Music Sound

This is a timeline of alternative rock, from its beginnings in the 1970s to the present.

1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979 - 1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - See also

1976

• Newly formed bands
  • The Cure
    Siouxsie & the Banshees
    U2
    XTC

• Events
  • Rodney Bingenheimer, the DJ for the popular Los Angeles modern rock station KROQ begins hosting his midnight show Rodney on the ROQ.

1977

• Newly formed bands
  • The Feelies
    X

1978

• Newly formed bands
  • Bauhaus
    Echo and the Bunnymen
    Public Image Ltd.
    Pulp

• Events
  • Manchester journalist and nightclub manager Tony Wilson founds Factory Records
    Rough Trade Records is founded.

1979

• Newly formed bands
  • Cocteau Twins
    Hüsker Dü
    The Replacements
    Social Distortion

• Events
  • Bauhaus release their single for "Bela Lugosi's Dead", which is generally viewed as the first ever gothic rock song
    Touch and Go is founded

1980

• Newly formed bands
  • Depeche Mode
    Minutemen
    Mission of Burma
    Meat Puppets
    New Order
    R.E.M.
    The Sisters of Mercy

• Albums
  • Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
    Echo and the Bunnymen - Crocodiles
    The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms

• Events
  • The first ever countdown by KROQ takes place.
    Sub Pop is founded as the fanzine Subterranean Pop.
    Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis hangs himself, the rest of the band continue as New Order.

1981

• Newly formed bands
  • 10,000 Maniacs
    Dream Syndicate
    Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
    Sonic Youth
    Violent Femmes

• Albums
  • Bauhaus - Mask
    New Order - Movement

1982

• Newly formed bands
  • Beat Happening
    Big Black
    Butthole Surfers
    Faith No More
    Guadalcanal Diary
    The Pogues
    The Smiths
    Spacemen 3

• Albums
  • Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out
    The Cure - Pornography
    Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
    Mission of Burma - Vs.
    R.E.M. - Chronic Town EP
    Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth
    Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes

• Events
  • The Haçienda nightclub opens in Manchester, England.

1983

• Newly formed bands
  • American Music Club
    Camper Van Beethoven
    Dinosaur Jr
    The Flaming Lips
    Green River - considered to be the first ever grunge band
    The Housemartins
    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
    Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Soul Asylum
    They Might Be Giants
    Throwing Muses

• Disbandments
  • Bauhaus
  • Mission of Burma

• Albums
  • Bauhaus - Burning from the Inside
    Big Black - Bulldozer EP
    Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels
    New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
    R.E.M. - Murmur
    Sonic Youth - Confusion Is Sex

• Events
  • WFNX, one of the first commercial stations to play alternative rock, begins broadcasting.
    WOXY, located outside of Cincinnati in Oxford, Ohio, begins broadcasting alternative rock in September 1983, billing itself as "97X: The Future of Rock and Roll". According to WOXY's website, it was the nation's sixth alternative rock station.
    R.E.M.'s album Murmur is named Rolling Stone's best album of 1983.

1984

• Newly formed bands
  • Jane's Addiction
    The Jesus and Mary Chain
    Lemonheads
    The Melvins
    My Bloody Valentine
    Primal Scream
    Soundgarden
    The Wedding Present
    Ween
    Yo La Tengo

• Albums
  • Cocteau Twins - Treasure
    Guadalcanal Diary - Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man
    Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade
    R.E.M. - Reckoning
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers
    The Replacements - Let It Be
    The Smiths - The Smiths
    Violent Femmes - Hallowed Ground
    Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
    Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

• Events
  • Alan McGee founds the label Creation Records

1985

• Newly formed bands
  • Guided by Voices
    The Happy Mondays
    Love and Rockets
    The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
    Pussy Galore
    Screaming Trees
    The Stone Roses

• Disbandments
  • Minutemen

• Albums
  • Big Black - Atomizer
    Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
    Butthole Surfers - Psychic...Powerless...Another Man's Sac
    Camper Van Beethoven - Telephone Free Landslide Victory
    The Cure - The Head on the Door
    Dinosaur Jr. - Dinosaur
    Faith No More - We Care a Lot
    Green River - Come on Down
    Hüsker Dü - Flip Your Wig
    Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising
    The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
    Love and Rockets - Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven
    Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun
    New Order - Low-Life
    Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Talk about the Weather
    R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction
    The Replacements - Tim
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley
    Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always
    The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
    Sonic Youth - Bad Moon Rising

• Events
  • The Minutemen's D. Boon dies in a car crash on December 22nd.
  • The Feelies reunite.

