Best Grunge Bands - Top Ten List - TheTopTens® Best Grunge Bands Grunge was one of the most controversial types of music back in the day so let's see which band made it a legend! The Top Ten 1 Nirvana Nirvana was an American grunge band that was formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana disbanded after Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. The drummer of the band, David Grohl, went on to start the Foo-Fighters, an alternative rock band. ... read more . No band of this genre can compare to Nirvana. Not many bands in history can compare to Nirvana! Kurt Cobain invented Grunge with his distorted guitar and his angst-full lyrics. The top six bands on this list are absolutely the best grunge bands ever! But nirvana does deserve the number one song because kurt invented grunge rock! They will always be one of the best bands in history R.I.P. Kurt Cobain33 Very very very epic band and just everything about it was amazing and I don't know how anybody can not like this band because it's just impossible not to be in love with this band no matter what.

No other band can compare to Nirvana. The best band of all time V 66 Comments 2 Alice In Chains Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. Layne's voice was unique and like no other grunge singer. It sends a chill down your spine. Layne will never be forgotten. Jerry's riffs and songwriting add it up. I didn't know what kind of rock music I liked until I heard of Alice in Chains. They influenced me into the grunge era, and got me to like other grunge bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Plots and more. AIC had the best talent of all the bands that came out at this time. They have been overshadowed by the media darlings that Nirvana became. But obviously their talent was a given. Between Layne's beautiful voice and Jerry's great guitar riffs, backed back Mike and Sean's talent, these guys were always ahead of the game whether the media saw it or not.

Nirvana will always be voted number one by this generation and it's not like that's bad nirvana kicked ass. However, alice in chains was insane I mean come on. Have you heard the song man in the box alice in chains is so beautifully dark they just embody grunge. Layne Staley's voice was perfect for what you would want in grunge but also so beautiful not to mention his harmonies with guitarist Jerry Cantrell. The power of Layne's voice just blows your mind and his sincerity and ability to turn his feeling's into sick imagery is unmatched. Take it from someone who appreciates all the IMPORTANT grunge bands. Nirvana is without a doubt 1st, Alice In Chains definitely clock in at 2nd, and I don't care what anyone says, the Smashing Pumpkins are 3rd. Alice's 3 albums with original vocalist Layne Stanley match up with Nirvanas 3 albums and the Pumpkins first 3. AIC is the darkest band to come out of the depths of Seattle and we're the first grunge band to reach gold or platinum with an album.

V 74 Comments 3 Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is a Grunge Rock Band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. The band had comprised of Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. ... read more . Pearl Jam is music I like to call Eargasm, or ear orgasm. They are amazing, and the best thing is, they're the only Grunge band to have never broken up or faded into obscurity. Instead, they have evolved, whether new direction is good or bad, and they have stuck with it. And although their early Grunge records, like Ten and Vs. Are still their best, I also appreciate how they tried new things instead of sticking with their Grunge sound because it's more comfortable. Forget best Grunge band; Pearl Jam is perhaps the greatest band in the history of music. - LoganRuckman Nirvana is the poster band of the Movement, and was the first successful grunge band, and no doubt with "Nevermind" had the best Grunge album, but Pearl Jam has more soul, and they are still around. Like all great bands their legend will only grow over time.

They may seem second fiddle now to Nirvana (Grunge's Beatle's), but they will be at least a Grunge Rolling Stones, and their best album may yet lie ahead?. Only band to make it out of the 90's with a fully cohesive band. What does that tell you? Far better than Nirvana, Nirvana is terribly overrated PEARL JAM FOR #1 V 25 Comments 4 Soundgarden Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. By comparing what grunge really is, I think it's arguable to put Soundgarden at the top of the list. Pearl Jam makes a compelling argument to be at the top and Ten is, without doubt, one of the best albums of all time. However, when you consider what Soundgarden produced from album to album, and how they evolved and still presented their very own sound while Pearl Jam evolved away from Ten, they deserve the top spot. As a collective, they have the chemistry that every band from the time coveted and has rarely been duplicated.

When you really stop and define Grunge and work from that definition, it's a no-brainer to place Soundgarden at the top of the list. Matt Cameron is the best grunge drummer out there, he does odd signatures as it is nothing, thayil is the God of drop D, his riffs and solos are unique, Ben is a great bassist, and Cornell has the best vocals. Nirvana is well known, but not even that good. And to all the people who claim that Cobain 'invented' grunge, that's bull. You've probably never heard of the deep six. Soundgarden was the best band of the "grunge era". They were the first "big" band there influencing other bands that later became popular. Also the most skilled, versatile, and unique band. Some so amazing sounding songs! by the way, Nirvana is overrated in this "genre". The most interesting of the main 4 - yamuthe 5 Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots was formed in San Diego, CA in 1989. ... read more . This band had amazing versatility, mixing grunge with multiple genres.

I consider their grunge tone to soften on the third album but they still made great music afterwards. Scott's voice wasn't as unique as Cobains but he used many different styles throughout out STP's discography. Amazing band with or without Scott Weiland. To all you idiots voting nirvana, Kurt didn't invent grunge. It's from before any of these bands time. Not the best, but still amazing. V 2 Comments 6 Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American alternative rock band. Formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988 following the demise of Green River, Mudhoney's members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. I kinda feel like sonic youth, melvins, and mudhoney should be on the top ten instead of bush I've always found bush and stone temple pilots to be post grunge bands.

