diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4899bb2..afd5f8c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ This project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 ### Added
-- option to insert CSS link before an existing link tag
+- `insertCssBefore` option to insert CSS link before an existing element
 ### Changed
 ### Fixed
 ### Removed
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b93e75c..fdf7a57 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,15 +23,16 @@ See the [Examples](#examples) section below for links to applications that use t
 - [Table of contents](#table-of-contents)
 - [Install](#install)
 - [Usage](#usage)
-  - [Loading Styles](#loading-styles)
   - [Loading Modules from the ArcGIS API for JavaScript](#loading-modules-from-the-arcgis-api-for-javascript)
   - [Lazy Loading the ArcGIS API for JavaScript](#lazy-loading-the-arcgis-api-for-javascript)
+  - [Loading Styles](#loading-styles)
 - [Why is this needed?](#why-is-this-needed)
 - [Examples](#examples)
 - [Advanced Usage](#advanced-usage)
+  - [Overriding ArcGIS Styles](#overriding-arcgis-styles)
+  - [Configuring Dojo](#configuring-dojo)
   - [Pre-loading the ArcGIS API for JavaScript](#pre-loading-the-arcgis-api-for-javascript)
   - [Isomorphic/universal applications](#isomorphicuniversal-applications)
-  - [Configuring Dojo](#configuring-dojo)
   - [Using your own script tag](#using-your-own-script-tag)
   - [ArcGIS Types](#arcgis-types)
   - [Using the esriLoader Global](#using-the-esriloader-global)
@@ -61,30 +62,6 @@ yarn add esri-loader
 
 The code snippets below show how to load the ArcGIS API and its modules and then use them to create a map. Where you would place similar code in your application will depend on which application framework you are using. See below for [example applications](#examples).
 
-### Loading Styles
-
-Before you can use the ArcGIS API in your app, you'll need to load the styles that correspond to the version you are using. You can use the provided `loadCss(url)` function. For example:
-
-```js
-// load esri styles for version 4.x using loadCss
-import { loadCss } from 'esri-loader';
-loadCss('https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css');
-```
-
-Alternatively, you can manually load them by more traditional means such as adding `<link>` tags to your HTML, or `@import` statements to your CSS. For example:
-
-```html
-<!-- load esri styles for version 4.x via an html link tag -->
-<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css">
-```
-
-or:
-
-```css
-/* load esri styles for version 3.x via css import */
-@import url('https://js.arcgis.com/3.27/esri/css/esri.css');
-```
-
 ### Loading Modules from the ArcGIS API for JavaScript
 
 #### From the Latest Version
@@ -150,6 +127,48 @@ Lazy loading the ArcGIS API can dramatically improve the initial load performanc
 
 See the [Advanced Usage](#advanced-usage) section below for more advanced techniques such as [pre-loading the ArcGIS API](#pre-loading-the-arcgis-api-for-javascript), [using in isomorphic/universal applications](#isomorphicuniversal-applications), [configuring Dojo](#configuring-dojo), and more.
 
+### Loading Styles
+
+Before you can use the ArcGIS API in your app, you'll need to load the styles that correspond to the version you are using. Just like the ArcGIS API modules, you'll probably want to [lazy load](#lazy-loading-the-arcgis-api-for-javascript) the styles only once they are needed by the application. The easiest way to do that is to pass the `css` option to `loadModules()`:
+
+```js
+import { loadModules } from 'esri-loader';
+
+// lazy-load the CSS before loading the modules
+const options = {
+  css: 'https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css'
+};
+
+loadModules(['esri/views/MapView', 'esri/WebMap'], options)
+  .then(([MapView, WebMap]) => {
+    // you can safely create a map now that the styles are loaded
+  });
+```
+
+Alternatively, you can use the provided `loadCss(url)` function to control when the ArcGIS styles are loaded. For example:
+
+```js
+// load esri styles for version 4.x using loadCss
+import { loadCss } from 'esri-loader';
+loadCss('https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css');
+```
+
+See below for information on how to [override ArcGIS styles](#override-arcgis-styles) that you've lazy-loaded with `loadModules()` or `loadCss()`.
+
+Finally, you can manually load them by more traditional means such as adding `<link>` tags to your HTML, or `@import` statements to your CSS. For example:
+
+```html
+<!-- load esri styles for version 4.x via an html link tag -->
+<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css">
+```
+
+or:
+
+```css
+/* load esri styles for version 3.x via css import */
+@import url('https://js.arcgis.com/3.27/esri/css/esri.css');
+```
+
 ## Why is this needed?
 