1986

• Newly formed bands
  • The Afghan Whigs
    Galaxie 500
    Goo Goo Dolls
    The La's
    Manic Street Preachers (as Betty Blue)
    No Doubt
    Pixies
    Primus
    The Sugarcubes

• Albums
  • Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse
    The Feelies - The Good Earths
    Guadalcanal Diary - Jamboree
    Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey
    Love and Rockets - Express
    New Order - Brotherhood
    R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant
    The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
    Sonic Youth - EVOL
    They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants
    Violent Femmes - The Blind Leading the Naked
    XTC - Skylarking

• Events
  • MTV begins airing 120 Minutes, a program devoted to videos by alternative artists
    NME magazine releases the C86 cassette compilation as a premium, which becomes an important release in British indie rock.

1987

• Newly formed bands
  • Alice in Chains
    Fugazi
    The Jesus Lizard
    Local H
    Nirvana
    Slint
    Uncle Tupelo

• Disbandments
  • Hüsker Dü
  • The Smiths

• Albums
  • 10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
    Big Black - Songs About Fucking
    Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
    The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
    Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me
    Faith No More - Introduce Yourself
    Guadalcanal Diary - 2X4
    Hüsker Dü - Warehouse: Songs and Stories
    The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
    Love and Rockets - Earth, Sun, Moon
    Pixies - Come on Pilgrim
    Primal Scream - Sonic Flower Groove
    R.E.M. - Document (breakthrough)
    The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
    The Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
    The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
    Sonic Youth - Sister

• Events
  • R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" unexpectedly becomes a Top Ten hit on the America pop charts, helping to increase alternative rock's mainstream profile and earning the band a major label deal.

1988

• Newly formed bands
  • Better Than Ezra
    The Boo Radleys
    The Breeders
    Green Day
    Live
    Lush
    Mother Love Bone
    Mudhoney
    Nine Inch Nails
    Ride
    The Smashing Pumpkins

• Disbandments
  • Big Black
  • Green River
  • The Housemartins

• Albums
  • Butthole Surfers - Hairway to Steven
    Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
    The Feelies - Only Life
    Fugazi - Fugazi (EP)
    The Happy Mondays - Bummed
    Robyn Hitchcock - Globe of Frogs
    Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
    Morrissey - Viva Hate
    Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff EP
    Peter Murphy - Love Hysteria
    My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
    R.E.M. - Green
    Pixies - Surfer Rosa
    Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
    Soundgarden - Ultramega OK
    The Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good
    They Might Be Giants - Lincoln

• Events
  • Mother Love Bone and Mudhoney form from members of Green River after they break up.
  • Sub Pop begins the Sub Pop Singles Club
  • Hillel Slovak, guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers dies from a heroin overdose
  • Rolling Stone names R.E.M. "America's Best Rock 'n' Roll Band" and places them on the cover.

1989

• Newly formed bands
  • Blind Melon
    Blur
    Hole
    Mazzy Star
    Neutral Milk Hotel
    Pavement
    Radiohead
    Sebadoh
    Spiritualized
    Suede
    Superchunk
    Teenage Fanclub
    Toadies
    The Verve

• Disbandments
  • Guadalcanal Diary
  • Dream Syndicate

• Albums
  • The Cure - Disintegration
    Faith No More - The Real Thing (breakthrough)
    The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic
    Goo Goo Dolls - Jed
    Guadalcanal Diary - Flip-Flop
    Fugazi - Margin Walker EP
    Love and Rockets - Love and Rockets
    Meat Puppets - Monsters
    Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
    Nirvana - Bleach
    Pixies - Doolittle
    Primal Scream - Primal Scream
    Slint - Tweez
    Soundgarden - Louder than Love
    The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk
    Violent Femmes - 3

• Events
  • New Order, Public Image Ltd., and the Sugarcubes embark on the "Monsters of Alternative Rock" tour.
    Matador Records is founded.

