The 10 Best Alternative Songs of the 1980s, Ranked

The term “alternative rock” is already hard enough to define, especially if you need to go deeper than just saying “it’s a vibe” or whatever, but then labeling something as alternative more broadly? Naturally, it’s trickier, but if something that’s alternative rock has a little more edge than something more pop rock-focused, and isn't the kind of thing that seems like it was written for the mainstream, then an alternative song or album is the same, but across other genres.