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When people discuss the best alternative rock songs and bands of the 90s, there's a lot mentioned about Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and the Smashing Pumpkins. As they usually are when it comes to rock music, females are excluded from these discussions. To this writer there are five female-lead alternative bands of the 90s whose songs must be included among the best of the decade.

Juliana Hatfield

Miss Hatfield began the 90s with the band Blake Babies, then pursued a solo career with the 1992 album "Hey Babe." The album is filled with beautiful songs, including the singles, "I See You" and "Everybody Loves Me But You." She then released "Become What You Are" under the band name The Juliana Hatfield Three in 1993. This was when Hatfield blew up, with the video for the single "My Sister" getting plenty of play on MTV. Other great hits from this album were "For the Birds" and "Spin the Bottle," the latter of which was featured in on the soundtrack to the film "Reality Bites." Hatfield's next album, "Only Everything," which came out in 1995, was a slight step down, but still strong, with the hard-hitting single, "Universal Heartbeat."

Hatfield's "My Sister" is one of the best alternative songs of the 90s. On an album full of songs showcasing her amazing voice and songwriting style - "Feelin' Massachusetts," "Little Pieces" - this song stands out as her masterpiece.

Veruca Salt

Fronted by Nina Gordon and Louise Post, Veruca Salt released two albums in the 90s before Gordon left the band to pursue a solo career. Their 1994 debut "American Thighs" put them on the map instantly with the smash single "Seether." These girls weren't only beautiful, they could rock as well, with other hits like Post's "All Hail Me" and Gordon melodic "Number One Blind." It wasn't until 1997 that they released their follow-up "Eight Arms to Hold You," which, not coincidentally, was the original name of the Beatles' "Help!" VS's first single from the album, "Volcano Girls," featured a Glass Onionesque tribute to the Fab Four with a lyric explaining that "The Seether's Louise." The songs "Shutterbug" and "Benjamin" were also modest hits for the girls before the band went into turmoil and eventually also shot out of the mainstream.

I have too much respect for Louise Post to say Nina Gordon WAS Veruca Salt, but most of the highlights on these two albums were indeed hers. "Seether," "Number One Blind," and "Forsynthia," from the first album, and "Volcano Girls," "The Morning Sad," and "Loneliness

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