The 1990s featured no shortage of diverse, pop-culture-defining music artists and albums.

These 1990s rock albums were particularly ahead of their time, and have been cited as major influences by today's biggest musical acts.

These five albums defined the alt-rock explosion in the 1990s, and they've aged fairly well through the 2020s.

More music news and reviews: This article was originally published on audiophix.com as 10 underrated albums from the 1990s you didn't know you needed to hear .

The 1990s featured no shortage of diverse, pop-culture-defining music artists and albums. But in a decade defined by actual album sales, pre-Spotify and Apple Music, who did EW pick as the top ...