{"id":522717,"date":"2024-08-02T15:00:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=522717"},"modified":"2025-12-19T16:13:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T15:13:28","slug":"the-best-90s-grunge-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/gear\/the-best-90s-grunge-bands\/","title":{"rendered":"The best 90s grunge bands"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the early 90s, a dirty and rebellious sound emerged from the dark streets of Seattle. The new genre would revolutionize the music scene and become the soundtrack of an entire generation. Grunge was an outlet for world-weariness and frustration, the voice of Generation X \u2013 musical rebellion with a deliberately unsightly appearance as an antithesis of slick mainstream rock.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Soundgarden \u2013 Pioneers of the Seattle Sound<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Grunge already left a mark in the second half of the 80s, when a burgeoning underground scene developed in Seattle. Soundgarden are regarded as one of the most influential early Grunge bands, as they helped to develop the unmistakable style that would become known as the Seattle sound. Their most successful song was \u201cBlack Hole Sun\u201d. Fun fact: Singer Chris Cornell claims to have written the song in just 15 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Soundgarden \u2013 Black Hole Sun<\/span><\/p>\n

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      The Melvins \u2013 childhood friends<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The Melvins were another band that helped define the grunge sound. One of their big fans was a certain Kurt Cobain, who also helped out as a roadie and even auditioned as a guitarist. He failed his audition, as he was too nervous to remember the songs. However, the Melvins\u2019 drummer Dale Crover, who had become good friends with Kurt Cobain, later helped Nirvana make their first studio recordings in 1988 and played a live show on the same day. The intro of the Melvins song \u201cHoney Bucket\u201d is synonymous with the spirit of grunge.<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

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      Melvins \u2013 Honey Bucket<\/span><\/p>\n

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        Nirvana and the breakthrough of grunge<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        While we\u2019re on the subject: The grunge sound had its major breakthrough when Nirvana \u2013 with Kurt Cobain as singer and guitarist (!) \u2013 released the iconic single \u201cSmells Like Teen Spirit\u201d on September 10<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup>, 1991. The album \u201cNevermind\u201d stormed the US album charts just a few months later and even knocked none other than Michael Jackson \u2013 the King of Pop \u2013 from the top spot. The band cultivated an anti-star image: At an awards ceremony, Cobain spat on a piano, thinking it belonged to Axl Rose. Unfortunately, it was Elton John\u2019s. The music establishment was not amused.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        Nirvana \u2013 Smells Like Teen Spirit (Offical Music Video)<\/span><\/p>\n

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          Pearl Jam<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Alongside Nirvana, the American band Pearl Jam helped popularize grunge in the early 90s. This band also has roots in the Seattle scene. Seemingly endless tours and a worldwide grunge boom were a testament to the band\u2019s rapidly increasing popularity. The debut album \u201cTen\u201d was also released in 1991 and by 2013, it had sold 13 million copies. While songs like \u201cAlive\u201d and \u201cEven Flow\u201d were successful, the single \u201cJeremy\u201d, which was inspired by the story of a bullying victim, was the biggest banger. The band around singer and guitarist Eddie Vedder is the only one of the big Seattle groups of the 90s that continues to exist, produce, and tour to this day. <\/span><\/p>\n

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          Pearl Jam \u2013 Jeremy (1991) <\/span><\/p>\n

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            Alice in Chains<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Alice in Chains also came straight out of Seattle, the epicentre of grunge. As the grunge wave took off, they benefitted from being featured on a film promo soundtrack alongside several other bands from Seattle. The following album \u201cDirt\u201d reached number 6 in the US charts \u2013 despite (or because of?) the rather gloomy lyrics. Alice in Chains went on to release many other songs and played live with the who is who of rock, indie, and grunge. There probably isn\u2019t a single festival this grunge, indie, and rock band hasn\u2019t played at.<\/span><\/p>\n

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            Alice In Chains \u2013 Dirt <\/span><\/p>\n

