Music is such a huge industry that many well deserving artists seem to be wrongly pushed aside and hidden from the general masses. The following are a selection of some artists that I believe everyone should give a quick listen to. Music is very personal, so many people won’t agree with some of my selections, however I have selected artists who I think could make it in the mainstream. Oh, and I have put a ‘best songs’ part to the lists, which include firstly the best song off the album shown, then two other songs that are good by the artist.
This first band I probably wouldn’t consider to be too alternative, many people know about this band in England, at least. However this album is so good I had to include it. Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2006, and signed to XL Recordings. The band released their eponymous debut album on January 29, 2008. The album produced brilliantly unique sounding songs such as ‘A-Punk’ and ‘Mansard roof’. Many may recognize the song ‘A-Punk’ as the title song from the Will Farrell film ‘Step Brothers’. The bands genre has been described as Alternative rock, Indie rock, World beat and New wave. I love this album because it brings an excellent, up-beat indie rock feel which many love. The band are a festival favourite, performing exceptional sets at the world famous Glastonbury festival. The band have also brought out a second album called ‘Contra’.
Best songs: ‘A-Punk’, ‘Oxford Comma’, ‘Cousins’.
The Get Up Kids are an American alternative rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, formed in 1995. The band have been described as ‘emo’, but don’t worry we’re not talking ‘all in black’ teen emo, this is deep musical stuff! The band actually try and disassociate themselves with the emo scene, with the lead singer even apologizing for founding the emo scene which, in his words, has ‘developed into nothing more than pretentious glam rock’. The Get Up Kids are truly deserving of being the founding fathers of the punk-emo scene, with their excellent album ‘Something to write home about’ still ‘doing the rounds’ today. The Band just recently performed a 10th anniversary comeback tour celebrating ten years of success of this album. The album boasts twelve brilliantly catchy songs with deep lyrical meaning. The albums best song (in my opinion) is ‘I’m a loner Dottie, a rebel’ which I have to say Is probably one of my all time favorite songs. This album really speaks for itself so give it a listen!
Best songs: ‘I’m a loner Dottie, a rebel’, ‘Overdue’, ‘Campfire Kansas’.
Mumford & Sons are a folk rock band which formed in London, England. The band is made up of Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin), “Country” Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion), and Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass). The band formed in 2007, and contributed to the rising popularity of folk music in young people. Along with artists such as Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Jay Jay Pistolet and Noah and the Whale, this album really captures the powerful genre of folk/rock in a new and enjoyable way. Mumford & sons really translate this genre for the masses, with truly moving songs such as ‘Thistle & weed’ and ‘little lion man’. The album also fulfills the musical needs of the mainstream, with the title track ‘the cave’ which many of my friends who ‘only like rap’ (for some reason) say even they adore. The album is a must have for anyone who loves Folk, and even for people who (like me) don’t particularly like it.
Best songs: ‘The Cave’, ‘Little Lion Man’, ‘Roll Away Your Stone’.
‘The Academy Is…’ are an American alternative rock band from Barrington, Illinois. They formed in 2003, and signed to the ‘Fueled By Ramen’ label. ‘Almost Here’ was the band’s debut album. This is a great album for those who don’t like heavy rock or over complicated tunes. ‘The Academy Is…’ keep it simple in a brilliant way, with lead singer William Beckett bringing wonderful lyrical genius to the equation, followed by simple yet catchy guitar riffs and drumming solos, this album is sure to please. ‘Almost Here’ is a great chill out album.
Best songs: ‘Attention’, ‘Classifieds’, ‘Slow Down’.
Modest Mouse have been around a very long time indeed, they first formed way back in 1993. Today, the band are still going strong and their most popular album, ‘We were dead before the ship sank’, was released on March 20th, 2007, and reached number one on the US Billboard 200 charts, the album spawned the hit single “Dashboard”, as well as “Missed the Boat” and “We’ve Got Everything”. The band have a very iconic style, with lead singer Isaac Brock giving refreshingly unique vocals followed with almost improvised sounding guitar solos. The song ‘The Good Times Are Killing Me’ adds to the improvised feel with moving and talking in the background.
Best songs: ‘Missed the Boat’, ‘Float On’, ‘3rd Planet’.