1990

• Newly formed bands
  • Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
    Pearl Jam
    Rage Against the Machine
    School of Fish
    Stone Temple Pilots
    Tool

• Disbandments
  • Camper Van Beethoven
  • Mother Love Bone

• Albums
  • The Breeders - Pod
    Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
    Fugazi - Repeater
    Goo Goo Dolls - Hold Me Up
    The Happy Mondays - Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches
    Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
    The La's - The La's
    Morrissey - Bona Drag
    Mother Love Bone - Apple
    Peter Murphy - Deep
    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son
    Pixies - Bossanova
    Ride - Nowhere
    The Sisters of Mercy - Vision Thing
    Social Distortion - Social Distortion
    Sonic Youth - Goo

• Events
  • Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone is found dead.
    The KROQ Acoustic Christmas concert airs for the first time.

1991

• Newly formed bands
  • Bush
    Candlebox
    Luna
    Luscious Jackson
    Oasis
    Sponge
    Stereolab

• Disbandments
  • Galaxie 500
  • Jane's Addiction
  • The Replacements
  • Spacemen 3

• Albums
  • Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind
    Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing
    The Jesus Lizard - Goat
    Morrissey - Kill Uncle
    My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
    Nirvana - Nevermind (breakthrough)
    Pearl Jam - Ten (breakthrough)
    Pixies - Trompe le Monde
    Primal Scream - Screamadelica
    Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
    R.E.M. - Out of Time
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (breakthrough)
    School of Fish - School of Fish
    Slint - Spiderland
    The Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
    Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (breakthrough)
    Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque
    Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
    Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona
    U2 - Achtung Baby
    Violent Femmes - Why Do Birds Sing?

• Events
  • Nirvana releases Nevermind, popularizing grunge in the mainstream, especially due to the hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
    Temple of the Dog, made up of members of Soundgarden and the newly formed Pearl Jam, releases their only album as a tribute to Andrew Wood.
    The first ever Lollapalooza takes place.
    The first Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is given out.
    The term riot grrrl is coined by Alison Wolfe of Bratmobile.
    In a legendary Manic Street Preachers interview by NME journalist Steve Lamacq (a man known for despising anything he sees as hype or contrivance), Richey James Edwards carved the words "4 Real" into his arm with a razor blade to prove the band's sincerity in music.

1992

• Newly formed bands
  • Elastica
    Everclear
    Our Lady Peace
    Silverchair
    Soul Coughing
    Stereophonics (as Tragic Love Company)
    Weezer

• Disbandments
  • The Feelies
  • The Happy Mondays
  • Pixies
  • The Sugarcubes

• Albums
  • Alice in Chains - Dirt
    Alice in Chains - Sap EP
    Blind Melon - Blind Melon (breakthrough)
    Faith No More - Angel Dust
    PJ Harvey - Dry
    The Jesus and Mary Chain - Honey's Dead
    The Jesus Lizard - Liar
    Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorists
    Morrissey - Your Arsenal
    Nine Inch Nails - Broken EP
    Nirvana - Incesticide
    Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
    R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
    Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
    Sonic Youth - Dirty
    Soul Asylum - Grave Dancer's Union (breakthrough)
    Stone Temple Pilots - Core
    Sugar - Copper Blue
    Ween - Pure Guava

• Events
  • Alternative rock fully breaks into the American mainstream consciousness, as albums and singles by bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains, R.E.M., Soul Asylum, and Nine Inch Nails reach the Top 40 of the Billboard charts.
    The grunge speak hoax appears in the November 15 issue of The New York Times.
    Trent Reznor founds Nothing Records.
    The movie Singles is released.
    The movie 1991 - The Year Punk Broke is released.
    Merge Records is founded by members of Superchunk

1993

• Newly formed bands
  • Black Grape
    Filter
    Folk Implosion
    Garbage
    Modest Mouse
    Jimmy Eat World
    Porno for Pyros
    Soul Coughing
    Super Furry Animals
    Veruca Salt

• Disbandments
  • Public Image Ltd.

• Albums
  • Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
    The Breeders - Last Splash (breakthrough)
    Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon
    Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been
    The Flaming Lips - Transmissions from the Satellite Heart
    Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker
    Goo Goo Dolls - Superstar Carwash
    Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
    PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
    Manic Street Preachers - Gold Against the Soul
    Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
    Nirvana - In Utero
    Pearl Jam - Vs.
    Porno for Pyros - Porno for Pyros
    Primus - Pork Soda
    Radiohead - Pablo Honey
    The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream (breakthrough)
    Suede - Suede

• Events
  • The first ever KROQ Weenie Roast concert airs for the first time.
    Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder appears on the cover of the October 25th issue of TIME Magazine as part of their feature article on the rising popularity of the grunge movement
    Nirvana plays MTV Unplugged on November 18.
    Mazzy Star has some success with the single "Fade Into You", becoming the biggest hit for dream pop in the mainstream.