And Foo fighters, while they are a great band, are not grunge This is the very definition of grunge its noisy and the instrumentals don't sound clean but it's great and if you don't believe me just listen to touch me I'm sick Go listen to "Touch Me I'm Sick" and them come back and vote. V 5 Comments 7 Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1988. Formed by frontman Billy Corgan and James Iha, the band included D'arcy Wretzky and Jimmy Chamberlin in its original incarnation. It's so hard to choose... So many fantastic grunge bands... Smashing Pumpkins has to be my favorite for one reason: they evolved over time. Now maybe that's blasphemous since they ventured into techno-ish music and lighter music and kind of left grunge behind after Mellon Collie but they stayed relevant (for the most part) and continued to put out fantastic music regardless of musical genre. The only album I would say was "bad" was Zeitgeist. Even that one deserves a listen from time to time.

- evoxpisces I would like to put these joint first. But I'm going with the majority. Try out songs like today, Mayonnaise and bullet with butterfly wings. The smashing pumpkins are one of my favourite bands (considering I'm into meatal) now nirvana are probably the best grunge band on this list but I think the Smashing Pumpkins deserve more credit for songs like: Bullet with butterfly wings V 6 Comments 8 The Melvins The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Bush and should not be in the top ten, they are a cheap post grunge band. Foo fighters are a good band but shouldn't be there either The Melvins are great, the guitar-drum synergy is really cool and the lyrics make no sense but are cool also Bush is a cheep post grunge band with no originality or personality 9 Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1981.

Founding members Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, and rounded out the core line-up. So many unique songs and albums. I definitely think more people should give them a listen. If you like Nirvana, I'm almost certain you'd like them. I'd recommend their albums Dirty, Daydream Nation, and the Eternal. The most musically interesting band around. Thurston Moore is a Noise Rock legend, not many can compare. Quite a different band but they make some decent tunes. V 3 Comments 10 Temple Of The Dog Temple of the Dog is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The line-up included Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, ... read more . This is amazing simply because it combines three great bands--Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and even Mother Love Bone to an extent.

You might as well just say Pearl Jam with Chris Cornell. - Songsta41 How come there is no comments here? Chris Cornell's collaboration with Eddie Vedder is more than great! Cornell and Vedder! Orgasm! The Contenders 11 Mother Love Bone Mother Love Bone was a great band and they were around when Grunge was first getting started. They greatly influenced the sound of grunge even though they never really sounded like other grunge bands. Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog would never have existed without Mother Love Bone. Tragically Mother Love Bone never got to be a part of the golden age of the music they helped to create. Their lead singer, Andrew Wood died in 1990. Wood was the David Lee Roth of Grunge, he was a great front-man and he had tremendous talent and charisma. His voice suited Mother Love Bone's funky sound perfectly. If he had not died MLB would probably have gone on to be as great and famous as Nirvana or Pearl Jam. According to Alice in Chains's lead singer the song "Would" is about Andrew Wood. "so I made a big mistake, try to see it once my way" is a reference to Wood's death by overdose.

If anyone is interested in getting into Mother Love Bone, I recommend "This is Shrangila"and "Thru Fade Away" those ... more Grunge never would have gotten out of seattle if it weren't for mother love bone and their frontman andrew wood. They were the bridge between hair metal and grunge, and when andrew wood died, the grunge scene reeled and came back with a vengence. The only famous grunge band that would have continued afterwards would have been nirvana, and they would never have gotten famous. V 1 Comment 12 Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington in 1985 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner and drummer Mark Pickerel. Screaming Trees is a very good band. Very succesful. Mark s voice is very good. Compatible to grunge music. Witness, Traveler, Black Sun Morning, Who Lies in Darkness... The songs are very good. If you like Grunge style you should listen to this band. If you like Mark too much you can listen Mark Lanegan s musics. These musics are alternative.

V 2 Comments 13 Foo Fighters Foo Fighters is an American rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. It was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl after the death of Kurt Cobain and the dissolution of his previous band. The band consists of obviously Dave Grohl (lead vocalist, songwriter), Pat Smear (lead guitarist, pianist), Nate Mendel ... read more . heard pretender, everlong? classic, divine... just plain brilliant I love foo but I don't think they are grunge! Amazing band but it have a lot of nirvana in it because their drummer is Foo Fighters vocalist, David Grohl. I love Dave Grohl, and I loved this bands earlier stuff, but I just find this band too commercial. V 8 Comments 14 Bush Bush are a British rock band formed in London, England in 1992. The band found their immediate success with the release of their debut album Sixteen Stone in 1994, which is certified 6× multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Come on people we're only talking about the sixth best grunge band ever - ianchambers Come on guys, they are the creators of "glycerine" Band higher in this list are undeniable great bands, but they're no grunge bands per se. Therefore, and because Bush is awesome, Bush should be higher on this list. 15 Green River Since Nirvana is already number one I'll help out another great unknown band. Green river created the heavy sound that would inspire the rest of the other Seattle bands to start going down that road and when they broke up there members would go on to found Mudhoney, mother love bone, and Pearl Jam. V 1 Comment 16 Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1997 with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. Should have been Top 5 at least. This band is fantastic, and even though Adam left, their music will always be better than half the bands on here This band isn't Grunge, though?

Just because you're a 90's band doesn't mean you're Grunge, people. This is nowhere near grunge I have no idea why it's on this list but I have to admit they're an amazing band They are a good grunge band. They deserve a higher position into the first 10 bands. Very good lyrics and their singer is good enough. I believe that, they are better than others. V 1 Comment 17 Pixies The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances, but reunited in 2004. The group currently consists of founders Black Francis, Joey Santiago, and David Lovering. They don't sound like grunge that much, but they're very influential to many grunge bands! My Favorite Band. Influential to grudge, but not grudge. I hate when people call them indie. Alternative/Indie, not a Grunge band. I love the pixies V 3 Comments 19 Candlebox Candlebox was by Far my Favorite of the grunge Era.

