5 Rock Songs From 1988 That Sound Even Cooler Today

Most don't think of 1988 as a banner year for rock music. It doesn't have the reputation of 1991, when grunge went mainstream with Nirvana's "Nevermind," or 1969, which saw the release of The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and Led Zeppelin's first two albums ("I" and "II"). Hard rock, hair metal, heavy metal, and pop rock from the likes of Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, and INXS topped the charts. But bubbling just beneath the surface and creeping into the mainstream were bands that would leave an indelible influence on rock music.

That year, rock fans were graced with songs that continue to sound fresh and innovative today. Bands and artists like the Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Tracy Chapman released music that charted the path for the coming decades. Whether or not they found massive mainstream success, songs in the class of 1988 laid the groundwork for the grunge, alternative, and indie rock that would take over.

Obviously, what's "cool" is subjective. When assembling this list, we looked for songs that sound ahead of their time and point toward coming and even current musical trends. Included are tracks from artists with enduring legacies and who have influenced iconic musicians. Ranging in musical style to reflect the diversity of 1988 sounds, these rock songs sound even cooler today than they did then, and they're always on our playlists.

Few bands are as influential, iconic, and beloved as the Pixies. In 1988, the Boston quartet released their iconic debut full-length album, "Surfer Rosa." Along with songs like "Where Is My Mind?," "Gigantic" helped to break the Pixies into wider markets, especially in the U.K. With this album, the band nailed its unique, signature sound.

Sung by bassist Kim Deal, whose bass line drives the track, "Gigantic" oscillates between quieter, almost delicate verses and loud, ferocious choruses. In conveying sexual desire from a woman's perspective, her lyrics push the envelope. In 1988, it was rare to hear a female vocalist be so blunt and direct about sex. It's empowering in a way that makes more sense in this day and age.

It's impossible to measure the impact of a band like the Pixies. One of the band's coolest and most iconic admirers was Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. When writing "Smells Like Teen Spirit," he told Rolling Stone that he "was basically trying to rip off the Pixies." He had a special fondness for "Gigantic," telling Melody Maker in 1992, "I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies, because 'Gigantic' is the best Pixies song" (via The Guardian).

If you ask indie and alternative rock fans, Sonic Youth is the definition of cool, not to mention one of the most important rock bands of the '80s. Emerging from the downtown New York noise and experimental music scenes, the band released its ambitious masterpiece, the double album "Daydream Nation," in 1988. "Teen Age Riot," the opening track, is nearly seven minutes of sprawling guitars, riff-heavy explosions, driving rhythms, and stream-of-consciousness poetry.

What makes "Teen Age Riot" so timelessly cool is that it's wedded to the underground, the independent music scene that embraced Sonic Youth throughout its career. The lyrics take you to a DIY show with lines like, "Looking for a ride to your secret location / Where the kids are setting up a free-speed nation, for you." Originally titled "J Mascis for President" after the Dinosaur Jr. singer and guitarist, the song announces the coming alternative and indie explosion.

While "Daydream Nation" never charted in the U.S. and reached only No. 99 in the U.K., it's since been heralded as a classic and masterpiece. Headed off by "Teen Age Riot," it ranks No. 171 in the 2023 edition of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." The truth about Sonic Youth is that the band opened doors for Nirvana and has drawn admiration from a long list of musicians, including Black Flag's Henry Rollins and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

With its urgent vocals and gritty guitar work, "Cult of Personality" took Living Colour from a loyal following in the band's hometown of New York City to massive international audiences. Blending funk, punk, metal, free jazz, and doo-wop, the band's eclectic sound on this song is unmistakable, heavy, and like nothing else in the late '80s. Featured on the "Vivid" album, the song made waves in its time, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even more importantly, its groundbreaking impact continues to be felt today.

On top of a distorted guitar riff, the lyrics take aim at how authoritarians appeal to the masses while exploiting and harming them. Lines like "I sell the things you need to be / I'm the smiling face on your TV / I'm the cult of personality" seem as relevant today as they did then. With cutting social commentary, the song anticipates bands like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. More importantly, it cemented a space for a quartet of Black musicians in a white-dominated rock music industry.

It wasn't easy. It always bothered guitarist Vernon Reid that it took Mick Jagger's help for Living Colour to score a record contract. As he told Billboard, "We shouldn't have to have the No. 1 rock star in the world to take an interest in us for us to even be signed." But Living Colour's song left a permanent mark. As Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello told The Ringer, "I was absolutely blown away that clearly there were other African Americans who unapologetically loved Led Zeppelin and wanted to shred."

With swirling, dreamy, and jangly guitars and wispy vocals, Cocteau Twins epitomized the dream pop sound, a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the '80s. Featuring Elizabeth Fraser's ethereal singing, the Scottish band's single "Carolyn's Fingers," off the "Blue Bell Knoll" album, soared to No. 2 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay charts. Built on walls of guitars and sounds, no song on this list or put out in that time sounds as mysterious, beguiling, or otherworldly.

As much as any song from 1988, "Carolyn's Fingers" sets the stage for indie and alternative acts in the '90s and '00s. Abstract and associative, its lyrics seem to reference a relationship gone sour. Because of Fraser's unique singing style, they're hard to make out, but it doesn't matter. Her voice and stunning vocal range convey melancholy in a way that words alone never could. The listener bathes in beautiful sounds and raw emotions.

Along with bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, Cocteau Twins helped establish and define the dream pop sound. With "Carolyn's Fingers," the band continues to attract listeners and admirers. You can hear the same melancholy and layered approach to song in contemporary artists like Lana Del Rey and Beach House.

Featuring the twin guitars and vocals of Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, Fugazi was a post-hardcore band that emerged from the underground punk scene of Washington, D.C. The group had a passionate anticapitalist ethos; its music was 100% DIY, it never worked with major record labels, and would only play all-ages shows with affordable ticket prices. "Waiting Room," off Fugazi's self-titled debut EP (and later released on 1989's "13 Songs" album), bottled up the band's intensity and explosiveness and made them hardcore and punk icons.

Shouted over an infectious bass line and either chugging or screaming guitars, the lyrics depict the feeling of waiting for life to happen rather than living it. "Everybody's moving, moving, moving, moving," goes the call and response of the first verse, "Please don't leave me to remain / In the waiting room." Rather than stew in disaffection, the song turns almost motivational: "But I don't sit idly by / I'm planning a big surprise / I'm gonna fight for what I wanna be." Years before Nirvana would make it legendary (and immensely profitable) on "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Fugazi gave voice to teenage angst and frustration.

Never straying from its ethics and mission, never mainstream or selling out in any way, Fugazi has an enduring influence on hardcore, punk, and emo music. Bands like At The Drive-In, NOFX, Quicksand, Deftones, and just about anyone who likes it loud, fast, and full of integrity have looked to this band's ethos and music for inspiration.