In 1996, Billboard magazine launched its adult alternative chart, which was tracked radio stations focused on playing rock-oriented heritage artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and John Mellencamp, as well as newer artists like Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Matchbox 20.
This list reflects albums which charted at least 3 songs on the adult alternative chart or, in the case of pre-1996 releases, albums which likely would have accomplished the feat based on those artists’ accomplishments on the post-1995 charts. More than 150 albums made the criteria. The top 100 have been ranked here, based on their overall status in Dave’s Music Database.
Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.
1. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
2. Adele 21 (2011)
3. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill (1995)
4. Pearl Jam Ten (1991)
5. U2 Achtung Baby (1991)
6. Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995)
7. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
9. Green Day Dookie (1994)
10. Adele 25 (2015)
11. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)
12. R.E.M. Out of Time (1991)
13. Santana Supernatural (1999)
14. Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993)
15. Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
16. U2 All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
17. Coldplay X & Y (2005)
18. Coldplay Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)
19. Hootie & the Blowfish Cracked Rear View (1994)
20. Bruce Springsteen The Rising (2002)
21. Live Throwing Copper (1994)
22. Sheryl Crow Tuesday Night Music Club (1993)
23. U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
24. Counting Crows August and Everything After (1993)
25. Kings of Leon Only by the Night (2008)
26. Keane Hopes and Fears (2004)
27. Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication (1999)
28. Mumford & Sons Babel (2012)
29. Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium (2006)
30. Matchbox 20 Yourself or Someone Like You (1996)
31. David Gray White Ladder (2000)
32. Jack Johnson In Between Dreams (2005)
33. U2 No Line on the Horizon (2009)
34. Mumford & Sons Sigh No More (2009)
35. U2 Songs of Innocence (2014)
36. Jewel Pieces of You (1995)
37. Imagine Dragons Night Visions (2012)
38. U2 Zooropa (1993)
39. Sarah McLachlan Surfacing (1997)
40. Lorde Pure Heroine (2013)
41. Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993)
42. Jack Johnson Sleep Through the Static (2008)
43. Vampire Weekend Father of the Bride (2019)
44. Sting Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993)
45. Dave Matthews Band Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
46. R.E.M. Monster (1994)
47. Florence + the Machine Ceremonials (2011)
48. R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
49. Snow Patrol Eyes Open (2006)
50. John Mayer Continuum (2006)
51. Dave Matthews Band Crash (1996)
52. Alabama Shakes Sound & Color (2015)
53. Sting Brand New Day (1999)
54. Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow (1996)
55. Coldplay Mylo Xyloto (2011)
56. The Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse (1996)
57. U2 Pop (1997)
58. Bonnie Raitt Luck of the Draw (1991)
59. Melissa Etheridge Yes I Am (1993)
60. The Black Keys El Camino (2011)
61. Beck Colors (2017)
62. Sherly Crow The Globe Sessions (1998)
63. Sting The Soul Cages (1991)
64. Florence + the Machine How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015)
65. Kings of Leon Come Around Sundown (2010)
66. Steely Dan Two Against Nature (2000)
67. KT Tunstall Eye to the Telescope (2004)
68. John Mayer Room for Squares (2001)
69. U2 Songs of Experience (2017)
70. The Black Keys Turn Blue (2014)
71. fun. Some Nights (2012)
72. Shery Crow Detours (2008)
73. Tame Impala The Slow Rush (2020)
74. Bonnie Raitt Longing in Their Hearts (1994)
75. Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind (1997)
76. The Decemberists The King Is Dead (2011)
77. Matchbox 20 Mad Season (2000)
78. Feist The Reminder (2007)
79. Dave Matthews Band Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King (2009)
80. The Raconteurs Help Us Stranger (2019)
81. Cage the Elephant Social Cues (2019)
82. Jack Johnson To the Sea (2010)
83. Dave Matthews Band Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
84. Goo Goo Dolls Dizzy Up the Girl (1998)
85. The Lumineers The Lumineers (2012)
86. Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience (1992)
87. Alabama Shakes Boys & Girls (2012)
88. Shawn Colvin A Few Small Repairs (1996)
89. Train Drops of Jupiter (2001)
90. Hozier Hozier (2014)
91. Death Cab for Cutie Plans (2005)
92. Fiona Apple Tidal (1996)
93. Paula Cole This Fire (1996)
94. John Mayer Heavier Things (2003)
95. Toad the Wet Sprocket Fear (1991)
96. One Republic Native (2013)
97. Of Monsters and Men My Head Is an Animal (2011)
98. The Fray How to Save a Life (2005)
99. Joan Osborne Relish (1995)
100. Dave Matthews Band Everyday (2001)
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