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alternative rock
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Black-and-white group portrait of Nirvana backstage in a corner, with Kurt Cobain on the left, Krist Novoselic in the center, and Dave Grohl on the right. R.E.M. Grunge icon Kurt Cobain
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American quartet Boyz II Men (left to right) Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris, Nathan Morris and Michael McClary, 1992. (music, rhythm-and-blues). Photographed at the American Music Awards where they won Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, Los Angeles, California, January 27, 1992.
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Black-and-white group portrait of Nirvana backstage in a corner, with Kurt Cobain on the left, Krist Novoselic in the center, and Dave Grohl on the right.
Quintessential grunge band Nirvana Nirvana (left to right): Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl.

alternative rock

music
Also known as: alt-rock, alternative
Written by
James Hunter
Freelance writer.
James Hunter
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

alternative rock, pop music style, built on distorted guitars and rooted in generational discontent, that dominated and changed rock between 1991 and 1996. It burst into the mainstream when “Smells Like Teen Spirit”—the first major-label single from Nirvana, a trio based in Seattle, Washington, U.S.—became a national hit. Suddenly, older, difficult, and even anarchic movements, as well as a previous decade of do-it-yourself college rock, acquired a flashy beachhead on pop radio. Ironically, most alternative...

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