In the midst of the early 1990s grunge boom, Counting Crows emerged as an alternative to the heavy, alienated sounds of the Kurt Cobain crowd. The California band harked back to the classic '60s folk-rock sounds of the Band, Bob Dylan, and Van Morris…

The angst-ridden alt-rock that bands like Nirvana popularized in the early-1990s eventually branched off into a softer, more mature sound with such groups as the Goo Goo Dolls. Although they began as raw and rowdy Replacements-style rockers in the la…

Along with such peers as Tonic and Matchbox Twenty, San Francisco's Third Eye Blind broke through at a crucial juncture in the '90s music scene. In between the twilight of grunge (from which they took some influence) and the ascendancy of nu-metal, T…

This four-piece band came together in 1989 when Christopher Barron (b. 5 February 1968, Hawaii; vocals) and Eric Schenkman (b. 12 December 1963, Massachusetts, USA; guitar) met Aaron Comess (b. 24 April 1968, Arizona, USA; drums) at the New School of…

Formed in Stockbridge, Georgia, USA, Collective Soul have earned their reputation with strong, hook-laden pop rock songs, the best example of which is "Shine', which topped Billboard"s Rock Album Tracks poll in May 1994. The band's history up to then…

Hootie & the Blowfish burst out of the grass-roots southern rock scene in the mid-1990s, but their panoramic, All-American pop-rock sound was more influenced by John Mellencamp than by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band's distinguishing feature was the robust,…

Growing up in the shadow of Bob Dylan would be too much for many, let alone trying to make it in the same field as the legendary troubadour. But Bob's son Jakob Dylan succeeded on his own terms when his band the Wallflowers hit it big with their own …

The core of Deep Blue Something is the Pipes brothers, Todd (bass/vocals) and Toby (guitar/vocals), from Denton, Texas, who were both attending the University of North Texas in 1992 when they formed Leper Messiah (a quotation from David Bowie's "Zigg…

Formed in Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA, Semisonic comprise Jacob Slichter (drums), John Munson (bass) and Dan Wilson (guitar/vocals, ex-Trip Shakespeare). It was Wilson's harrowing lyrics, reinforced by innovative guitar samples and superb production,…

This US rock band was formed in the mid-80s at high school in Santa Barbara, California, by friends Dean Dinning (b. 9 June 1967; bass, keyboards), Randy Guss (b. 7 March 1967; drums), Todd Nichols (guitar, vocals) and Glen Phillips (b. 29 December 1…

This Glaswegian semi-acoustic rock band emerged in the wake of the Postcard Records scene, when they were formed by 16-year-old singer, pianist and bass player Justin Currie (b. 11 December 1964, Scotland) and his guitarist friend Iain Harvie (b. 19 …

Anyone who couldn't relate to the agitated sounds of late-'90s/early-'00s alt-rock but still wanted to hear something new found solace in such "mature" alternative acts as Matchbox 20. Taking the anthemic rock and balladry of Pearl Jam and smoothing …

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into th…

A modern pop rock quintet who built their reputation on a rugged touring schedule and stern work ethic, Sister Hazel were rewarded with a contract from Universal Records in 1997. Formed in Gainesville, Florida, USA, the band had already recorded thei…

Blues Traveler personified the second wave of jam bands that arose in the late '80s and early '90s. It was the Grateful Dead that turned the idea of playing a different, heavliy improvised set of its tunes every night into a fine art. Like the Dead, …

Following in the footsteps their idols The Beatles, Oasis became a phenomenon in their home country in the 1990s. Taking the Fabs' template as a model, they added a thick wall of Pete Townshend-influenced guitars and stood at the vanguard of the mid-…

Better Than Ezra were formed in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in 1988, when all three members, Kevin Griffin (vocals, guitar), Cary Bonnecaze (drums) and Tom Drummond (b. 30 June 1969; bass), were at university there. They made their debut two years l…

The members of Live began playing together as teenagers in their native York, PA, under various band names. After singer Ed Kowalczyk arrived, they were on the fast track to stardom. The moody alternative-rock sound of their 1991 debut album made som…

Pearl Jam strode the middle of the neo-hard rock road manfully with their angst-ridden anthemic tunes bearing echoes of 1970s riff-rock. They arrived as part of Seattle's grunge explosion, with a sound less "punk" than Nirvana and less "metal" than S…

Most alternative rock of the 1990s was based around purging one's demons over a wall of distorted power chords, but bands like Barenaked Ladies showed that tunefulness and carefree pop ditties weren't completely extinct. Hailing from Canada, this pur…