Kevin's voice is Amazing & their lyrics so empathized the struggles of that generation. V 1 Comment 20 Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments), Colin Greenwoood (bass guitar), Phil Selway (drums), and Ed O'Brien (guitar). One of my favourite bands ever. But doesn't get my vote, because although they are dark, murky and depressing, that doesn't make them a grunge band. Radiohead is more alternative I think. And no, not everybody who listens to this band are pretentious One of the best alt bands ever, but not grunge Radiohead is not a grunge band. They are lame - Sabbath The Best of the 1990s: A Guide to Grunge Music The Best of the 1990s: A Guide to Grunge Music Reddit Seattle skyline | Dan Callister/Hulton Archive/Getty Images The early 1990s were characterized by a music movement from the Pacific Northwest known as grunge.

The grunge movement is best known for its distorted guitars, moody or apathetic lyrics, DIY ethos, and flannel shirts. Grunge music is often credited with popularizing punk rock , which had been a vibrant if not very successful genre since the early 1970s. Grunge is indeed heavily influenced by punk, both musically and in its aesthetics and ethos, but the isolation of the Pacific Northwest allowed a unique genre to develop away from the influence of the typical American cultural centers of Los Angeles and New York City. Of course, grunge didn’t stay isolated for long. After Nirvana’s sophomore album, Nevermind, topped the charts in 1991, grunge was credited with saving rock and roll from over-indulgent ’80s hair bands, introducing more people to punk than ever knew about it in the 20 years the genre had been around, and causing the demise of the formerly pure scene in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle specifically. Here’s a quick look at the history of grunge music, its influences, and why it was important, along with some suggested listening. 1.

Location Aberdeen town limits sign | AFP/Getty Images The relative isolation of the Pacific Northwest allowed grunge bands to develop their own scene independently while operating under their own ethos, away from the lure of major labels and other corporate trappings more readily found in bigger cities. Seattle is the city most frequently associated with grunge music, but neighboring Portland had its own grunge scene and was home to the infamous Satyricon club, where Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love met. In Seattle, the most famous grunge venue was the Crocodile Cafe, which is still open today. It’s worth noting, though, that Cobain and the other members of Nirvana are not even from Seattle, but from the small town of Aberdeen, a two-hour drive from the big city. Many influential grunge bands, and in particular riot grrrl acts, came out of Evergreen State College in Olympia. So while Seattle is known as the capital of grunge, the entire Pacific Northwest proved a breeding ground for the style. The independent, Seattle-based label Sub Pop was crucial to helping young grunge bands develop their sound and is famous for being the first label to sign Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and others. 2.

Influences Neil Young in concert | Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Some of the biggest influences on the grunge movement were punk, heavy metal, and Neil Young. Punk’s ethos that anyone can play an instrument and that music should be a form of rebellion was highly influential on the grunge movement’s beliefs. Grunge is much slower and more distorted than punk, though, showing the musical influence of heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, though grunge groups for the most part disavowed the beliefs and behavior of metal bands. Neil Young has been called “the Godfather of Grunge” due to his use of highly distorted guitar, especially on the album Rust Never Sleeps. Suggested listening: Neil Young, Rust Never Sleeps; The Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bullocks; The Stooges, The Stooges; Black Sabbath, Paranoid 3. Early grunge The band Sonic Youth | Source: Sonic Youth Important early influences on the grunge scene in the 1980s included groups from the local hardcore and punk rock scenes that were developing the grunge style, as well as alternative bands from the northeastern United States.

Sonic Youth and the Pixies were two bands from the Northeast that were incalculably important to the grunge scene. Kurt Cobain went so far as to say several times after Nirvana got famous that most of his music is just a ripoff of the Pixies’ style. Sonic Youth in particular was highly supportive of the Seattle scene. The Melvins were a Seattle band that slowed down hardcore music to make the heavy sound that would characterize grunge, and they served as mentors to many of the grunge groups that would later make it big. Along with the Melvins, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and Tad are considered to be the earliest “grunge” bands, all signed to Sub Pop. Sub Pop and Mudhoney’s Mark Arm are both credited with coining the term. Suggested listening: The Pixies, Surfer Rosa; Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation; The Melvins, Gluey Porch Treatments; Sub Pop 100 Compilation 4. Nirvana Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain performs.

| Frank Micelotta/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Nirvana is the most famous, the most important, and the most influential band to come out of Seattle’s grunge movement. Frontman Kurt Cobain was deemed the tortured voice of a generation, a label that tortured him even more. The release of the group’s first major label record, Nevermind, in 1991, with the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” represented a significant cultural shift, the likes of which many think hasn’t been seen in music since. But the wild popularity of grunge that came with Nirvana isn’t the point. The band’s brutal take on pop melodies filtered through Cobain’s unique artistry created some of the most beautiful, interesting, and important rock and roll music ever made. Nevermind made Cobain and company famous, but the followup, 1993’s In Utero, made with legendary producer Steve Albini, is an even better album. Cobain’s suicide in 1994 is considered to be one of the biggest tragedies in rock and roll music, as well as one mark of the end of grunge.

Suggested listening: All three of Nirvana’s studio albums, plus MTV Unplugged 5. Grunge Made Popular Pearl Jam at the MTV Music Awards. | Frank Micelotta/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Nirvana is also credited with ruining the grunge scene, as the band’s immense popularity made grunge the most popular genre among American teenagers, caused major labels to descend on Seattle clubs like a Biblical plague, and made terrible bands copy the style in order to cash in. One of the most famous and controversial examples of this is Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam is arguably the second-most popular band of the grunge movement, but the group was attacked for lacking authenticity, most famously by Cobain. On the heels of Nevermind’s success, Pearl Jam’s debut, Ten, soared up the charts, as well. While Pearl Jam received some good critical attention — even more as the band’s career continued and its members distanced themselves from grunge — Stone Temple Pilots are the prime example of a group made to profit off the grunge fad. The media had a field day covering grunge and Seattle, with some saying that the city held the biggest counter-cultural movement since San Francisco in the 1960s.

