Yardbarker
Yardbarker
x
The 25 greatest grunge albums from the '90s
Chris Tuite/imageSPACE/Sipa USA

The 25 greatest grunge albums from the '90s

When Nirvana released its album "In Utero" it didn’t capture the zeitgeist like "Nevermind" did, but it still made a huge impact on the music landscape of the '90s. Nirvana was at the forefront of the grunge movement that characterized rock music in the '90s. In honor of a great decade of grunge music, here are the 25 best grunge albums from the '90s.

 
1 of 26

The 25 greatest grunge albums from the '90s

The 25 greatest grunge albums from the '90s
Chris Tuite/imageSPACE/Sipa USA

When Nirvana released In Utero, it didn’t capture the zeitgeist as Nevermind did, but it still made a huge impact on the music landscape of the '90s. Nirvana was at the forefront of the grunge movement that characterized rock music in the '90s. In honor of a great decade of grunge music, here are the 25 best grunge albums from the '90s.

 
2 of 26

"Nevermind"

"Nevermind"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

You can’t talk grunge in the '90s and only mention Nirvana once. "Nevermind" changed the world. There are those who claim that it killed hair metal. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was named the top music video of all time by MTV at the end of the '90s. That alone makes it deserving of being on this list.

 
3 of 26

"Ten"

"Ten"
Anna Krajec/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

While "Nevermind" is considered the album that sparked grunge, "Ten" by Pearl Jam actually came out earlier in 1991. Despite being the Seattle band's first album — it was built out of the ruins of the band Mother Love Bone — it spawned three hits. That includes "Even Flow" and the controversial "Jeremy."

 
4 of 26

"Superunknown"

"Superunknown"
Jeffrey Mayer/Getty Images

Soundgarden had released three albums prior to "Superunknown," but it was the one that broke the band. The bad can largely thank "Black Hole Sun," the quintessential song from its discography. "Superunknown" also featured "Spoonman," which is still a weird, but catchy, little ditty.

 
5 of 26

"Live Through This"

"Live Through This"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Any narrative built around Courtney Love that focuses on her being Kurt Cobain’s wife and seemingly a bit of a drug casualty is doing her a disservice. Hole was a great grunge band that was arguably on par with her husband’s Nirvana. "Live Through This," which "Rolling Stone" called the album of the year for 1994, is a triumph, highlighted by the song "Doll Parts."

 
6 of 26

"Dirt"

"Dirt"
Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images

Alice in Chains are kind of the forgotten band of Seattle's grunge scene. They are the Michael Collins to the Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. (You can decide who is who for yourself.) However, Alice in Chains were huge in the '90s as well, starting with their breakout 1992 album "Dirt." If you were willing to go beyond "Nevermind," you would find an album like this waiting for you.

 
7 of 26

"Alice in Chains"

"Alice in Chains"
Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images

It's odd when a band decides to go with a self-titled release after they've already released a bunch of material, but Alice in Chains decided to go that route with their third full-length album. This time out, Alice in Chains gives off vibes of heavy metal, and the album has a dark, foreboding sound. That's probably fitting. It would be their last album for over a decade, and the final album featuring frontman Layne Staley before his drug-related death in 2002.

 
8 of 26

"Sixteen Stone"

"Sixteen Stone"
Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images

Some grunge purists are going to be mad about this. They will probably claim that Bush was just jumping on a trend and it wasn't "really" grunge. Hey, maybe that’s true. On the other hand, weren't "Glycerine" and "Machinehead" catchy songs in the '90s? Even if "Sixteen Stone" is faux grunge, and that"s up for debate, that doesn't mean it isn't without its virtues.

 
9 of 26

"Freak Show"

"Freak Show"
Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images

Silverchair is another divisive grunge band, but that’s more about whether or not people think it is actually good. The Australian trio has a litany of defenders, but it also didn’t get quite the critical acclaim of other grunge acts. Nevertheless, it also released its first album, "Frogstomp," when all the members were 15 and then followed that up with "Freak Show." After that, the band's sound started to drift from grunge, but it had already made its impact.

