alternative music
Americannoun
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music that is outside the mainstream and does not conform to the standard type of any genre, often characterized by features such as experimental or intricate instrumentation, layered sound, and reflective, emotional, or socially aware lyrics.
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rock music that departs from classic or mainstream rock, borrowing from or crossing over into other genres, such as punk, heavy metal, electronica, or folk.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In his ten years of work, he has become a leading figure in Senegal's alternative music scene, demonstrating that not all of the country's hits have to be in its homegrown Mbalax style.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
A BBC TV News report about the chart battle is remembered as the moment when alternative music culture truly broke through to the mainstream.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
And now, if you look at alternative music, I mean, there’s been an absolute explosion of people using unconventional instrumentation within the breath of alternative music, as it should be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso won best pop song for “El Día del Amigo”—the track’s opening pays homage to Earth, Wind & Fire—as well as best alternative music album, best alternative song and two music-video awards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Then, she took me down to the import section and told me about “real” alternative music.
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