All the attention quickly became tiring for the people originally involved in the movement. Suggested listening: Pearl Jam, Ten; Stone Temple Pilots, Core; Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger; Alice in Chains, Dirt 6. Riot Grrrl Courtney Love of Hole performs onstage | Frank Micelotta/Hulton Archive/Getty Images One of the most important and overlooked offshoots of the grunge movement was a separate genre that called itself riot grrrl. Riot grrrl was born out of a fusion of punk and grunge music with feminist politics at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Riot grrrl bands discussed women’s issues like rape, domestic abuse, female empowerment, and the patriarchy in their music, and dedicated time to organizing women to encourage their participation in rock and roll music. Members of the movement embraced grunge’s DIY ethos by creating zines to promote their causes and shows. Members of riot grrrl bands often wore baby-doll dresses and bows in their hair.

Like many politically based music movements, there is a lot of controversy as to who deserves to be called riot grrrl and who doesn’t, but overall, grunge’s inclusive attitude and politics — not to mention the fact that Cobain frequently identified as a feminist — fostered more great rock bands with women involved in various capacities than almost any other movement in rock and roll music. Cobain was famously married to Hole front woman Courtney Love, who had a contentious relationship with riot grrrl (see the song “Rock Star”) but also made one of the best albums of grunge right before Cobain died. Suggested listening: Hole, Live Through This; Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped; Sleater-Kinney, Sleater-Kinney 7. Post-grunge Nickelback in concert | Jonathan Wood/Getty Images After Kurt Cobain’s suicide in the spring of 1994, grunge and alternative rock continued to go downhill, spiraling further away from the sound and the ethos that comprised the original Seattle movement. Major labels figured out they could cash in, so from the Stone Temple Pilots came post-grunge: commercialized alternative bands like Matchbox Twenty, Nickelback, and Creed.

Those acts dominated rock airwaves in the later 1990s, but are also some of the most critically reviled bands of all time. Grunge may have saved rock and roll for a time, but it died a miserable death at the hands of corporate America. Suggested listening: nothing Many believe that grunge more or less died out after Cobain’s suicide; it’s not often considered to be a current genre. Can you think of any contemporary bands that could be characterized as grunge, either due to their ethos or their music? More from Entertainment Cheat Sheet: 10 Best Grunge Bands of All Time 10 Best Grunge Bands of All Time By Chad Childers September 28, 2012 5:13 PM REDDIT George De Soto / Frank Micelotta (2), Getty Images Grunge — it was the sound that defined the early ’90s, and with this list of the 10 Best Grunge Bands, we’re looking back on the acts that started a musical revolution and turned the music world on its ear.

As the ’80s gave way to the ’90s, there was a need to shake things up from the status quo, and the sound called grunge was there to not only fill a void but to engulf the music scene as a whole. It paved the way for a wealth of frequently overlooked acts and all of a sudden, harder-edged, gritty music typically only heard on college radio was finally making its way into the public lexicon. Seattle became the center of the music universe; sweaty concert halls were once again the place to be; and flannel became a fashion statement. So let’s crank up some distortion and count down the 10 Best Grunge Bands: Sub Pop Seattle's ghosts of grunge - Lonely Planet Seattle's ghosts of grunge Pam Mandel Lonely Planet Writer Country was Nashville , Motown was Detroit , the blues were Chicago or St. Louis (depending on how southern you like your sadness). Grunge, although it made its way across the US and then the world, was born in Seattle when Kurt Cobain, a guy from Aberdeen, a depressed logging town on the Washington coast, unleashed a sound on the city that changed our relationship with music forever and spawned many imitators.

The dotcom boom might have changed the face of many of the sites where the Seattle sound made history, but look closely and you can still find evidence of that disaffected sound that defined the 90s. Here we list some of the most important. Aerial view over Seattle's urban jungle. Image by Peter Saloutos / Image Source / Getty Images. A Sound Garden A Sound Garden is a series of steel pipes that sing when the wind blows through them and the eponymous band took its name from one such art work in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grounds near Magnuson Park, Seattle. Site visits have been restricted since 9/11 – a terrible shame, because on a windy summer evening it’s easy to imagine why a group of musicians would be so inspired as to take their name from this installation. See more on seattle.gov/parks . Black Sun Some speculate that Soundgarden based one of their songs after another piece of local art made by Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi. Black Sun is perched on a ledge over the reservoir in Volunteer Park, it’s a great spot for photos. Stand in just the right spot to place the Space Needle in the middle. Peer through the Black Sun in Volunteer Park.

Image by Michael Cornelius / CC BY-SA 2.0 The Comet Tavern The Comet wasn’t that well known a venue for live music, not exactly a launch pad for careers like the OK Hotel, but it’s where the 90s drank cheap beer. It changed hands in 2013 but locals hope the new owners don’t clean it up too much and that it will remain Capitol Hill’s quintessential dive bar. A mural on the outside wall of Seattle's now-iconic Comet Tavern. Image by J / CC BY-SA 2.0 Hattie’s Hat Hattie’s is another bar that’s doesn’t have great significance in the annals of Seattle grunge history, but it still holds the vibe of the era. Think you know your rock and roll, do you? Hattie’s has a trivia night where you can prove it and get drunk at the same time. The Moore Theater In 1907 the Moore was the height of elegance.

