The shot heard round the world. It killed hair metal overnight. The four-chord riff, the nonsensical lyrics, the heavy-quiet-heavy dynamic. It is the most important alternative rock song because it turned "alternative" into the mainstream. It changed the trajectory of popular culture.

Alternative rock is not just guitars. This bass-heavy, paranoid hip-hop track was played on rock radio because it was too weird for hip-hop radio.

The song that broke alternative rock globally. A mandolin-driven meditation on obsession and unrequited love. It has no chorus, just a hook that digs into your brain. Michael Stipe’s most vulnerable performance.

The 2000s answer to Let It Bleed . A frantic, funk-punk-reggae hybrid about lycanthropy. It sounds like nothing before or since.

It is impossible to discuss alternative rock without bowing to the song that detonated the dam. Kurt Cobain’s anthem of apathy and teenage disillusionment didn't just introduce grunge to the mainstream; it killed off hair metal overnight. Butch Vig’s production created a dynamic quiet/loud template that became the blueprint for the decade. It remains the undisputed king of the genre.

The most devastating music video of the era. Based on a true story of a school shooting, Eddie Vedder’s performance is a raw nerve. It gave alternative rock a social conscience.

The happiest sad song ever written. The swelling strings and the quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic are executed to absolute perfection.