Alternative is a compilation album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 August 1995 by Parlophone. The two-disc set consists of 30 B-sides of singles from 1985 to 1994, arranged in chronological order. It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. To promote the album, a remake of "Paninaro", originally the B-side of "Suburbia" (1986), was released as a single titled "Paninaro '95". A follow-up B-sides album called Format was released in February 2012, covering the years 1996 to 2009.
Alternative was released as a double CD, including a limited edition box set; a double cassette; and a triple LP box set. The cover (pictured) features photographs of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe in fencing masks, taken by Richard Burbridge. The first copies have a lenticular image on the cover which alternates between the two faces. Designer Mark Farrow came up with the idea when the album title was changed to Alternative after the pictures had already been taken. The packaging was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 1996.
The liner notes include an interview with the duo about each song by music journalist Jon Savage.
Several reviews of Alternative commented on the quality of the Pet Shop Boys' B-sides in their overall songwriting output. Shane Danielsen of The Sydney Morning Herald observed: "With admirable symmetry, the best singles band in the world prove to also make the best B-sides. This companion piece to their Discography best-of is, predictably, somewhat less even, though equally linear, tracing their evolution as the most humane synth-pop band ever". Robert Christgau rated it two out of three on his "Honorable Mention" scale, denoting consumers "may well enjoy", and described the compilation as "two discs of marginalia proving what?--that Very could have been more amazing yet?"
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted: "Far from being a superfluous collection, the album contains a wealth of prime material, including several tracks that surpass those the duo put on their albums". Andrew Harrison of Select wrote: "Line up 30 of most bands' B-sides in chronological order and you'll need matchsticks under your eyelids. But this is the Pettoes we're talking about, so puckish wit, cavalier experimentation and the latest in funny noises reign". He concluded, "these B-sides shame plenty of people's career peaks".