Born from post-punk and new wave influences, college rock describes the brand of alternative rock that dominated college radio playlists in the 1980s, before alternative rock went mainstream with the grunge movement in the 1990s.
In the second half of the '80s, the success of Enya and the rest of a new generation of New Age artists led to the genre's second wind. Embracing everything from digital instruments to pop crossovers, New Age reached a whole new audience.