 
10 of 26

"Siamese Dream"

"Siamese Dream"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Few people are going to call The Smashing Pumpkins' huge hit album, "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," grunge. "Tonight, Tonight" just doesn't have that grunge vibe. However, the prior album, "Siamese Dream," definitely had a grunge feel to it. For those who think "Mellon Collie" is too stuffed and theatrical, "Siamese Dream" is considered the Pumpkins' best work, and a lot of publications have declared it one of the best albums of the '90s, full stop.

 
11 of 26

"Core"

"Core"
Steve Eichner/WireImage/Getty Images

Stone Temple Pilots, those elegant bachelors, hit it right out of the gate with "Core." Their 1992 debut remains the band’s best-selling album and also their most critically respected. Songs like "Creep" and "Plush" are still considered signatures of the band. Stone Temple Pilots were able to capture that grunge wave just as it was taking off, which certainly helped.

 
12 of 26

"Purple"

"Purple"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Robert Christgau hated "Purple," but he hated a lot of stuff. It's still a fairly memorable album that has to be included in the story of grunge in the '90s. The late Scott Weiland was a vital member of the grunge scene, thanks in part to the fact he had a voice that had, shall we say, more traditionally melodic qualities than his counterparts. After Weiland's issues and the bubble bursting on grudge, the Pilots would never quite be the same.

 
13 of 26

"Bricks are Heavy"

"Bricks are Heavy"
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

L7, an all-female, take-no-lip rock band, released its first album back in 1988, before grunge was even a word on our lips. Its sound started to evolve, and around 1992's "Bricks are Heavy," it had developed into something akin to the sound everybody was enjoying. L7 is the rare band you will find on a list of the best grunge and Riot Grrrl releases, and "Bricks are Heavy" is probably its best offering.

 
14 of 26

"Rubberneck"

"Rubberneck"
Bill Tompkins/Getty Images

Toadies only released one album in the '90s, but they made it count. "Rubberneck" is the band’s entry into the grunge world, led by the single "Possum Kingdom." Back in the '90s, you could still sell albums off the strength of one song, and that was “Possum Kingdom.” That song has lasted through the ages, as it was included on "Guitar Hero II."

 
15 of 26

"Piece of Cake"

"Piece of Cake"
Roberto Panucci/Corbis via Getty Images

Mudhoney, another Seattle band, was one of the progenitors of grunge, though it didn’t become a huge star like others did. Its 1988 song "Touch Me I'm Sick" is arguably one of the first grunge songs, but obviously it doesn’t count when we’re talking '90s grunge releases. "Piece of Cake," the band’s best-selling album, does though.

 
16 of 26

"Houdini"

"Houdini"
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Here's how crazy the grunge boom was; a band like the Melvins got signed to Atlantic Records. The Melvins make noise, and they do to this day, as they’ve released 21 studio albums, including one in 2018. "Houdini" was their major label release, and it actually got surprisingly good reviews. The kings of sludgy grunge were able to keep their sound.

 
17 of 26

"Temple of the Dog"

"Temple of the Dog"
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Temple of the Dog only had one album, its 1991 self-titled release. It included the classic grunge song "Hunger Strike." After that, the band members went their separate ways. Those band members included Chris Cornell and basically everybody who went on to form Pearl Jam (including Eddie Vedder, who provided guest vocals on a few songs).

 
18 of 26

"Sweet Oblivion"

"Sweet Oblivion"
Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images

Do you remember the movie "Singles?" It's a Cameron Crowe film about Gen Xers in Seattle around the burgeoning grunge era. It was kind of a hit, but it did have a successful soundtrack featuring many grunge bands. One of the songs that was on it was "Nearly Lost You" by Screaming Trees. It was on the album "Sweet Oblivion," and that album ended up selling a ton of copies from people who loved "Nearly Lost You" from "Singles." Fortunately, the rest of the album was good as well.

 
19 of 26

"Dust"

"Dust"
Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images

It took Screaming Trees four years to follow up "Sweet Oblivion" with "Dust," and by then, the grunge era was basically over. However, they still put out the album, which kept its grunge sound alongside some folk and blues influences. Despite the hiatus, "Dust" turned out quite well. "Entertainment Weekly" even gave it an "A." Alas, it was also Screaming Trees’ final outing.

 
20 of 26

"Tostaky"

"Tostaky"
Eric CATARINA/STILLS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of "Tostaky," and that’s understandable. It's a French album from the French band Noir Desir. Yes, there were French grunge bands. "Tostaky" apparently made quite the splash in its home country. The French version of "Rolling Stone" called it the second-best French rock album of all time.

