...

Not all of the songs listed are strictly alternative rock, of course. However, each of them played an important role in the birth and/or development of the genre.

The idea is to show the lineage — from early avant-garde influences to the explosion of alternative rock in the 1990s.

​The early decades of the 20th century: Experimental music and blues

​1913: Luigi Russolo – Risveglio di una città

• (One of the earliest explorations of noise as music).

​1937: Robert Johnson – Hellhound on My Trail

• (The dark blues that gave soul to rock).

​1946: John Cage – Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

• (A deconstruction of musical structure).

​1944: Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Strange Things Happening Every Day

• (A pioneer of the electric guitar who anticipated the distortion and attitude of rock).

​1948: Pierre Schaeffer – Étude aux chemins de fer

• (The pioneer of musique concrète).

​The 1950s: The Origins of Rock and the Importance of Ornette Coleman

​1951: Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats – Rocket "88"

• (The song most widely considered the first rock recording).

​1958: Link Wray – Rumble

• (The first time the power chord became central in rock).

​1959: Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman

• (The great “punk” of jazz; Lou Reed’s favorite song).

​The 1960s: The Big Bang of Alternative Rock, with The Velvet Underground & Nico

​1960: La Monte Young – Composition 1960 No. 7

• (Drone minimalism that influenced the Velvet Underground).

​1965: The Sonics – The Witch

• (One of the pioneers of garage rock).

​1966: The Byrds – Eight Miles High

• (A bridge between psychedelia and experimentation).

​1967: The Velvet Underground & Nico – Heroin

• (The absolute ground zero. The birth of the noise rock aesthetic and musical nihilism).

​1967: The Velvet Underground & Nico – All Tomorrow's Parties

• (Drone, melancholic atmosphere, and icy vocals: the foundation of gothic rock).

​1968: The Velvet Underground – Sister Ray

• (A central influence on bands like The Stooges).

​1969: Silver Apples – Program

• (Pioneering electronic rock).

​The 1970s: Krautrock, Proto-Punk, Punk Rock and Post-Punk

​1971: CAN – Halleluhwah

• (Rhythm and hypnosis that inspired bands ranging from Talking Heads to Red Hot Chili Peppers).

​1972: NEU! – Negativland

• (The German avant-garde exploring textures and sonic collages).

​1973: The Stooges – Search and Destroy

• (The closest thing to what would later become punk rock).

​1975: Patti Smith – Gloria

• (A female voice that united avant-garde poetry with the freedom of rock).

​1976: Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop

• (The birth certificate of punk rock).

​1977: Sex Pistols – Anarchy in the U.K.

• (The definitive political and aesthetic rupture of punk).

​1977: Wire – Outdoor Miner

• (“Evolution” of punk rock toward a more experimental direction).

​1977: Television – Marquee Moon

• (“Evolution” of punk rock toward a more technical and lyrical direction).

​1977: Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Express

• (The explosion of the machine age in music).

​1977: David Bowie – "Heroes"

• (The fusion of Velvet Underground, NEU!, and Brian Eno with a pop framework).

​1977: Suicide – Ghost Rider

• (Electronic punk minimalism).

​1977: Talking Heads – Psycho Killer

• (One of the pioneers of new wave).

​1978: Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden

• (One of the pioneers of post-punk).

​1979: Joy Division – Transmission

• (Where rock becomes claustrophobic and gothic).

​1979: Public Image Ltd. – Careering

• (The cold, dub-infused deconstruction of post-punk).

​The 1980s: Post-Punk, College Rock, Madchester, etc

​1980: Killing Joke – Requiem

• (A fusion of post-punk with proto-industrial weight).

​1980: The Cure – A Forest

• (A new dark atmosphere in gothic rock).

​1981: R.E.M. – Radio Free Europe

• (The beginning of American college rock).

​1982: New Order – Temptation

• (The union of rock with electronic dance music).

1984: The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?

• (Shimmering guitar textures creating an anthem of solitude).

1984: Hüsker Dü – Pink Turns to Blue

• (Accessible melody combined with hardcore fury).

​1985: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Just Like Honey

• (The noise of the Velvet Underground with the pop melodies of The Byrds).

​1988: Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot

• (An anthem in the history of alternative rock and of the youth of the time, that anticipated — along with the Pixies — Nevermind).

​1988: Pixies – Where Is My Mind?

• (A central influence on the loud-quiet dynamic of the 1990s).

​1988: Fugazi – Waiting Room *(The consolidation of post-hardcore).

​1988: Dinosaur Jr. – Freak Scene

• (Alternative rock with virtuosic solos and vocal apathy).

​1989: The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored

• (A primary influence on Britpop).

​The 1990s and Beyond: Commercial explosion and modern legacy

​1991: My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow

• (The sonic peak of shoegaze).

​1991: Slint – Good Morning, Captain

• (The birth of post-rock).

​1991: Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

• (Alternative becomes the new mainstream).

​1992: Pavement – Summer Babe

• (The birth of “slacker culture” in alternative rock).

​1993: Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock

• (The fusion of shoegaze and heavy metal).

​1994: Weezer – Say It Ain't So

• (The popularization of "geek rock”)

​1997: Radiohead – Paranoid Android

• (A portrait of digital fragmentation and the deconstruction of 1990s rock identity).

​2004: Arcade Fire – Wake Up

• (Indie rock with orchestral scale conquering arenas).