Jamie Alexander Treays is a 24-year-old English singer/songwriter from Wimbledon, South London. ‘Panic Prevention’ (released on 29th January, 2007) was a huge commercial success in England, with the songs ‘If you got the money’ (which reached number 13 in the charts) and ‘Calm Down Dearest’ (which reached number 9). ‘Back in the Game’ was named as single of the week by DJ Alex Zane. Jamie’s style is a mixture of indie and UK Garage style rap, which culminate in a truly excellent unique style. Jamie won the best solo artist award at the 2007 NME Awards; He also won the 2010 solo artist award for his second album ‘Kings and Queens’.
Best songs: ‘Calm Down Dearest’, ‘Sheila’, ‘Sticks and Stones’.
Taking Back Sunday are probably the most well know band on this list, however many who have heard of them know only a few songs, none of which are on their arguably best album, ‘Where you want to be’. The smooth sounding emotional rock starts heavy with ‘Set phasers To Stun’ to ‘The Union’, until TBS show their delicate side with the brilliant, technically perfect acoustic song ‘New American Classic’. The title track ‘A Decade Under The Influence’ expresses the typical Taking Back Sunday style of neat lyrics and twin vocals, which culminate in a truly brilliant unique sound. Adding to TBS’s unique look is front man Adam Lazzara, who has been praised for impressive stage presence with his trademark moves and mesmerizing mic swinging.
Best songs: ‘A Decade Under The Influence’, ‘Make damn sure’, ‘Cute without the e (cut from the team)’
Passion Pit is also a band many people would have heard of. They are an American electronic band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. They formed in 2007 and their debut EP ‘Chunk of Change’ was released on September 16, 2008. Their first full album ‘Manners’, explores electro synth-pop on an excitingly psychedelic level. The best song on the album ‘sleepyhead’ starts with neat, catchy singing which kicks into erratic keyboard squeals leaving the listener drowned in excellent prismatic tones. This album is perfect for synth and electronic pop lovers.
Best songs: ‘Sleepyhead’, ‘Little Secrets’, ‘To Kingdom Come’.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth. Cape’s debut album, ‘The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’, has been described as an indie/emo fusion. The album was very well received by critics and even made the top 100 albums of 2006 lists of Q and NME, which is admirable for such an alternative artist. Musically, the artistically crafted songs are built around picked acoustic guitar and crisp laptop beats, which are combined in an impressively seamless way. Small segments of cello, violin and cornet prevent the style from appearing too limited. ‘Chronicles’ is a refreshingly upbeat album, sure to please those laid back acoustic/electro lovers.
Best songs: ‘Call Me Ishmael’, ‘War of The Worlds’, ‘Find The Time’.
The Postal Service is an American electronic indie pop band composed of vocalist Ben Gibbard of ‘Death Cab for Cutie’ and producer Jimmy Tamborello of ‘’Dntel, Headset and Figurine’. The band’s debut album, Give Up, was released on February 18, 2003. The albums soft rhythmic beats and up-tempo synthesized tunes, followed by Ben Gibbard’s truly relaxing vocals collaborate for a terrific album. The album’s most well-known single was “Such Great Heights” which brings together interesting lyrics and brilliantly catchy tunes. The album is consistent throughout and, like many albums on this list, produces song after song of excellent material. This is an album truly worthy of the number one spot!
Best songs: ‘Such Great Heights’, ‘The District Sleeps Alone Tonight’, ‘We Will Become Silhouettes’.
Interesting list. Being a music nerd, I had heard of nearly all of these. Only problem is that The Postal Service is the only one I actually like. Of course, Ben could sing the phonebook and make it great.
The most boring list ever! This is a very personal list and not every one in the general listverse community can relate to it. For one I never even heard of any of those bands list. Well I'm glad to see that if I ever send in a *****ty list it can still be published…
I think you are running out of ***** to list. It had to happen sooner or later! I wrote you an email about getting hooked on listverse a little while back, now when I have a workfriend call and say “WTF?” i tell them to go back about ten pages and read back in time from there.
The whole current first page that shows up on screen when you go to listverse is *****.
