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…

Led by depressive pop prince Robert Smith, the Cure have taken their legions of fans on a journey from post-punk to gothic to new wave to art rock, stopping only for refills of hairspray along the way. An amazing band both live and in the studio, the…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

Beginning as just another Brit-pop band with promise, Blur has exceeded all expectations. Their debut release showed a flair for catchy guitar-based tunes, their next three effectively channeled various British music traditions to create an eclectic …

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-…

Born in the early 1980s out of the ashes of U.K. post-punk pioneers Joy Division, New Order became one of the first electro-pop bands to find mainstream success in the US. Their single "Blue Monday" was a landmark in dance music, and subsequent recor…

The 1987 breakup of the Smiths saddened legions of fans, but it led to a fruitful solo career for lead singer and lyricist Morrissey. The Smiths were very much a singles band, and VIVA HATE, Morrissey's first record, continued in the Smiths vein with…

The initial hype suggested that Manchester's Stone Roses represented nothing less than the new Beatles. Hyperbole, to be sure, but the fact that the group's 1989 debut record turned out to be brilliant, timeless, and influential certainly counts as s…

In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." They're generally lumped in with the Britpop crowd, but, like Travis, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic pop …

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…

Led by Black Francis (AKA Charles Thompson), this Boston band reveled in the raw, loud energy of punk, but harnessed it in service of catchy melodies laced with bizarre lyrics. Their 1989 album, DOOLITTLE, is widely considered to be one of the best a…

Although often overshadowed by fellow Brit-rockers Oasis and Radiohead, The Verve was responsible for some of the best and most well-crafted rock to come out of England in the 1990s. While the band perfected their pop songwriting as time went on, it …

Depeche Mode (French for "hurried fashion") was one of the first and best of the British synth-pop bands, combining breathless, melodic pop with perky electronics. With main songwriter Vince Clarke's departure for Yaz, Martin Gore took the reigns, an…

Beck Hansen, the quintessential California slacker, came up among the lo-fi ranks, pushing a blend of country blues, Dylan-inspired wordplay, punk, and hip-hop. His straight-out-of-the-gate 1994 smash, "Loser," made him a star seemingly overnight. Su…

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…

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker writes the kind of literate and self-consciously sophisticated songs that spell career suicide in the U.S., but are right in line with a proud tradition of British songwriting. Pulp, therefore, managed to eke out a comfort…

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…

Pair a disciple of Oscar Wilde (Morrissey) with an innovator of the electric guitar (Johnny Marr) and you have the most clever cult band of the 1980s, the Smiths. Though they made some of the most effortlessly catchy music of the era, the tension bet…

Like many groups that achieved mainstream success in the 1980s, Australia's INXS was kinetically inspired by the British punk scene. Led by charismatic singer Michael Hutchence and the musically gifted Farriss brothers, INXS began as a new-wave rock …

With a voice like candy and winsome good looks, the Nebraska native Matthew Sweet was initially packaged as a cute, blue-eyed pop singer. But after an ambitious debut record that featured a bevy of rock luminaries, Sweet broke through with 1991's GIR…