Spin Alternative Record Guide

Spin Alternative Record Guide
Book cover with a red background and the tagline "The essential artists and albums of punk, new wave, indie rock, and hip hop"
EditorsEric Weisbard and Craig Marks
Authors64 contributors
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAlternative music, discography, music journalism, review
PublisherVintage Books
Publication date
October 1995
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages468
ISBN0-679-75574-8

The Spin Alternative Record Guide is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine Spin and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was edited by the rock critic Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks, who was the magazine's editor-in-chief at the time. The book has essays and reviews from a number of prominent critics on albums, artists and genres considered relevant to the alternative music movement. Contributors who were consulted for the guide include Ann Powers, Rob Sheffield, Simon Reynolds and Michael Azerrad.

The book did not sell particularly well and received a mixed reaction from reviewers in 1995. The quality and relevance of the contributors' writing were praised, while the editors' concept and comprehensiveness of alternative music were seen as ill-defined. Nonetheless, it inspired a number of future music critics and helped to revive the career of the folk artist John Fahey, whose music was covered in the guide.