When Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten was blasting from every available speaker in 1993, a certain teenaged future GearMoose writer may have felt clever when she wondered aloud, “Alternative? Alternative to what?” Alt-rock, indie, underground—or whatever you called the era’s guitar-driven, anti-corporate music—came to dominate the ‘90s and left behind a do-it-yourself ethos still driving today’s music. Here’s the best of early alternative, from just before and just after the mainstream’s collective eardrums were shredded by that opening riff from Nevermind.
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