1994

• Newly formed bands
  • Foo Fighters
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
    Muse (as Rocket Baby Dolls)
    Sigur Rós
    Sleater-Kinney
    Snow Patrol
    Supergrass

• Disbandments
  • Nirvana
  • Uncle Tupelo

• Albums
  • Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies EP
    Beck - Mellow Gold (breakthrough)
    Blur - Parklife
    Bush - Sixteen Stone
    Dinosaur Jr. - Without a Sound
    Green Day - Dookie (breakthrough)
    Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand
    Hole - Live Through This (breakthrough)
    Jeff Buckley - Grace
    The Jesus and Mary Chain - Stoned & Dethroned
    Live - Throwing Copper
    Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
    Meat Puppets - Too High to Die
    Morrissey - Vauxhall and I
    Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (most commercially successful album)
    Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York
    Oasis - Definitely Maybe
    Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
    Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
    Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give Up
    Pulp - His 'n' Hers
    R.E.M - Monster
    Soundgarden - Superunknown
    The Stone Roses - Second Coming
    Stone Temple Pilots - Purple
    Suede - Dog Man Star
    Toadies - Rubberneck (breakthrough)
    Ween - Chocolate and Cheese
    Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album)

• Events
  • Kurt Cobain of Nirvana dies on April 5th; his body is found April 8th.
    Kristen Pfaff of Hole dies on June 16.
    Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" becomes a hit single; some cite it as the last major hit of the grunge era.
    Beck's "Loser" becomes a hit single.
    The Offspring releases Smash, becoming one of the best selling albums from an independent record label of all time. Along with the release of Green Day's Dookie, it repopularizes punk rock in the mainstream.
    The term post-rock is coined by Simon Reynolds to describe the music of the likes of Stereolab and Disco Inferno
    Manic Street Preachers' Richey James Edwards is admitted to a psychiatric hospital around the release of The Holy Bible and misses some shows.
    The acclaimed Anderson/Butler songwriting partnership of Suede is ended when Butler is fired from the band by Anderson.
    Weezer hits it big with "Undone (The Sweater Song)" and "Buddy Holly". The music video for Buddy Holly is included on the Windows 95 operating system disc.

1995

• Newly formed bands
  • Days of the New
    Matthew Good Band
    Mogwai
    The Rentals
    Wilco

• Disbandments
  • American Music Club
  • Meat Puppets

• Albums
  • Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains
    Better Than Ezra - Deluxe
    Black Grape - It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah
    Blur - The Great Escape
    Dishwalla - Pet Your Friends (breakthrough)
    Elastica - Elastica
    Faith No More - King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime
    The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic
    Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
    Fugazi - Red Medicine
    Garbage - Garbage
    Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo (breakthrough)
    Green Day - Insomniac
    PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
    Mad Season - Above
    Matthew Good Band - Last of the Ghetto Astronauts
    Morrissey - Southpaw Grammar
    Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
    Pavement - Wowee Zowee
    Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl
    Pulp - Different Class (breakthrough)
    Radiohead - The Bends
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - One Hot Minute
    The Rentals - Return Of (The Rentals)
    Silverchair - Frogstomp
    The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
    Sonic Youth - Washing Machine
    Wilco - A.M.

• Events
  • Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon is found dead on October 21.
    Ska becomes popular, with bands such as No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Sublime seeing commercial success.
    Mad Season, a band made up of members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and the Screaming Trees, forms and breaks up in the same year.
    Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers disappears on February 1.
    The "Battle of Britpop" occurs between Blur and Oasis when they release their "Country House" and "Roll With It" singles on the same day.

1996

• Newly formed bands
  • A
    Belle & Sebastian

• Disbandments
  • The Pogues
  • Screaming Trees
  • Siouxsie & the Banshees
  • The Stone Roses

• Albums
  • Beck - Odelay
    Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
    Better Than Ezra - Friction, Baby
    Bush - Razorblade Suitcase
    Butthole Surfers - Electriclarryland (breakthrough)
    Local H - As Good as Dead (breakthrough)
    Kula Shaker - K
    Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (first album as a three-piece)
    Nirvana - From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
    Pearl Jam - No Code
    Porno for Pyros - Good God's Urge
    R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
    Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
    Soundgarden - Down on the Upside (final album)
    Weezer - Pinkerton
    Wilco - Being There

• Events
  • The Smashing Pumpkins' touring keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin dies on July 12. Subsequently, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin is fired and the band continues as a three-piece until Chamberlin's return in 1999.
    Alice in Chains makes their last appearance on MTV Unplugged.
    Hype!, a documentary about the grunge scene of the early 1990s, is released.
    R.E.M. sign a new deal with Warner Bros. worth $80 million. At the time, it was the largest record contract in history.

