The Red Hot Chili Peppers don’t have the indie cred they once did in the 80’s. They cycled through several guitarists, and came to lie comfortably within the soft pop-rock bed they made for themselves many years ago.

What started out as a joke name, their self-titled debut is their most popular record, achieving gold and platinum status before even reaching Billboard album charts. Gano’s deadpan vocals complimented the natural punky style the band came to rest upon, delivering infectious vocal melodies simultaneously brimming with confidence and insecurity.

Ministry pioneered a new guitar heavy industrial sound that broke into the mainstream and every teenager’s living room in the early 90’s.

The Velvet Underground played a significant role in the exposure of independent and avant garde rock to the mainstream culture.

I know what you’re thinking, not another Beatles “Remaster” re-release, with promises of new demos and remixed tracks. And while an average fan might not notice or care for the subtle differences in the new mix, when compared with the original remaster, the change is undeniable.

Mission of Burma is typically categorized as a post punk, and that would be an accurate assessment. These guys invented post punk, post rock, and grunge…

This dancey little record paved the way for bands like Cut Copy and MGMT to take to the airwaves.

Technically not a real Pavement album, this was the first Pavement record I bought. I was 14 years old, I had a gift certificate to Record City, and I went with my brother and purchased this CD…

It’s a little sad to be writing this #tbt due to a death, but today we felt Chris Cornell deserved a proper #tbt review and acknowledgement of his work.

A heart wrenchingly beautiful and sonically heavy album, Rid of Me marks PJ Harvey’s collaboration with recording engineer Steve Albini and her first foray into internationally known waters.

Their sophomore effort was highly anticipated, as the Pixies popularity peaked and Alternative music became much more widely accepted throughout the listening public.

In 1986, Charles Thompson (Black Francis), Joey Santiago and David Lovering put out a classified ad looking for a bass player who was into “Peter, Paul, and Mary and Hüsker Dü”.

Hailed as the groundbreaking album that began the post-rock movement, Millions Now Living Will Never Die cemented my love affair with music outside the standard indie realm.

If I had to pick three albums that really, really defined my adolescence, it would be the Pixie’s Doolittle, Nine Inch Nail’s Pretty Hate Machine, and Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual De Lo Habitual.

It is difficult to comprehend why The Score had to be the Fugees last album. Did the parts start to believe they added up to more than a whole? Was it that there wasn’t enough creative airspace?

1988’s Bummed was and still is a sophomore success. Arriving on the heels of the sub par Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People…, Bummed truly dropped a dime on what might be in store for us from both the Mondays and the Manchester scene.

Bridging the gap between punk, electronic, and industrial music, Primal Scream’s Bobby’s Gillespie set out to make a record that merged all of his influences, resulting in seriously one of the best album’s of the aught’s.

Being labeled “The Only Band That Matters” would be enough pressure for most bands to live with, but The Clash earned it in their own right.

Chicago’s Wilco has been a hometown staple for many years, with predecessor Uncle Tupelo hearkening back all the way to 1987.

Liz Phair’s debut and groundbreaking record gets the Throwback treatment.

The early 90’s were a veritable breeding ground for indie rock in Chicago, Illinois, and The Jesus Lizard were no exception.

After a long history in the UK music scene starting in the early 80’s, and releasing their largest selling album “Different Class” in 1995, Pulp made a left turn and put out their artsiest, and heaviest record to date, “This Is Hardcore”.

Nizter Ebb’s music went on to be pretty popular in the club circuits, and helped get us to where dance music is today.

Anybody who says they love music but hasn’t listened to this album has shamed themselves greatly.