Quality underground music has always been made and it's not uncommon for some of it to seep up to the surface and enter the mainstream. Usually it's treated as novelty and quietly goes away without much of a trace. Once in a while though, the pressure builds and an underground scene blows the doors off the mainstream and cleanses the culture's palette of an aftertaste left behind by the stale popular music of the time.
Punk slayed disco in the late 70's but by the early 90's, mainstream music was held captive by "metal" made by dudes who looked like ladies. From the bloodlines of punk came a sound and ethic which was the antithesis of hair metal, clearing the air of the Aquanet fog. The media and major labels of course commoditized it, selling it as "alternative" and "grunge."
You know the rest.
Here are my 50 favorite music videos made by those artists and bands during the 120 minutes the dream lasted.
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-alternative-music-videos-of-the-90_s/muzziac,
Bull in the Heather
Originally ranked 28th.
Closer
Originally ranked 10th.
Heart Shaped Box
Originally ranked 39th.
In Bloom
Originally ranked 20th.
Jeremy
Originally ranked 7th.
Tonight, Tonight
Originally ranked 6th.
Been Caught Stealing
Originally ranked 4th.
Only Happy When It Rains
Originally ranked 36th.
Today
Originally ranked 3rd.
Even Flow
Originally ranked 24th.