Candy Apple Grey is the fifth album by the alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, released in 1986. It was their first major label album, though Warner Bros. had initially lobbied to release Flip Your Wig until the band decided to let SST have it. Candy Apple Grey also marks the completion of the band's transition from hardcore punk to a more well-rounded sonic style which would later come to be known as alternative rock. As usual, Bob Mould and Grant Hart individually wrote tracks on the album. While the band's earlier, more frenetic style is still evident, Candy Apple Grey also features more introverted, toned-down material, including a relatively large amount of acoustic guitar.

Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band's principal songwriters, with Hart's higher-pitched vocals and Mould's baritone taking the lead in alternating songs.