 Unfortunately, you can't simply `npm install` the ArcGIS API and then `import` ArcGIS modules directly from other modules in a non-Dojo application. The only reliable way to load ArcGIS API for JavaScript modules is using Dojo's AMD loader. However, when using the ArcGIS API in an application built with another framework, you typically want to use the tooling and conventions of that framework rather than the Dojo build system. This library lets you do that by providing an ES module that you can `import` and use to dynamically inject an ArcGIS API script tag in the page and then use its Dojo loader to load only the ArcGIS API modules as needed.
@@ -247,6 +266,58 @@ See the [examples over at ember-esri-loader](https://github.com/Esri/ember-esri-
 
 ## Advanced Usage
 
+### Configuring Dojo
+
+You can pass a [`dojoConfig`](https://dojotoolkit.org/documentation/tutorials/1.10/dojo_config/) option to `loadScript()` or `loadModules()` to configure Dojo before the script tag is loaded. This is useful if you want to use esri-loader to load Dojo packages that are not included in the ArcGIS API for JavaScript such as [FlareClusterLayer](https://github.com/nickcam/FlareClusterLayer).
+
+```js
+import { loadModules } from 'esri-loader';
+
+// in this case options are only needed so we can configure Dojo before loading the API
+const options = {
+  // tell Dojo where to load other packages
+  dojoConfig: {
+    async: true,
+    packages: [
+      {
+        location: '/path/to/fcl',
+        name: 'fcl'
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+};
+
+loadModules(['esri/map', 'fcl/FlareClusterLayer_v3'], options)
+  .then(([Map, FlareClusterLayer]) => {
+    // you can now create a new FlareClusterLayer and add it to a new Map
+  })
+  .catch(err => {
+    // handle any errors
+    console.error(err);
+  });
+```
+
+### Overriding ArcGIS Styles
+
+If you want to override ArcGIS styles that you have lazy-loaded using `loadModules()` or `loadCss()`, you may need to insert the ArcGIS styles into the document _above_ your custom styles in order to ensure the [rules of CSS precedence](https://css-tricks.com/precedence-css-order-css-matters/) are applied correctly. For this reason, `loadCss()` accepts a [selector](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document_object_model/Locating_DOM_elements_using_selectors#Selectors) (string) as optional second argument that will be used to query the DOM node (i.e. `<link>` or `<script>`) that contains your custom styles and it will insert the ArcGIS styles above that node. You can also pass that selector as the `insertCssBefore` option to `loadModules()`:
+
+```js
+import { loadModules } from 'esri-loader';
+
+// lazy-load the CSS before loading the modules
+const options = {
+  css: 'https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css',
+  // insert the stylesheet link above the first <style> tag on the page
+  insertCssBefore: 'style'
+};
+
+// before loading the modules, this will call:
+// loadCss('https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css', 'style')
+loadModules(['esri/views/MapView', 'esri/WebMap'], options);
+```
+
+Alternatively you could insert it before the first `<link>` tag w/ `insertCssBefore: 'link[rel="stylesheet"]'`,  etc.
+
 ### Pre-loading the ArcGIS API for JavaScript
 
