At SONiC 102.9, we eat, sleep, and breathe music. So, we’ve teamed up with Sunrise Records to put together a list of the top 5 must-have alt-rock albums of all time that helped shape alternative rock and bring it into the mainstream.

 

1. The White Stripes – The White Stripes

 

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Released in 1999, The White Stripes’ self-titled debut album helped solidify the revival of garage rock. At the time, Jack and Meg White claimed to be siblings, although we now know they were actually married. The pair was so influential, that they’re listed as #6 on Rolling Stone‘s list of 20 best duos of all time.

 

2. The Black Keys – Brothers

 

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This breakout album from the Ohio duo gave us jams like “Tighten Up” and “Howling For You”.  The unmistakable blues guitar sounds helped shape alternative rock in the late 2000s to early 2010s. Prior to the release of Brothers in 2009, Pat Carney and Dan Auerbach had been dealing with a lot of tension within the band due to relationship issues in their personal lives and Auerbach’s exploration into a solo project. However, working on the album brought the two back together, and thankfully for the rest of us, they’ve been on good terms ever since.

 

3. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs 

 

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Another classic alternative rock album, The Suburbs won the band a GRAMMY in 2011 for Album of the Year. It saw huge commercial success around the world, which is pretty cool, since they are a good ol’ Canadian band. A large portion of the album was actually recorded in Win Butler and Régine Chassagne’s home in Montreal. If you want to feel old, The Suburbs just celebrated its 10-year anniversary this past August.

 

4. The Strokes – Is This It

 

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This debut album from The Strokes gave us the seminal alt-rock hit, “Last Nite”. Lead singer Julian Casablancas would only allow the band to record most of the songs once during the recording process in an effort to make sure the tracks retained a sense of “raw efficiency”. We guess that’s probably why they were able to record the entire thing in just six weeks!

 

5. Queens of the Stone Age – Songs For the Deaf

 

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The loose concept album, featuring “No One Knows” and “Go With the Flow”, takes you on a journey through the California desert from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree. You also get a bonus musician on it… Dave Grohl played the drums! Grohl had been a fan of the band since Queens of the Stone Age opened for Foo Fighters in 2000, so when their current drummer left, guitarist Josh Homme asked him to fill in. The Foo Fighters were put on a short break just so that Grohl could record and tour Songs For the Deaf.

 

 

Buy all of these records, and way more, at a Sunrise Records location near you. Get the app to collect stamps on all in-store purchases and unlock savings.

 

Filed under: Alt-Rock Albums, Arcade Fire, queens of the stone age, Sunrise Records, the black keys, The Strokes, White Stripes