Fast forward to the grunge era, cover the floors with a sticky veneer of spilled beer, sweat and a sold out crowd, give the stage to Tad, Mudhoney and Nirvana and you’ve got Lame Fest ‘89, an event that showed just how big the Seattle sound was going to be. Nobody, least of all the bands headlining, expected the crowds. Breathe in beer vapors at the Moore Theater. Image by Paul Sableman / CC BY 2.0 The OK Hotel Gallery This is the spot where Nirvana debuted Smells Like Teen Spirit on 17 April 1991. Everyone was there, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, and the cast of that Seattle brat pack movie, Singles, while a cast of extras sat at the counter eating soup and drinking coffee and trying not to grow up. The 2001 Nisqually Quake damaged the OK Hotel and it's now an apartment building with a gallery in the lobby, open on the first Thursday of the month to the public.

Terminal Sales Building They no longer occupy the top floor of the 1925 high-rise at First and Virginia (the building is now home to architects, investment consultants and web design shops), but legendary label Sub Pop is still thriving a few blocks away from where the seeds of their world domination were planted. Try not to think too much about the fact that there’s a high end maternity store at street level. Vain Hair Salon It’s hipper than thou now, kind of the opposite of The Vogue, the venue where Nirvana debuted. You could get a haircut, or you stand out front and lament the fact that the home of Goth night and where the Seattle music scene cracked right open is now a place you can get a Brazilian blowout. Viretta Park Adjacent to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s spacious Leschi home there’s a little park with a graffiti covered bench. Fans come here to get as close as they can to the place where the star took his own life in 1994. Courtney later knocked down the gardener’s residence where Kurt’s body was found and had the city take out a tree people were climbing to look over her fence.

She no longer owns the house, but the park is still a spot for fans to light candles, sing songs, leave flowers in Kurt’s memory, and add their own thoughts in Sharpie to the park bench. Tributes in marker pen on a bench in Viretta Park. Image by Sean O'Neill / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Grunge lover's guide to Seattle Listen to this report The year was 1991 in Seattle. Chuck Knox coached the Seahawks, logging was blocked to protect the spotted owl, and the Seattle Art Museum’s Hammering Man fell over. Amazon.com didn’t exist then, but grunge did. Grunge music, which started in Seattle, was huge here and gaining international attention. “There are a lot of different grunge styles, but it was kind of punky and kind of ‘garagey’ and kind of dirty. Just the whole sound was pretty messed up,” says Justin Henderson, author of a new book about grunge music in Seattle. Grunge Seattle is a detailed history of artists and key players in the music’s development.

From Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Mudhoney, to the groups who came much earlier, like the Melvins and Green River. What makes this book interesting for anyone who lives in the area, is that it’s also a guide to locations that were significant for grunge rockers. This boarded-up, triangular-shaped building at 4230 Leary Way in Seattle was the Reciprocal Recording studio. It was booked up to 18 hours a day in the years between 1986 and 1991, with dozens of bands creating grunge music there. This is where Nirvana did its first demo session in 1988. Two songs from Nirvana’s debut album Bleach were recorded here. Henderson moved to Seattle from New York in 1991, and says the city in those days was “sort of isolated.” “Little communities could start up and they wouldn’t be discovered necessarily by the mass media so quickly,” he says. “It was kind of a little local secret.” A lot of people would have preferred to have it stay that way.

Part of the reason grunge was so strong, he says, was that the angst-filled music wasn’t a gimmick. It was good, hard rock. “These guys were really talented. The concerts just rocked and rolled and people had a great time,” says Henderson. “It was not like people standing around bemoaning their fate. It was fun.” He also writes about the “fade out” of grunge in Seattle. From the 1994 suicide of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, and the heroine overdose of Hole’s Kristen Pfaff, to the 2002 overdose of Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. In spite of the many sad stories that went along with the music, Henderson says he doesn’t want to end the book on a negative note. Two decades later Pearl Jam is still jamming and Alice in Chains’ latest album Black Gives Way to Blue – not recorded here, but in Northridge, California – came out last year and is a big success. “It’s like Neil Young says rock and roll never dies it just keeps evolving, mutating and springs up all over,” says Henderson. Soundgarden took their name from this sculpture along Lake Washington.

It’s called “A Sound Garden” and when the wind blows it wails like an electric guitar. It’s on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration property at 7600 Sandpoint Way NE in Seattle. After 9/11 a fence went up for security reasons, separating NOAA from the nearby Magnuson Park. It is open to the public, but you need to stop at the NOAA gates to get a pass. Worth a trip on a windy day. Soundgarden’s front man Chris Cornell went to Shorewood High School, and worked as a seafood wholesaler and sous chef at Ray’s Boathouse restaurant before starting his music career. 10 Notable Grunge Bands - Listverse 10 Notable Grunge Bands Maggot June 17, 2009 Here is a list of ten grunge bands that I feel are the most important of the genre. Rather than subjectively rank them in order of who I think is “best”, I decided to order the bands chronologically by date formed, starting with the earliest. I felt this would better show the development of the sound, the growth of the genre, and the intermingled lineages of some of its key performers.

Keep in mind however that the majority of these bands (and the Scene itself) did not really enter into mainstream commercial awareness until 1991, after grunge exploded in popularity with the surprising success of… well, read the list… 10 Malfunkshun 1980 –1988 Like the other locals mentioned in the intro, this is another early Seattle area band considered to be one of the forbearers of grunge. Though admittedly not a true grunge band, I’m bending my own rule here to give Malfunkshun the opening spot on this list (instead of the Melvins) as a tribute to its founding member, vocalist Andrew Wood, who is an important figure in the history of the genre. Formed by Andrew and his brother Kevin, Malfunkshun was known for their dynamic and psychedelic stage shows. Sporting makeup and a kind of glam style, the band members took on alter-ego stage personas when performing. Though plenty of recorded material and demos do exist, they never did release an album while together; in fact Sub Pop reportedly didn’t want to sign them because they “weren’t grunge enough”.