When i saw “jfraters favorite things” i was excited and clicked immediately..then when i read it i was scratching my head like…oh…um..ok…zzzzzz, so even though this list has a 91% failure rate in the comment section- at least it makes sense to me (with your taste)
Boogie, it isn't that there are no great lists to be created; it's that you gotta do the lists that are important to you. I can think of a bunch of great ideas for lists, but I don't create lists. And nobody else would be really interested in the same things that interest me. Personally, I'd love to see a list of custom-made guitars that great guitarist have used. But who else would want to read that? Doing your own list is a labor of love; doing someone else's list is a chore.
Somebody once suggested that we do a list of the greatest car chases in movies; that's a list I'd love to read. But I'll never have the time or energy to create it, and nobody else seems to find that idea inspiring enough to motivate them to write it up. Still, if anyone would like to write that one I think it would interest a lot of people.
comment section becoming a cesspool for HIPSTERS
Yeah, ain't it great?!?!
Hmmm, no problem with the poster posting a list of his/her preferences, but personally, I think the majority of people can live quite comfortably without these albums. Each contain a song or two that are pretty good, but as albums, I wouldn't recommend them as essentail owning. I don't think these bands are what you'd describe as 'alternative' too.
ok… so… being someone who was in high school and very into music when the term "alternative" was coined, I am rather upset with this list as there seems to be very little "alternative" music on it. I never really did understand what it was the alternative to but… there you go. there is ska and pop and rock and some other decent stuff on here.. And MUMFORD AND SONS?!?! celtic folk is NOT "alternative"!! but (maybe with the exception of passion pit) it's all rock and roll (a blues term for ***** btw) Where are pavement and sonic youth? where is frank zappa?.. Where are the musicians who aren't afraid to put something different on an album? Talking Heads maybe?
If you are going to put together a list at least understand what the list is about and what makes sense on it please!!
Pass, on all of them.
hey Gabby….are you a girl?
Or as we say on this list: Are you an alternative male?
I was already a fan of three of these bands, and had heard of about two more. I quite like Jamie T.’s music so thanks for introducing me to him
. Good list, well written.
I'm sorry that this list kinda sucks. Hard.
THIS LIST SUCKS BALLS
BIG BALLS
Band of Horses is also a must have. Listen to the sond “The Funeral”
I hate bands with weird names and weirder lyrics… I like Flatt & Scruggs. :/
Their band was called The Foggy Mountain Boys. That's not weird at all. Their big signature song was "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." Which sounds like it belongs on the "Scariest Moments in Movie History" list.
Best bluegrass band ever (well, besides Monroe’s, which included them). I could watch Earl Scruggs pluck banjo all day. The guy is awesome.
will you people quit using the word 'alternative' to describe music? it's like saying that the music is somehow more special. but no. this is just hipster rock infused with emo. there's nothing alternative about it, especially since it's some of the most mainstream stuff now
Thank you for making me download Mumford And Sons' Sigh No More. LOVE IT:)
Still no decent definition of what "alternative" really means. We don't even know what it's supposed to be alternative to. Makes me wish we could go back to the beginning of the list and start over with some really searching and helpful comments instead of this tiresome, "So-and-So are great.." stuff. There's a "song" called "Be Careful With That Axe, Eugene." Anybody know it? I think that's really alternative.
A small part of me has died while reading this list.
considering the type of fairly recent 'alternative' music this article is about
Im quite surprised Grizzly Bear isn't on here or arcade fire…
Funny, the songs chosen for the bands I like on this list are hardly what I consider their best. Just their most popular songs.
Can I also add the Black Keys (which are mostly blues-rock) , Arcade Fire, Beck, Cage the Elephant, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (who do some country), MGMT (much like Passion Pit), and Muse? I heard them all on my local Alternative Rock radio station so they all count.
GREAT PLAYLIST i love half these bands, and you've introduced me to 5 new bands to love
Since when is this gay ***** considered alternative? Used to mean something.
I'm sick of all this pansy ass *****.
I'm still confused on why people like Modest Mouse, but whatever bloats your goat. Just because I don't like or agree doesn't make a bad list. I have not heard of 7/10 of these bands, and I am looking forward to not only checking out the bands on the list, but bands in the comments I haven't heard yet. Thank you for the list.