 
21 of 26

"Pablo Honey"

"Pablo Honey"
Bob Berg/Getty Images

Radiohead has made so many iconic albums, and these days they have a quiet, computerized sound. Thom Yorke and company couldn’t be further from being a grunge band. However, their debut album "Pablo Honey" is an entirely different thing. Just listen to the song that first made a splash for them, "Creep." If that's not grunge, then what is? As a bonus, that song is awesome, even if Radiohead hated it for a while.

 
22 of 26

"Vitalogy"

"Vitalogy"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

After "Ten," Pearl Jam released "Vs.," which wasn’t quite as well-received. The band was able to bounce back with its third release "Vitology," a sprawling, nearly hourlong album. Pearl Jam's sound was a little more diverse by this point, but at its heart, it was still a grunge rock band, led by the powerful vocals of Eddie Vedder.

 
23 of 26

"Foo Fighters"

"Foo Fighters"
Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images

After the death of Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl naturally found himself in a weird, dark place. To cope, he turned to music, and he cranked out an album for a new project he called Foo Fighters. At the time, it was basically a one-man band, and while songs like "Big Me" definitely aren't grunge, a lot of the album calls to mind the grunge era defined by Nirvana. To this day, Grohl's self-titled debut is the best Foo Fighters album.

 
24 of 26

"Candlebox"

"Candlebox"
Brian Rasic/Getty Images

If you want an illustration of how trendy grunge was in the early '90s, look no further than Candlebox's debut album. It was its first release, and yet it went platinum four times over. Nobody talks about Candlebox these days, but it sold more albums than most bands could dream of now. It did have a few catchy songs that ended up on MTV, though, so it wasn’t completely absurd.

 
25 of 26

"Fontanelle"

"Fontanelle"
John Lynn Kirk/Redferns/Getty Images

Let's end things with Babes in Toyland, the all-female trio from Minnesota who worked its way into the grunge scene despite being far from Seattle. "Fontanelle" is a powerful and ferocious record that earned the band a (deserved) spot on the Lollapalooza tour. Though grunge is synonymous with scruffy dudes in flannels, it was also open to women like Babes in Toyland making their mark as well.

 
26 of 26

"In Utero"

"In Utero"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

After the success of "Nevermind," Kurt Cobain and company enlisted acclaimed, mercurial producer Steve Albini to try to tweak their sound for "In Utero." The 1993 album is less commercial, but it's still critically adored to this day. "Heart-Shaped Box" still managed to provide the band with a hit, one that had to shoulder the load going forward, as this would turn out to be Nirvana's final full album, due to the suıcide of Cobain.

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

TODAY'S BEST

PEACEMAKER Namechecked Blüdhaven, Does This Hint That Nightwing Exists?
Comic Books

PEACEMAKER Namechecked Blüdhaven, Does This Hint That Nightwing Exists?

Blüdhaven first appeared in Nightwing #1 in 1996. This is where the now-adult Dick Grayson, Batman’s original Robin sidekick, relocated to get out of the shadow of his mentor. The city was said to be located in the State of New Jersey, between Gotham and Atlantic City. It was originally a whaling town, founded mainly by German immigrants. On Peacemaker, they pronounce the city’s name by using Germanic phonetics, so “blewd-hayven.” However, most DC fans pronounce it as “Blood-haven.” Which honestly just sounds cooler and more ominous. The other sounds like a beverage you’d drink at Oktoberfest. Many Gotham City criminals who were run out of town by Batman went on to set up shop in Blüdhaven, most famously, the brute known as Blockbuster. In many ways, Blüdhaven is ever more crime-ridden than Gotham. Even if the criminal element is a little more low-rent. Still, so many criminals usually means Nightwing often has his work cut out for him. It was in Blüdhaven that Dick Grayson became a beat cop, and most recently, once he inherited billions from Alfred Pennyworth, it is where he created a foundation to help the city’s less fortunate. He also made it home base for his own superhero team, the Titans. Does this automatically mean Nightwing is part of the DCU already? And does Blüdhaven already have its own superhero protector on patrol? We don’t know, but now it’s definitely not out of the question. The proposed Batman: The Brave and the Bold movie is about the Dark Knight taking on his young son Damian Wayne as the new Robin. Early comments Gunn made about the film suggest the Bat family would play a role in the film. So it might include Nightwing, too. If Bruce Wayne is old enough to have a teenage son, then he’s old enough to have adopted Dick Grayson as his first Robin, who could now be old enough to be Nightwing. The upcoming animated film, Dynamic Duo, is all about Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, the first two heroes named Robin. It’s unclear if that movie takes place in the DCU or not. But if it does, that’s another indication that Nightwing may already exist in the DCU. Here’s hoping this namedrop of Blüdhaven means that the former Boy Wonder will appear soon in James Gunn’s new DCU. Remember, the last time we saw a version of Dick Grayson on the big screen was in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Robin. So we think it’s high time this iconic character got some form of cinematic redemption.

