Claim: Superunknown sold 310,000 original copies in its opening week.

Superunknown is the fourth album by American rock band Soundgarden , released on March 8 , 1994 , through A&M Records . It is the band 's second album with bassist Ben Shepherd , and features new producer Michael Beinhorn . Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album , Badmotorfinger -LRB- 1991 -RRB- . Superunknown continued a departure from the band 's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences .   Superunknown was a critical and commercial success and became the band 's breakthrough album . It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 , selling 310,000 copies in its opening week and reached high positions on charts worldwide . Five singles were released from the album : `` The Day I Tried to Live '' , `` My Wave '' , `` Fell on Black Days '' , `` Spoonman '' , and `` Black Hole Sun '' , the latter two of which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity . In 1995 , the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album . The album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA in the United States , has sold 10 million copies worldwide and remains Soundgarden 's most successful album .