 If you have good reason to believe that the user is going to transition to a map route, you may want to start pre-loading the ArcGIS API as soon as possible w/o blocking rendering, for example:
@@ -288,40 +359,9 @@ if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
 }
 ```
 
-### Configuring Dojo
-
-You can pass a [`dojoConfig`](https://dojotoolkit.org/documentation/tutorials/1.10/dojo_config/) option to `loadScript()` or `loadModules()` to configure Dojo before the script tag is loaded. This is useful if you want to use esri-loader to load Dojo packages that are not included in the ArcGIS API for JavaScript such as [FlareClusterLayer](https://github.com/nickcam/FlareClusterLayer).
-
-```js
-import { loadModules } from 'esri-loader';
-
-// in this case options are only needed so we can configure Dojo before loading the API
-const options = {
-  // tell Dojo where to load other packages
-  dojoConfig: {
-    async: true,
-    packages: [
-      {
-        location: '/path/to/fcl',
-        name: 'fcl'
-      }
-    ]
-  }
-};
-
-loadModules(['esri/map', 'fcl/FlareClusterLayer_v3'], options)
-  .then(([Map, FlareClusterLayer]) => {
-    // you can now create a new FlareClusterLayer and add it to a new Map
-  })
-  .catch(err => {
-    // handle any errors
-    console.error(err);
-  });
-```
-
 ### Using your own script tag
 
-It is possible to use this library only to load modules (i.e. not to pre-load or lazy load the ArcGIS API). In this case you will need to add a `data-esri-loader` attribute to the script tag you use to load the ArcGIS API for JavaScript. Example:
+It is possible to use this library only to load modules (i.e. not to lazy-load or pre-load the ArcGIS API). In this case you will need to add a `data-esri-loader` attribute to the script tag you use to load the ArcGIS API for JavaScript. Example:
 
 ```html
 <!-- index.html -->
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a17a7d0..86fce25 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
     "precompile": "npm run lint",
     "prepublish": "npm run build:release",
     "preversion": "npm run test && git add README.md CHANGELOG.md",
-    "start": "npm run clean && npm run build && concurrently \"onchange 'src/esri-loader.ts' -- npm run build\" \"karma start\"",
+    "start": "npm run clean && npm run build && concurrently \"onchange 'src/**/*.ts' -- npm run build\" \"karma start\"",
     "test": "npm run build:release && karma start --single-run=true --browsers Firefox"
   },
   "repository": {
diff --git a/src/esri-loader.ts b/src/esri-loader.ts
index 1a01384..f3ef84c 100644
--- a/src/esri-loader.ts
+++ b/src/esri-loader.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.
 */
-import { ILoadCssOptions, loadCss } from './utils/css';
+import { loadCss } from './utils/css';
 
 const isBrowser = typeof window !== 'undefined';
 const DEFAULT_URL = 'https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/';
@@ -61,8 +61,9 @@ function handleScriptError(script, callback) {
 // interfaces
 export interface ILoadScriptOptions {
   url?: string;
-  css?: string | ILoadCssOptions;
+  css?: string;
   dojoConfig?: { [propName: string]: any };
+  insertCssBefore?: string;
 }
 
 // allow consuming libraries to provide their own Promise implementations
@@ -84,9 +85,7 @@ export function isLoaded() {
 // load the ArcGIS API on the page
 export function loadScript(options: ILoadScriptOptions = {}): Promise<HTMLScriptElement> {
   // default options
-  if (!options.url) {
-    options.url = DEFAULT_URL;
-  }
+  const url = options.url || DEFAULT_URL;
 
