The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’90s: 100 – 81 The first part of our examination of the 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’90s looks at the “golden age” of alternative rock. Previously, we brought you the “100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’80s”, a five-part series that attracted thousands of readers from all over the world and explored the best alternative music the ’80s had to offer. Now, we move forward in time and examine what many consider the “golden age” of alternative rock, with the “100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’90s”. The understanding of “alternative” was different in the ’90s. The term was becoming more widely-used, replacing such ’80s descriptions as college rock, indie pop, post-modern, and underground. It also exploded in popularity — from huge radio stations like WHFS in Washington, DC and KROQ in Los Angeles to the airwaves of MTV, alternative music dominated the rock and roll landscape. Festivals like Lollapalooza and Lilith Fair cropped up, and alternative rock bands were selling millions of albums and headlining arenas, often without benefiting a Top 40 crossover hit. Top 40 had dwindled almost solely to R&B, hip-hop, diva ballads, and dance-pop. There was very little room for rock and roll, and suddenly bands that would have been considered mainstream rock or even Top 40 in prior years were lumped in under the amorphous “alternative” label.