

Seelos

Came across the band Downface they have been mistaken as AIC and PJ on their song Alone. Has a great Grunge sound.
Blind Melon, All of their stuff
Death Cab for Cutie, John Byrdd EP
Postal Service

I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions

Tnerb248

did someone really say gin blossoms??


-brent

Echoes

Seelos wrote:

Came across the band Downface they have been mistaken as AIC and PJ on their song Alone. Has a great Grunge sound.
Blind Melon, All of their stuff
Death Cab for Cutie, John Byrdd EP
Postal Service

I'll have to check out some of the other suggestions

Eh Blind Melon I'll pass on, but if you want to lay down a DCFC album, it is probably best to use Transatlanticism or The Photo Album instead of a short live EP. The Postal Service was okay but had a lot of flops on it. A few great tracks, though

Ynkryggen

I like to list all albums/masterpieces by SWANS and all SWANS related projects. And also Akron/Family and Angels Of Light.

How about that?!?!?

Echoes

I dunno, I haven't listened to either of them

Seelos

I agree that DCFC has better albums than the John Byrdd EP, I guess I really like the line where he says something about not doing what he wanted to do being a short stop and instead is stuck doing this shit. It puts a smile on my face whenever it surfaces on my ipod. I also really dig Pavement, and my friend recently turned me onto The Black Keys.