Across the board, 1991 was a breathtaking year for music. On the alternative rock spectrum, the rise of grunge here in the States (Nirvana, Pearl Jam) was paralleled by first-strikes by some of the UK’s most impactful bands of the decade (Blur, Massive Attack), while albums regarded as all-time classics, from My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless to Spiderland by Slint, helped set a noisy tone for the rest of the ’90s. Efforts from R.E.M. and Red Hot Chili Peppers ushered in a new mainstream sound, and September 24 brought perhaps the decade’s defining release: An LP called Nevermind that would sell more than 30 million copies worldwide, and by January of the New Year, in a symbolic moment of cultural shift, supplant Michael Jackson’s Dangerous as the Number One album’s on the Billboard 200 chart. As the calendar sparkles fresh for 2016, here are 25 alt-rock records turning 25 this year — and while we know not all of these are technically “alt-rock,” none would look out of place in a savvy music fan’s collection two-and-a-half decades ago.