   return new utils.Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     let script = getScript();
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ export function loadScript(options: ILoadScriptOptions = {}): Promise<HTMLScript
       // NOTE: have to test against scr attribute value, not script.src
       // b/c the latter will return the full url for relative paths
       const src = script.getAttribute('src');
-      if (src !== options.url) {
+      if (src !== url) {
         // potentially trying to load a different version of the API
         reject(new Error(`The ArcGIS API for JavaScript is already loaded (${src}).`));
       } else {
@@ -116,15 +115,15 @@ export function loadScript(options: ILoadScriptOptions = {}): Promise<HTMLScript
         // this is the first time attempting to load the API
         if (options.css) {
           // load the css before loading the script
-          loadCss(options.css);
+          loadCss(options.css, options.insertCssBefore);
         }
         if (options.dojoConfig) {
           // set dojo configuration parameters before loading the script
           window['dojoConfig'] = options.dojoConfig;
         }
         // create a script object whose source points to the API
-        script = createScript(options.url);
-        _currentUrl = options.url;
+        script = createScript(url);
+        _currentUrl = url;
         // once the script is loaded...
         handleScriptLoad(script, () => {
           // update the status of the script
diff --git a/src/utils/css.ts b/src/utils/css.ts
index 5089562..9e0793d 100644
--- a/src/utils/css.ts
+++ b/src/utils/css.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,16 @@
 
-function createStylesheetLink(url) {
+function createStylesheetLink(href: string): HTMLLinkElement {
   const link = document.createElement('link');
   link.rel = 'stylesheet';
-  link.href = url;
+  link.href = href;
   return link;
 }
 
-function insertLink(link, before?) {
-  // if we need to insert before an existing link, get all link tags
-  const allLinks = (before || before === 0) && document.getElementsByTagName('link');
-  if (allLinks) {
-    // insert the link before the link tag
-    const beforeLink = allLinks[before];
-    beforeLink.parentNode.insertBefore(link, beforeLink);
+function insertLink(link: HTMLLinkElement, before?: string) {
+  if (before) {
+    // the link should be inserted before a specific node
+    const beforeNode = document.querySelector(before);
+    beforeNode.parentNode.insertBefore(link, beforeNode);
   } else {
     // append the link to then end of the head tag
     document.head.appendChild(link);
@@ -24,19 +22,13 @@ function getCss(url) {
   return document.querySelector(`link[href*="${url}"]`) as HTMLLinkElement;
 }
 
-export interface ILoadCssOptions {
-  url: string;
-  before?: number;
-}
-
 // lazy load the CSS needed for the ArcGIS API
-export function loadCss(css: string | ILoadCssOptions) {
-  const url = typeof css === 'string' ? css : css.url;
+export function loadCss(url: string, before?: string) {
   let link = getCss(url);
   if (!link) {
     // create & load the css link
     link = createStylesheetLink(url);
-    insertLink(link, (css as ILoadCssOptions).before);
+    insertLink(link, before);
   }
   return link;
 }
diff --git a/test/esri-loader.spec.js b/test/esri-loader.spec.js
index 36d52f4..e128c3c 100644
--- a/test/esri-loader.spec.js
+++ b/test/esri-loader.spec.js
@@ -74,8 +74,10 @@ describe('esri-loader', function () {
         });
       });
     });
-    describe('when inserting before an existing link', function () {
+    describe('when inserting before an existing node', function () {
       var url = 'https://js.arcgis.com/4.10/esri/css/main.css';
+      // insert before the first <style> tag
+      var before = 'style';
       var link;
       var mockBeforeLink = {
         parentNode: {
@@ -83,13 +85,18 @@ describe('esri-loader', function () {
         }
       }
       beforeAll(function () {
-        // spyOn(document, 'querySelector');
-        spyOn(document, 'getElementsByTagName').and.returnValue([mockBeforeLink]);
+        spyOn(document, 'querySelector').and.callFake(function (selector) {
+          if (selector === before) {
+            return mockBeforeLink;
+          } else {
+            return null;
+          }
+        });
         spyOn(mockBeforeLink.parentNode, 'insertBefore');
-        link = esriLoader.loadCss({url, before: 0});
+        link = esriLoader.loadCss(url, before);
       });
-      it('should have queried all the links', function () {
-        expect(document.getElementsByTagName.calls.argsFor(0)[0]).toEqual(`link`);
+      it('should have queried for the selector', function () {
+        expect(document.querySelector.calls.argsFor(1)[0]).toEqual(before);
       });
       it('should have inserted before the mock node', function () {
         expect(mockBeforeLink.parentNode.insertBefore.calls.argsFor(0)[0]).toEqual(link);