1997

• Newly formed bands
  • Coldplay
    Death Cab For Cutie
    The Shins
    The White Stripes

• Disbandments
  • Cocteau Twins
  • Porno for Pyros
  • Soundgarden - believed by many to signal the end of grunge's mainstream success.
  • Throwing Muses

• Albums
  • A - How Ace Are Buildings
    Blur - Blur
    Dinosaur Jr. - Hand It Over
    Everclear - So Much for the Afterglow
    Faith No More - Album of the Year
    Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
    Green Day - Nimrod
    Matthew Good Band - Underdogs
    Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
    Morrissey - Maladjusted
    Oasis - Be Here Now
    Pavement - Brighten the Corners
    Primal Scream - Vanishing Point
    Primus - Brown Album
    Radiohead - OK Computer
    Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
    Stereophonics - Word Gets Around
    Suede - Coming Up

• Events
  • Jane's Addiction reunites; later that year, they disband again.
    On hiatus while Scott Weiland is in rehab, members of Stone Temple Pilots form Talkshow; the new band lasts for only a short time.
    Solo artist Jeff Buckley dies on 29 May as a result of accidental drowning in the Mississippi River.
    R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry announces his retirement; the rest of the band continue as a three-piece.

1998

• Newly formed bands
  • Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    Doves
    Interpol
    The Cooper Temple Clause

• Disbandments
  • Black Grape
  • Faith No More
  • Lush

• Albums
  • Beck - Mutations
    Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap
    Better Than Ezra - How Does Your Garden Grow?
    Fugazi - End Hits
    Jerry Cantrell - Boggy Depot
    Garbage - Version 2.0
    Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl
    Hole - Celebrity Skin
    Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
    Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
    Pearl Jam - Yield
    R.E.M. - Up
    The Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
    Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
    Soul Coughing - El Oso (final album)

• Events
  • For the first year since it began, Lollapalooza does not take place, and goes on hiatus for 6 years.
  • Bauhaus reunite.

1999

• Newly formed bands
  • Broken Social Scene
    A Perfect Circle
    The Strokes

• Disbandments
  • Blind Melon - after years of struggling to continue on without Shannon Hoon.
  • The Jesus Lizard
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain
  • Love and Rockets
  • Luscious Jackson
  • Pavement
  • The Verve

• Albums
  • A - A vs. Monkey Kong
    Beck - Midnite Vultures
    The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
    Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left to Lose
    Matthew Good Band - Beautiful Midnight
    Muse - Showbiz
    Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
    Pavement - Terror Twilight
    Primus - Antipop
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
    Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
    The Rentals - Seven More Minutes
    Sleater-Kinney - The Hot Rock
    Stone Temple Pilots - No. 4
    Suede - Head Music
    Wilco - Summerteeth

• Events
  • Despite rumors of disbanding, Stone Temple Pilots return to recording.
    The No WTO Combo attempts to play at the WTO Meeting of 1999, but are unable to do so due to conflicts with the police.

2000

• Disbandments
  • Rage Against the Machine
  • The Rentals
  • The Smashing Pumpkins
  • Soul Coughing

• Albums
  • Blur - 13
    Coldplay - Parachutes
    The Cure - Bloodflowers
    Elastica - The Menace
    Green Day - Warning:
    Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
    Oasis - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
    Pearl Jam - Binaural
    A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms
    Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
    Radiohead - Kid A
    Sleater-Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
    The Smashing Pumpkins - MACHINA/The Machines of God
    The Smashing Pumpkins - MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (final album)

• Events
  • The Smashing Pumpkins have their last concert on December 2.
  • The Smashing Pumpkins release MACHINA II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music for free to music downloaders on the internet.
  • The Meat Puppets reunite.

