The title track from Mellow Gold, recorded in 1991 by Bongload Custom Recordings in L.A., introduced the world to Beck Hansen two years later in 1993. An infectious slide guitar driven melody, the single's chorus of "I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me," became unavoidable. Beck released Mellow Gold (1994), his Geffen/DGC Records debut, in early 1994 to critical acclaim. The album included the aforementioned single as well as the live staple "Beercan", and showcased Beck's love of all things musical. Elements of folk, punk, blues, noise and hip-hop informed the varied sounds on the album. He also released two independent albums during this period including the melancholy, folk-tinged One Foot In The Grave (K Records) (1994).Beck toured extensively over the next year and a half, most notably appearing on the main stage at the 1995 Lollapalooza tour. Afterwards he returned to the studio and emerged in the summer of 1996 with Odelay which sold 2.3 million copies and won two Grammys in 1997. Since then, Beck has stunned the music industry with each of his ensuing albums including his outrageously party anthem-esque Midnite Vultures (1999), downbeat and melodic Mutations, thundering heartbreak in Sea Change (2002), groove-laden samples and street culture in Guero (2005) and exploring new soundscapes in The Information (2006) and Modern Guilt (2008).
References:
- Beck.com, News and Views
- Wikipedia, Odelay
Since rebooting with their 7th record simply entitled "the album" in summer of 2009, Wilco has been creating a consistently warm, appealing, crowd-wowing sound from incredibly well-written lyrics and ensemble musical performances. This continues with the group's 8th album, The Whole Love. 
The Hiders' 2008 release Penny Harvest Field is a follow-up to their brilliant Valentine released in 2006. The Cincinnati based alt-rock act's musical influences seem to range from alt-country to mainstream rock containing Fogerty, Petty, Greenwood (Radiohead) and Neil Young. Their live sound is true to their studio sound which is kind of a seamless arrangement of guitar and vocal harmonies. 
Gaezzetti are a alt-rock outfit from New Jersey with pop and rock influences, notably R.E.M., on Now & Ever Records - the label that helped launch 
2008's "Introducing Hanggai", also 
When a band like The Strokes suddenly pave the way for rock revival in America people take notice. The band's debut record "This Is It" sold 50,000 copies it's first week in 2001, and 2 million copies by 2003. The Strokes, an "underground" band often seen as a loss by major labels, single handedly opened doors for The White Stripes and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs for nation wide audiences with their over-whelming success.