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              Mudhoney<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Seattle wasn\u2019t done yet. Interestingly, Mudhoney was founded on Halloween Day in 1987. As early as 1988, they defined the sound that would later become known as grunge. Before Nirvana\u2019s breakthrough, they were the signature act of the Sub Pop label. Singer Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner and their bandmates had a slightly harder sound than other contemporary bands, which was a bit more difficult to sell. Mudhoney is still active with a new line-up and continues to release new albums regularly. The band\u2019s most successful album is 1992\u2019s \u201cPiece of Cake\u201d, which sold more than 150,000 copies. <\/span><\/p>\n

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              Mudhoney \u2013 Take Me There \u2013 Piece of Cake 1992<\/span><\/p>\n

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                Stone Temple Pilots<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                In the early 90s, Stone Temple Pilots \u2013\u00a0also referred to as STP \u2013 from San Diego in southern California were one of the most important grunge bands besides Nirvana and Pearl Jam. And they really took off. Their first five albums sold more than 17 million copies in total. In addition, STP had 15 top ten singles in the Billboard Rock Charts, six of which reached number one. And this success didn\u2019t go unrecognized: In 1994, they received a Grammy award for \u201cBest Hard Rock Performance\u201d for the song \u201cPlush\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

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                Stone Temple Pilots – Plush<\/span><\/p>\n

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                  Silverchair<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Now it gets a bit weird. Silverchair, which were considered a grunge band in their early years, did NOT come from Seattle. Unbelievable, but true. As a matter of fact, the band is from Australia. Silverchair didn\u2019t want to limit themselves to riding the grunge wave, but rather thought of themselves as an Alternative Rock band. In 1995, they had their first chart hit with the album \u201cFrogstomp\u201d. They later referred to \u201cTomorrow\u201d as \u201cmellow post-grunge rock music\u201d. In 2011, the band announced their breakup, at least for the time being. In their statement, they said that they were going on \u201cindefinite hibernation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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                  Silverchair \u2013 Tomorrow \u2013 US-Version<\/span><\/p>\n

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                    Temple of the Dog<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Temple of the Dog is another proof that all musicians of the grunge era somehow seemed to know each other. In addition to Pearl Jam\u2019s Eddie Vedder, the band included Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, as well as Jeff Ament. The explanation is easy. Following the death of his friend Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, Chris Cornell had written two sounds that didn\u2019t fit the Soundgarden style. To record the tracks, he relied on good friends from the scene. Temple of the Dog first played live on November 13<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup>, 1990 in Seattle. It would remain the band\u2019s only live performance with the full line-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

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                    Temple Of The Dog \u2013 Hunger Strike<\/span><\/p>\n

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                      Foo Fighters<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Founded by two former Nirvana members \u2013\u00a0drummer and singer Dave Grohl and guitarist Pat Smear \u2013 after Kurt Cobain\u2019s death, the Foo Fighters stayed true to the unconventional grunge and rock sound. Meanwhile, the music of these unstoppable workaholics (especially Dave Grohl) is often referred to as post-grunge. This cool video for \u201cLearn to Fly\u201d features 1,000 musicians:<\/span><\/p>\n

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                      Foo Fighters \u2013 Learn to Fly \u2013 Rockin\u2018 1000<\/span><\/p>\n

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                      Do you have memories of the grunge era? Were you even alive? Put a comment and share with us your stories !<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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                      \"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      The best 90’s grunge band : 1990 is known for being a decade in which lots of grunge bands emerged! Read our article to see who’s in our top!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":522727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tblog_post_audio_url":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/app\/uploads\/sites\/3\/text-to-speech\/522717.mp3","footnotes":""},"categories":[1083],"tags":[26734],"class_list":["post-522717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear","tag-grunge"],"category_colors":{"color_key":"gear","css_classes":{"text":"cat-gear","text_light":"cat-gear-light","bg":"cat-bg-gear","bg_light":"cat-bg-gear-light","border":"cat-border-gear","text_on_bg":"cat-text-on-gear"}},"reading_time":{"minutes":6,"formatted":"6 min"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10031515,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522717\/revisions\/10031515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}