2001

• Newly formed bands
  • Audioslave
    Franz Ferdinand
    The Libertines

• Disbandments
  • The Afghan Whigs
  • Elastica
  • Toadies

• Albums
  • Better Than Ezra - Closer
    Fugazi - The Argument
    Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
    Matthew Good Band - The Audio of Being
    Manic Street Preachers - Know Your Enemy
    Muse - Origin of Symmetry
    New Order - Get Ready
    R.E.M. - Reveal
    Radiohead - Amnesiac
    The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
    The Strokes - Is This It
    Weezer - Weezer (The Green Album)
    The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

• Events
  • The Matthew Good Band breaks up. Good continues as a solo artist.
    Manic Street Preachers become first major modern band to play a gig in Cuba. The gig is attended by Fidel Castro
    Muse split from American record label, Maverick, after the label demands that the band make the album Origin of Symmetry more Radio-friendly for the US market.

2002

• Newly formed bands
  • Arctic Monkeys
    Bloc Party

• Disbandments
  • Hole
  • Alice in Chains

• Albums
  • A - Hi-Fi Serious
    Audioslave - Audioslave
    Beck - Sea Change
    The Breeders - Title TK (final album)
    Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
    The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
    Foo Fighters - One by One
    Goo Goo Dolls - Gutterflower
    Hot Hot Heat - Make Up the Breakdown
    Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
    The Libertines - Up the Bracket
    Muse - Hullabaloo
    Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
    Pearl Jam - Riot Act
    Primal Scream - Evil Heat
    Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
    Sleater-Kinney - One Beat
    Sonic Youth - Murray Street
    Weezer - Maladroit
    Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

• Events
  • Layne Staley of Alice in Chains dies on April 5, the 8th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.
    Jane's Addiction reunites again.
    Nirvana's "You Know You're Right", a previously unreleased song, becomes a hit single.

2003

• Newly formed bands
  • The Arcade Fire
    Kaiser Chiefs

• Albums
  • A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
    Blur - Think Tank
    Cat Power - You Are Free
    The Cooper Temple Clause - Kick Up The Fire And Let The Flames Break Loose
    Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism
    Jane's Addiction - Strays
    Matthew Good - Avalanche
    Muse - Absolution
    Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
    The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
    The Strokes - Room on Fire
    The White Stripes - Elephant

• Events
  • The first Lollapalooza in 6 years takes place.
  • Elliott Smith dies

2004

• Newly formed bands
  • The Dead 60s
    Louis XIV

• Disbandments
  • The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  • Stone Temple Pilots

• Albums
  • A Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe
    The Cure - The Cure
    Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
    Green Day - American Idiot
    Interpol - Antics
    The Killers - Hot Fuss
    The Libertines - The Libertines
    Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News (breakthrough)
    Manic Street Preachers - Lifeblood
    Matthew Good - White Light Rock & Roll Review
    Morrissey - You Are the Quarry
    My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge
    Nirvana - With the Lights Out box set
    R.E.M. - Around the Sun
    Sonic Youth - Sonic Nurse
    TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
    The Used - In Love And Death
    Wilco - A Ghost Is Born

• Events
  • Influential British DJ John Peel, whose advocacy helped increase the profiles of many punk and alternative acts, dies on October 25th.
    The Pixies reunite and release a new single entitled "Bam Thwok".
    Lollapalooza is cancelled due to low ticket sales.

2005

• Newly formed bands
  • Dirty Pretty Things

• Disbandments
  • Guided by Voices

• Albums
  • A - Teen Dance Ordinance
    Audioslave - Out of Exile
    Beck - Guero
    Coldplay - X&Y
    The Dead 60s - The Dead 60s
    Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (breakthrough)
    Jimmy Chamberlin Complex - Life Begins Again
    Billy Corgan - TheFutureEmbrace
    Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
    Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
    Garbage - Bleed Like Me
    Gorillaz - Demon Days
    Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
    Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
    Louis XIV - Best Little Secrets Are Kept
    New Order - Waiting for the Sirens' Call
    Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
    Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
    Weezer - Make Believe
    The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

• Events
  • Billy Corgan decides to reform The Smashing Pumpkins after 5 years of disbanding. However, the statement has not yet been approved as of November 2005.
    Death Cab For Cutie's major label debut makes #4 on the American sales chart,
    Audioslave become only the second major rock band to play a gig in Cuba, following Manic Street Preachers in 2001.

See also

• Timeline of punk rock

Alternative rock

Alternative metal - Britpop - C86 - College rock - Dream pop - Gothic rock - Grebo - Grunge - Indie pop/Indie rock - Industrial rock - Lo-fi - Madchester - Math rock - Noise pop - Paisley Underground - Post-punk revival - Post-rock - Riot Grrrl - Sadcore - Shoegazing - Space rock - Twee pop

Other topics

History - Indie (music)