Classic alternative

• New wave: A major part of this category, especially early bands like The Cars, The Police, Blondie and Talking Heads.[4]
• Power pop: Bands such as The Knack, The Smithereens[5] and The Romantics are often included in this category.
• College rock: The major building block of American alternative rock, and thus artists in that genre are played often. The early works of R.E.M. (in particular), The Replacements[6] and They Might Be Giants usually show up on classic alternative stations.[7]
• Post-punk and British alternative/indie rock: Common on many classic alternative stations, and often added for variety. Artists include New Order, Public Image Limited and The Smiths.[8]
• Gothic rock and dark wave: Bands such as The Cure, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and Killing Joke.[9]
• Grunge: Sometimes played on classic alternative stations, but more often found on modern rock stations. Includes artists such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam.[10]
• Synthpop: Bands such as Duran Duran, Depeche Mode[11] and Pet Shop Boys and songs like "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls and "Take On Me" by a-ha are essential on classic alternative stations.
• Dream pop and shoegaze: Bands such as Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[12] Uncommon, and depends on the amount of post-punk played on the station.
• New Romantic: Bands such as Spandau Ballet and Adam and the Ants.
• Ska revival: Bands such as Madness and The English Beat.
• Indie pop and modern indie rock: Artists include Aztec Camera, Sonic Youth and Orange Juice.[13]
• Punk: Artist include Ramones and The Clash.

Some stations with an "all-'80s" format have added elements of the 1980s and '90s classic alternative format to their regular playlist. Cox's KHPT in Houston and WPOI in Tampa are prime examples of all-'80s stations that heavily relied on artists such as Peter Schilling, The Cranberries and New Order. KHPT flipped to a classic alternative format after its run as an all-'80s station. The same goes for KJAQ in Seattle, one of the first stations in the country to try this format.

Digital cable music service Music Choice (originally DMX) provided a station labelled New Wave for several years. The station was later renamed "Retro-Active", and later Classic Alternative, all of which played seventies to eighties new wave, post-punk, synthpop, etc. After several years, the station filtered in 1990s (and even sometimes post-millennium) artists. However, an artist like David Bowie can often fit in classic alternative because he meets the criteria.

[14][15]

SiriusXM offers a classic alternative station, 1st Wave, which was launched in 2008 following the merger between Sirius and XM and replaced similar stations on both services.[16][17]