Artists like Ben Folds Five

Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter. After playing in several small independent bands from the late 1980s through the early '90s, Folds came to prominence as the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. Folds has recorded a number of solo albums, most recently Sleigher (2024). He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Folds was the artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. from 2017 until 2025.

Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band. It was formed in 1992 in Seattle, Washington, by Aaron Huffman and Jeff J. Lin, who were both journalism students at the University of Washington. Drummer Evan Sult and singer Sean Nelson were brought into the band in 1993, solidifying the band's lineup for the remainder of their initial existence.

Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The members met during the freshman Wilderness Orientation program in August of that year, playing publicly together as a trio two months later at the Midnight Cafe coffee house in the common area of the Lewis Hall dormitory. While attending Tufts, the band lived at 139 College Avenue in Somerville.

Jukebox the Ghost is an American three-piece power pop band formed in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The band consists of Ben Thornewill, Tommy Siegel and Jesse Kristin (drums). The band has been active since 2003.

The Hold Steady is an American rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), Franz Nicolay (keyboards) and Steve Selvidge (guitar). Noted for their "lyrically dense storytelling," and classic rock influences, the band's narrative-based songs frequently address themes such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters based within the city of Minneapolis.

Soul Coughing is an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty, keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. They garnered largely positive response from critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic described the band as "One of the most unique cult bands of the '90s. Driven by frontman M. Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry, Soul Coughing's sound was a willfully idiosyncratic mix of improvisational jazz grooves, oddball samples, hip-hop, electronics, and noisy experimentalism". Doughty described the band's sound as "deep slacker jazz". The group broke up in 2000.

Everclear is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1992. The band was formed by Art Alexakis, the band's lead songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. For most of the band's height of popularity, the band was filled out by bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Greg Eklund. After the limited release of their independently released debut album, World of Noise (1993), the band found success with their first three albums on Capitol Records: Sparkle and Fade (1995), So Much for the Afterglow (1997), and Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile (2000), which were all certified platinum in sales in the United States. However, the following two albums Songs from an American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time for a Bad Attitude (2000) and Slow Motion Daydream (2003) stalled commercially, with Montoya and Eklund leaving shortly after.

Self is an American pop rock band formed in 1993 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The band is led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Matt Mahaffey, additionally consisting of keyboardist Chris James, bassist Mac Burrus, and drummer Jason Rawlings. Former members include guitarist Mike Mahaffey and touring bassist Tim Nobles. The group began as a duo on Spongebath Records with the Mahaffey brothers, immediately picked up by Zoo Entertainment to release their debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives (1995). It sold over 40,000 copies in its first two years with support from the singles "Cannon" and "So Low". After expanding the lineup for live performances, the band embraced an experimental approach with The Half-Baked Serenade (1997), followed by a compilation of demos, Feels Like Breakin' Shit (1998).

Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990s as a solo artist. His companion albums, Tomorrow Forever and Tomorrow's Daughter, were followed by 2018's Wicked System of Things and 2021's Catspaw, his 15th studio effort.

The Whitlams are an Australian Indie rock band formed in late 1992. The original line-up was Tim Freedman on keyboards and lead vocals, Andy Lewis on double bass and Stevie Plunder on guitar and lead vocals. Other than mainstay Freedman, the line-up has changed numerous times. From 2001 to 2022, he was joined by Warwick Hornby on bass guitar, Jak Housden on guitar and Terepai Richmond on drums – forming the band's longest-lasting and best-known line-up. Four of their studio albums have reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 20: Eternal Nightcap, Love This City, Torch the Moon and Little Cloud. Their highest-charting singles are "Blow Up the Pokies" and "Fall for You" – both reached number 21. The group's single, "No Aphrodisiac" was listed at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1997 by listeners of national radio station, Triple J. In January 1996 Stevie Plunder was found dead at the base of Wentworth Falls. Andy Lewis died in February 2000.

John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, and a co-founder of alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwriting, he plays keyboard, accordion, baritone and bass saxophone, and clarinet for the band.

Jack's Mannequin is an American rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Orange County, California. The band originally began as a solo project for Andrew McMahon, the frontman of Something Corporate.

Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald, Darren Robinson, Sam Farrar, and Andrew Parker (drums). The band is best known for their track "California", which became the theme song for the TV series The O.C.. Jason Schwartzman, now primarily an actor, was a founding member of the band, serving as the band's drummer until 2003.

Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with Round Hill Music. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin, Tom Drummond, Michael Jerome (drums), and James Arthur Payne Jr.. The band has released nine studio albums, most recently 2024's Super Magick. They are best known for their 1993 multi-platinum album Deluxe and the 1995 single "Good", which reached number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, who stopped touring in 2017 and left the band in 2020. They had chart success in the 1990s with singles that included "Walk on the Ocean", "All I Want", "Something's Always Wrong", "Fall Down", and "Good Intentions".

The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It has undergone several personnel changes, but has remained centered on Dylan.

Crash Kings is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The members are vocalist–keyboardist Antonio "Tony" Beliveau, his brother, bassist Mike Beliveau, and drummer Tom Roslak. The band's debut album, Crash Kings, was released May 26, 2009, on Custard/Universal Motown. The first single, "Mountain Man", came out on U.S. modern rock radio stations in October and entered Billboard's Alternative Songs chart the following month. It reached no. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Radio charts in March 2010. The band is known for using analog keyboards, such as the clavinet, with distortion effects and a whammy bar, in place of a typical lead guitar.