Top 5 Grunge Bands Of All Time

5. Soundgarden

Soundgarden was actually formed in 1984 in Seattle, Washington but did not actually gain success and recognition until the 1990’s because of Nirvana and Pearl Jam’s eventual success that plunged the entire grunge music scene into mainstream music. Soundgarden’s defining album in 1994, “Superunknown,” became their most successful album. The album itself ranked number 1 in the Billboard Top 200 charts and was nominated for the “Best Rock Album” in the Grammy Awards in 1995. The more renowned Soundgarden singles from the album, “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman,” each won a Grammy award.

3. Stone Temple Pilots

Stone Temple Pilots, (STP) is one big grunge rock band name that is from outside of Seattle. With over 17 million album copies of the group’s 5 albums sold in the U.S. alone, 15 singles topping the Billboard charts, a Grammy Award for “Best Hard Rock Performance” and several American Music Awards tucked under the group’s belt, STP remains as one of the more popular names among alternative bands in the early 1990’s.

Something noteworthy about STP is that despite the instantaneous rise in their number of fans because of their equally instantaneous successful debut album, “Core”, so did the harsh criticisms against them. In fact the “Rolling Stone” magazine in January 1994 simultaneously had the group as the “Best New Band” according to its readers and the “Worst New Band” according to its music critics. Nevertheless, Stone Temple Pilots would eventually release four more successful albums to etch a name among the grunge music groups of the generation before eventually disbanding in 2002.

1. Nirvana

The grunge group that tops the list has to be Nirvana. With the remarkable success of its single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” from its 1991 album, “Nevermind,” Nirvana almost single-handedly brought the whole alternative rock commercial success. The album in itself has already sold more than 10 million copies in the U.S. and more than 25 million internationally. Because of its feat, Nirvana is considered to be the “flagship band of Generation X” as aptly worded by Michael Azerrad of Rolling Stone.

Nirvana was so noteworthy in placing so much passion in perfecting its music that it had a lot of other drummers before being satisfied with Dave Grohl and it had to redo some of its songs such as “All Apologies” and “Heart Shaped Box” because it did not sound “perfect.”

Nirvana’s run came to a halt after Kurt Cobain’s death on April 8, 1994. However the support of Nirvana fans whose ranks have swelled by then for Nirvana records released after Cobain's death only serve to highlight the legacy left by the band on the movement that was grunge rock.