I heard the academy is… some time ago and I thought it was just like the rest of those pop-punk creeps you see on MTV, you know, like Miley Cyrus’ brother and stuff, also taking back sunday, that’s the stuff I used to listen to when I was an angsty teen.
Really, this list is terrible in my opinion, not really that indie if you come to think about it, they’re all pretty well-known bands.
An alt album you should definetly own, in my opinion again, is Philip Selway’s new album Familial, is freaking brilliant.
I've heard of a few of these bands before. It's a good list, for a list basically on opinions. All in all it had some good bands, but I feel like I'm the only person who's ever heard of The Dangerous Summer. Their best album, in my opinion, is Reach For The Sun, but all of their songs are good.
This list blows. Gfunk101 should have done this one:)
This list would have been good if you had included Brand New's "Deja Entendu" album, something by Sunny Day Real Estate, and Taking Back Sunday's "Tell All Your Friends" album, instead of the one you did use. I do totally agree with Give Up though. That's one of the best albums ever.
I was SO happy to see Vampire Weekend and Mumford & Sons.
Two of my favorites!
I've not read every comment on this list yet, so forgive me if they've already been mentioned, but the Dodos most certainly deserve to be elevated.
A small, oddly talented group of musicians.
I agree, they deserve some recognition.
More like "Top 10 mediocre or negligible at best "alternative" albums only a 15 year old could appreciate", apart from a few entries (Vampire Weekend, Postal Service and Modest Mouse, all of them highly overrated).
The picture pulled me in on this one as Taking Back Sunday is one of my top five favorite bands ever. And then I was pleasantly surprised with Get Up Kids and Postal Service. GUK is in my top five as well. =) GREAT list. You have, what seems to be, great taste in music. I'll have to check out the other ones. Thanks!
Yikes, this music sucks. Give me bach(classic), give me nirvana(alternative rock), when did the phrase alternative rock become associated with whiny emo BS. This list is bogus.
Almost Here, yeah! I bought that in August 2006 after hearing one song and I played it on continuation so much the cd is scratched and sadly unlistenable anymore. But I got the album cover autographed by William and Sisky last March when they did an acoustic set in OKC. Was awesome.
Now, come on. How could Radiohead not make the list? I just think that this list was made on the basis of what you like and not what was new and innovative. You might as well just call this list "My Favorite Alt Rock Albums". In which case my favorites are:
Hail to the Thief by Radiohead
Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens
In Utero by Nirvana
Takk… by Sigur Ros
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco
The Devil, You and Me by The Notwist
Alligator by The National
Mutemath by Mutemath
Go Go Smear Poison Ivy by Mum
Now, see there? Those are my favorites. Not the stuff I would put in an article like this (though some of them I would). So, either change the list or change the title because it is misleading.
love the list! A band you would probably be interested in is Kings of Leon they are the best!
excuse you for not adding third eye blind or blink 182 wtffffffff
I adore Mumford and Sons, thanks for putting them on your list
Brand New should b #1 for this list
some suggestions…
at the drive in – acrobatic tenements
mars volta – deloused in the chromatorium
Glassjaw – Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Alkaline Trio – Goddammnit or self titled
not satisfied, could have done sooooooo much better with this list
terrible list.
Personally, I’m fascinated by the gizmos and machines in #1′s video. Who figures out how to make that stuff work? It’s mind-blowing…
These are not alternative rock…
where’s my bloody valentine – loveless?
Loved this list. Had heard of Vampire Weekend and Mumford and Sons (who are household names in the UK), but none of the others.
I *really* reccomend Mumford and Sons – The Cave, Little Lion Man, and Dustbowl Dance are all beautiful.
Okay, I was expecting to see Antics by Interpol….
Name
??? Where’s Fall Out Boy? Starting from #1 and downwards each of the positions hould be FOB albums.
I really think that Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago should have been on this list. Sure it’s a slower, more folk album but it definitely changed the way that I see music.
cousins wasnt on vampire weekends first album
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mmmm Postal Service I wish theyed make another album…
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All of these bands suck.
Is This It by The Strokes should be here! And Kid A by Radiohead
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