However they did contribute a couple of songs to the 1986 Deep Six compilation album. By 1987, Andrew began jamming and collaborating with several members of the next band on this list, which would lead to much greater things down the road. 9 Green River 1984 – 1988 Formed in 1984 by vocalist Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Jeff Ament, and drummer Alex Shumway, Green River is credited as being one of the originators of the sound and in fact is now widely regarded as being the first true grunge band. Guitarists Stone Gossard and Bruce Fairweather joined later (Fairweather replacing the departed Turner). The band contributed two cuts to the Deep Six compilation album, but even before that, in 1985 they released an EP Come on Down on little-known Homestead Records, which many claim as being the first grunge record. It didn’t sell all that well, but their steady gigging in and around Seattle was gaining them in local popularity. Their second EP Dry as a Bone in 1987 gave them the distinction of being the first band to release a record on the Sub Pop label.

Later that year, as work commenced on their 1988 debut LP Rehab Doll, the band was beginning to unravel due to differences of opinion on the band’s musical direction. Though never achieving commercial success outside of Seattle, upon disbanding, several of its members went on to form the backbones of later, more successful bands on this list, and achieved worldwide acclaim. 8 Soundgarden 1984 – 1997 Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by vocalist Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto (Yamamoto was replaced in 1990 by Ben Shephard). Cornell also originally played drums, however drummer Scott Sundquist joined in 1985 (later replaced by Matt Cameron), allowing Cornell to focus on singing. This was a good thing, as I consider Cornell’s powerful and wide ranging vocals to be among the best set of pipes in rock. His Zeppelin-influenced swagger and style has been favorably compared to that of Robert Plant. Overall, Soundgarden has been described as being one of the more complex in the genre in terms of musicianship and song composition.

Signed to Sub Pop in 1987, Soundgarden released a couple of EPs, which drew the attention of other major labels. But in 1988 they chose to release their debut LP Ultramega OK under the production of the lesser-known SST Records. Even so, this album garnered Soundgarden a Grammy nomination. After this success, Soundgarden became the first grunge band to join a major label when they signed with A&M Records in 1989, to release their second album Louder Than Love, which charted to 108 on the Billboard 200. This lead to their breakout mainstream success with the release of the 1991 album Badmotorfinger, which also received much critical aclaim, another Grammy nomination, and went platinum. Their best acheivement came with their follow-up 4th album Superunknown in 1994, which released at number one on the charts, won two Grammys, and was certified five times platinum, earning Soundgarden the distinction of being one of grunge’s “Big Four” supergroups.

7 Skin Yard 1985 – 1993 Skin Yard is another early pioneer of the grunge movement and probably one of the more under appreciated bands. They contributed two songs to the 1986 Deep Six compilation album as well as several LPs during the course of their run. Although they never achieved mainstream commercial success, they were a big influence on their contemporaries. Founding member and guitarist Jack Endino produced Skin Yard’s debut album, and later became a well-regarded and highly sought-after sound engineer, producing several milestone records for other bands on this list. His “stripped down” recording practices are seen as a defining characteristic of the grunge sound. Drummer Matt Cameron was also a member of Skin Yard, before achieving fame and fortune with the previously mentioned Soundgarden. 6 Alice In Chains 1987 – 2002 Alice In Chains was started when struggling local musicians, vocalist Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell hooked up and began working together. Cantrell brought in a couple of his former bandmates in bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney, and AIC began gigging around the Seattle club circuit.

More of a straight-forward heavy-metal band initially, they were signed by Columbia in 1989 and promoted as such, releasing the 1990 EP We Die Young, which became a minor hit through frequent airplay on metal radio stations. In the summer of that year, the LP Facelift was released, which actually went gold by the end of the year. By the time AIC was ready to release their second LP Dirt in 1992, the Scene was dramatically different, thanks to the meteoric rise of the next band on this list. Achieving platinum status by the end of the year (quadruple platinum to-date), Dirt is arguably AIC’s best effort. It featured five top 30 singles, and garnered several awards, including one for the song Would (a piece dedicated to Andrew Wood) which was included on the movie Singles sound-track.

5 Nirvana 1987 – 1994 If this list were ranked in order of “importance”, Nirvana would be the unquestioned number 1, since it was their breakthrough 1991 album Nevermind and single Smells like Teen Spirit that blew the roof off the genre and made them the biggest and most talked-about rock band in America. The magnitude of their unexpected success paved the way to mainstream notoriety for practically every other active band on this list. The most iconic figure of the entire genre is founding member, guitarist and singer Kurt Cobain. Heavily influenced by the local punk and burgeoning grunge scene, Cobain befriended and even roadied occasionally for the Melvins and was a big fan of Mudhoney. Inspired, he joined fellow Melvins fan, bassist Krist Novoselic to start a band. A revolving door of drummers ended when Dave Grohl finally rounded out the trio, but not before Nirvana’s low-budget debut album Bleach was released by Sub Pop in 1989. A rather nondescript record, it might’ve been easily forgotten if not for Nirvana’s later monumental success.

Having said that, original pressings of the “iceberg” colored vinyl version of Bleach is the holy grail for Sub Pop collectors, with pristine examples fetching over $1000 today. To this day, Kurt Cobain remains the genre’s most recognizable yet enigmatic and martyred figure. 4 Mother Love Bone 1988 – 1990 Mother Love Bone came to be as a result the blossoming musical relationship of Malfunkshun’s Andrew Wood and Green River’s Stone Gossard, Bruce Fairweather, and Jeff Ament (see items 9 & 10). Along with drummer Greg Gilmore (formerly of Ten Minute Warning and Skin Yard), they immediately hit the Seattle club scene. Wood’s talent was undeniable, and his lyrical brilliance and flamboyantly charismatic style as a performer brought much attention to the band. In early 1989 MLB signed with Mercury Records (PolyGram) and released a debut EP Shine, which featured their epic masterpiece Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns, a song that also made it onto the Singles film soundtrack.

