'90s Adult Alternative

If you're like us and never forgot the Alternative Nation uprising that assaulted radio stations throughout the '90s, your eyes probably well up every time you hear the melancholic melodies of "Iris" or the tension-tapping highs of "Under the Bridge." That's what happens when you grow up with certain songs — they age right alongside you as well. Here's more where those came from, everything from the epic, psych-infused Britpop of "Champagne Supernova" to the neck-snapping beats and not-so-subtle hooks of "What I Got" and the decade-spanning dominance of U2 ("One," a.k.a. one of the band's truly timeless power ballads).

Now that we've all succumbed to lingering pangs of nostalgia, our Next Steps have the songs that'd get a whole room of Gen-X'ers singing.

Ah grunge, how we miss thee, especially all the groups that followed in the flannel-tinged footsteps of Nirvana and Pearl Jam — from Bush (the sweeping strings and fuzz-flecked guitars of "Glycerine") to Candlebox (the weepy chords and whiplash-inducing dynamics of "Far Behind") to Creed (the chug-a-lug leads and soaring vocals of "Higher"). As for the less angst-ridden side of the '90s, there's always the Verve's arena rock grandeur, Weezer's revenge of the nerds routine, and Blues Traveler's feel-good blend of harmonica solos, steady acoustic strums, and randy organ rolls.

Down in our Deep Cuts, the faces are familiar as well — probably more familiar than the ones at your ten-year high school reunion.

Just when you thought you might never hear the galloping grooves of "Send Me on My Way" again, here it is, filling your speakers like several blinding bursts of sunshine. Other guest appearances on our '90s Adult Alternative Essentials playlist include the hazy harmonies and ghostly slide guitar of "Fade Into You," the plaintive piano playing and slow-burning builds of "Brick," the delirious power pop of "Girlfriend," and the welcome melodrama of "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" and "Silent All These Years."

Between the second-coming of Santana, the shifting sounds of Green Day and No Doubt, and the chart-crashing debuts of Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, and a record-breaking Alanis Morissette — Jagged Little Pill sold more than 16 million copies — the '90s is one of music's most impossible-to-pin-down decades. Call it an identity crisis, but we prefer plowing through all the subgenres and scenes like a stack of complimentary buffet plates. A soundtrack of our lives feast, if you will, featuring glimmers of grunge (Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soul Asylum), mood-lifting pop (the Cardigans, Del Amitri, 4 Non Blondes), beachside dude rock (Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, Sublime), and enough enduring icons to show us how things were done in the good ol' days (Sting, U2, R.E.M.).