The record sold well and with the band steadily gaining in popularity, later that year they began recording their debut full-length album, to be entitled Apple. This band was poised to break out and make it big, but on March 19,1990, mere days before Apple was set to release, Wood died of a heroin overdose at the age of 24. The album was released posthumously and was well received, but Mother Love Bone was no more and the premature loss of Wood forever changed the course of grunge history. 3 TAD 1988 – 1999 TAD was founded in 1988 by 300 lb. frontman Tad Doyle and his former Bundle of Hiss bandmate Kurt Danielson. Not pretty-boys by any means, they truly epitomized the look of the Grunge scene: gritty, flannel shirt, torn jeans, and lumberjack boot wearing backwoods hicks. One of their music videos was even banned by MTV because, allegedly, they were deemed “too ugly”.

They are one of the early bands signed to Sub Pop, releasing their debut album God’s Balls in 1989 and follow-ups Salt Lick in 1990 and arguably their best musical effort 8-Way Santa in 1991. Typical of TAD’s devil-may-care attitude, that album led to a lawsuit over a questionable cover photo , which they’d found at a garage sale and used without permission. Still, fueled by a growing cult following, they were signed by Warner Bros. subsidiary Giant, released Inhaler in 1993, and embarked on tour as supporting act to Soundgarden. Inexplicably they could not achieve big time success, and coupled with controversy over an ill-advised promotional poster featuring then-President Bill Clinton smoking a joint, Giant dropped them from their ranks. TAD limped along for a few more years, eventually releasing two more albums, but unfortunately never emerged as anything more than an obscure footnote in grunge history. 2 Mudhoney 1988 – present After the disbanding of Green River in 1988, Mark Arm and Steve Turner bounced around for a bit until getting serious about forming another band.

Ex- Bundle of Hiss drummer Dan Peters was recruited, as was Matt Lukin, former bassist for the Melvins, and the group went about recording their debut EP Superfuzz Bigmuff on the Sub Pop label. The record featured the single Touch Me I’m Sick, which is regarded as one of grunge’s all-time classic songs. The tune received lots of college radio airplay, prompting Sub Pop to promote Mudhoney as their flagship band. Ironically, this home-spun media hype earned them greater attention overseas and in 1989 they embarked on a European tour, playing mostly dates in Germany and later in the U.K., as their EP climbed the British charts. Later in the year they released their eponymous LP Mudhoney to moderate success, and Every Good Boy deserves Fudge in 1991. By that time, grunge was a industry phenomenon, but unfortunately for Mudhoney, they weren’t the catalysts, and barely were the beneficiaries of this steadily growing popular musical movement.

1 Pearl Jam 1990 – present Pearl Jam is here at number one only due to chronology, however they are certainly no slouches; along with the afore-mentioned Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam is considered to be a member of the “Big Four” of grunge royalty. Formed from the remnants of Mother Love Bone, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament recruited local lead guitarist Mike McCreedy to join them, and a San Diego surfer they’d heard about named Eddie Vedder was brought in to sing. The band signed with Epic records and released its debut album Ten in August 1991 (a month before Nirvana’s Nevermind). but album sales didn’t take off until a year later. By the second half of 1992 Ten became a breakthrough success for Pearl Jam, achieving certified gold status, reaching number two on the Billboard charts, and featuring three hit singles. It has since become one of the top selling rock albums ever.

Bonus Temple of the Dog 1990 Not intended to be an ”official” band per se, Temple of the Dog was formed in 1990 by the still relatively unknown Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend and former room-mate Andrew Wood (see items 5 and 10). Having written a couple of songs in Wood’s memory, Reach Down and Say Hello 2 Heaven, Cornell approached Wood’s former MLB bandmates, the still shocked and grieving Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, with the intent of recording and releasing the material. These sessions were happening simultaneously with the formation of Pearl Jam, as Mike McCreedy and newcomer Eddie Vedder also joined in the collaboration. Soundgarden (and later Pearl Jam) drummer Matt Cameron rounded out the line-up. The effort produced enough material to fill an album, and in April 1991 Temple of the Dog was released by A&M, to modest sales. That probably would’ve been the end of it had not both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam later achieved major success, which prompted A&M to re-release the album and the single Hunger Strike (a Vedder/Cornell duet).

Temple of the Dog became one of the top selling albums of 1992, eventually achieving certified platinum status. Honorable mentions: Screaming Trees (1985 – 2000), Blood Circus (1988 – 1990), Gruntruck (1989 – 1993), Love Battery (1989 – present), My Sister’s Machine (1989 – 1994), Seaweed (1989 – 2000) More Great Lists America's top cities for music lovers | Fox News America's top cities for music lovers By Amy Plitt Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Email Print Blues, jazz, hip-hop, rock & roll—all are hugely influential musical genres, and all are uniquely American. Given how the history of popular music is intertwined with the history of the United States, it's no surprise that cities across the country are filled with musical landmarks, historic venues, and other points of interest. And these awesome cities are just some of the country's best destinations for music lovers. 1. Washington, D.C.

Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via Getty Images Despite its staid reputation—or maybe because of it—the nation's capital has fostered thriving underground music scenes for decades, including go-go (the funky genre's driving force, Chuck Brown, was from D.C.) and hardcore, led by bands like Bad Brains and Fugazi. Today there are plenty of places to see live music in D.C., including legendary venues like Bohemian Caverns, where Miles Davis and John Coltrane once played; the 9:30 Club has hosted everyone from Arcade Fire to Rob Zombie. D.C.'s museums are also filled with music history: The National Museum of American History, for instance, has old cassettes and other pop-culture ephemera in its collection. Places to go: The 9:30 Club (pictured); John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Bohemian CavernsThe Black CatNational Museum of American HistoryBlues Alley 2. New York, NY Cory Schwartz/Getty Images New York City can lay claim to being the birthplace of so much in music's history: hip-hop, punk, and disco, not to mention an absurd number of legendary musicians.

Heck, the Ramones, Simon & Garfunkel, and Burt Bacharach all graduated from the same Queens high school; meanwhile, Jay-Z, the Notorious B.I.G., and Lil Kim all hail from Brooklyn. No matter your taste, there's a venue for you: See cabaret acts at Studio 54; the next indie-rock up-and-comer at the Mercury Lounge; dance until the wee hours at Verboten; or see which big names are playing at legendary spots like Radio City Music Hall or the Beacon Theatre. Places to go: Bowery Ballroom; Metropolitan Opera HouseThe Town HallBlue NoteBaby's All RightThe Apollo Theater; Central Park Summerstage (pictured); Rough Trade NYC 3. Los Angeles, CA Kevin Winter/Getty Images for CBS Radio Inc. Like New York City, Los Angeles has more musical history than you can take in on one trip: Countless acts got their start there (to name a few: The Doors, Tupac Shakur, Guns N' Roses, Haim, Kendrick Lamar, we could go on); it's full of music landmarks including clubs and hotels; and there is no shortage of places to see bands play. L.A.

also has an impressive classical-music scene: The Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Gustavo Dudamel, plays at Frank Gehry's twisty Walt Disney Concert Hall, among other L.A. venues. Places to go: Hollywood Bowl (pictured); Capitol Records building; Walt Disney Concert Hall; Grammy MuseumTroubadorThe Echo/EchoplexLaurel CanyonChateau Marmont 4. Nashville, TN James Lange / Alamy Nashville's nickname is "Music City" for a reason: The city is home to hundreds of places to see live music, not to mention a stadium's worth of big-name acts (Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift, and Blake Shelton are just the tip of the iceberg). It's known as an incubator for country acts, even leading to ABC's Nashville, a TV series inspired by the city's music history. Music Row and the honky-tonks aren't the only draw: The city also has a thriving rock & roll scene, which can be found at venues like the Basement.

Places to go: The Grand Ole Opry House; Third Man Records (pictured); Robert's Western WorldCountry Music Hall of Fame and MuseumThe Johnny Cash MuseumThe Bluebird Cafe 5. Detroit, MI Ian Dagnall / Alamy Kiss may have dubbed this town "Detroit Rock City," but the genre it's best known for is almost certainly Motown. Berry Gordy founded the record label in 1959, and over the years, artists like Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye recorded in the small house on West Grand Boulevard. Now, it's a museum where you can see artifacts, and even stand in the studio where those musicians laid down tracks. Other acts with roots in the Motor City include Elaine Stritch, Eminem, the White Stripes, and Insane Clown Posse. (Madonna was born there, but moved to NYC before she made it big.) Places to go: Motown Museum; Cobo Center; Eight Mile Road; The Masonic TempleThe Magic Stick 6. Atlanta, GA Sean Pavone / Alamy Hip-hop is thriving in Atlanta: Acts like OutKast, Janelle Monae, Jermaine Dupri, and T.I.

have roots in the city, and the radio station Hot 107.9 was a big influence in getting those artists more prominent coverage. The city also hosts the A3C Festival, a decade-old hip-hop event that hosts both legendary artists and up-and-comers. If you're looking to check out bigger names in a beautiful setting, head to the Fox Theatre, a restored former vaudeville house, or the Tabernacle, which was once a Baptist church. There's also the free Atlanta Jazz Festival in the spring. Places to go: Fox Theatre; The EarlCriminal RecordsThe TabernacleBlind Willie's 7. Seattle, WA Pep Roig / Alamy More than 20 years after Nirvana's Nevermind was released, Seattle is still most closely associated with that band, and the grunge music scene that it spawned in the early '90s. And grunge fans, rest assured that the city embraces it: The EMP Museum, founded by Microsoft's Paul Allen, has a permanent exhibit devoted to Nirvana, and Sea-Tac Airport is home to a stand-alone Sub-Pop Records store.

But there's more to the city than crunchy guitars: The Seattle Symphony led by maestro Ludovic Morlot hosts world-class performances, locals Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are international stars, and indie-rockers (including locals like Death Cab for Cutie) can be found at the Bumbershoot Festival every summer. Places to go: EMP Museum (pictured); The Showbox at the Market; Sub-Pop Records store at SeaTacNeumosColumbia City Theater Take a trip to more of country's best music cities. More from Conde Nast Traveler Grunge : Band's List Grunge : Band's List Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle Sound) is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song dynamics, and apathetic or angst-filled lyrics. The grunge aesthetic is stripped-down compared to other forms of rock music, and many grunge musicians were noted for their unkempt appearances and rejection of theatrics.

The early grunge movement coalesced around Seattle independent record label Sub Pop in the late 1980s. Grunge became commercially successful in the first half of the 1990s, due mainly to the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. The success of these bands boosted the popularity of alternative rock and made grunge the most popular form of hard rock music at the time. The genre became closely associated with Generation X in the U.S., since the awareness of each rose simultaneously. However, many grunge bands were uncomfortable with this popularity. Although most grunge bands had disbanded or faded from view by the late 1990s, their influence continues to impact modern rock music.

Question: What American city was famous for grunge music?
Answer: Seattle