Jerry Jones: Micah Parsons' agent told me where we could stick contract details
NFL

Jerry Jones: Micah Parsons' agent told me where we could stick contract details

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants to deal with David Mulugheta insofar as to get Micah Parsons' agent to fill out the paperwork on the contract extension that was already negotiated. During an appearance with Michael Irvin on Thursday, Jones said Mulugheta told him to shove the paperwork up their heinie. "When we wanted to send the details to the agent, The agents told us to stick it up our a--," Jones said. "Just so we're clear. (Parsons) and I talked, and then we were going to send it over to the agent, and we had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, everything. "We were going to send it over to the agent, and the agent said, 'Don't bother, because we've got all that to negotiate.' Well, I'd already negotiated. I'd already moved off my mark on several areas." Following an incoherent analogy to a child going between a mom and dad to negotiate, Jones accused Mulugheta of trying to "stick his nose" in negotiations to try to get the Cowboys to cave for a better deal for his client. Jones has no plans to back down from the agreement he had already worked out with Parsons. "In my mind, for the Dallas Cowboys, we've got it done," Jones said. "And if the agent wants to finish up the details, which he should, and do all the paperwork, he can do that, and we're ready to go. But as far as the amount of money, the years, the guarantees, all of that we negotiated." Dallas is set to conclude its preseason against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night with no end in sight to the biggest distraction on the team this summer. Jones should have avoided the situation with Parsons by dealing with Mulugheta directly, but that might have caused the theatre to be much less dramatic before the regular season.

Giants rookie shines again, completing promising preseason
NFL

Giants rookie shines again, completing promising preseason

Preseason football can produce some misleading results, but the New York Giants have to be ecstatic with what they have seen from first-round pick quarterback Jaxson Dart so far. He impressed again on Thursday night against the New England Patriots, before being removed from the game to be evaluated for a concussion. The Giants said he cleared the concussion protocol. Prior to that, however, Dart was showing all of his skills in leading the Giants offense. While his final stat line only shows a 6-for-12 passing performance for 81 yards, some of those incompletions were passes that could — and, perhaps, should — have been caught. He did not get a lot of help from his wide receivers. Even so, he still completed a 50-yard pass to Gunner Olszewski, and then connected with Greg Dulcich for a touchdown on a laser of a pass. Along with the passing, Dart also showed off his ability to run with a 23-yard gain. The only downside to that run, however, is that it ended his night when his head hit the ground, resulting in him leaving the game to be evaluated for the potential concussion. Dart does not figure to be in serious competition for the starting job as veteran Russell Wilson seems to have that locked down, at least for now. But Dart has done everything he can in the preseason to show that he has the ability to play at the NFL level. Including his performance on Thursday, he leaves the preseason having completed 32-of-47 passes for 372 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions and also ran six times for 52 yards and a touchdown. It is hard for a rookie to do better than that in their first look in the NFL. The Giants have been searching for a long-term quarterback solution ever since Eli Manning retired and have gone through a revolving door of bad options. They are hoping Dart can finally put an end to that for the foreseeable future. There is still a long way to go before he gets to that level, but he has certainly made a great first impression.

Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward
NHL

Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward

The Blackhawks have officially announced a seven-year extension for pending RFA forward Frank Nazar. The deal will pay him an AAV and cap hit of $6.59M for a total value of $46.13M. It’s a gargantuan commitment to the 21-year-old Nazar considering his lack of NHL experience. The 2022 No. 13 overall pick lands the richest total-value contract in league history for someone with 56 or fewer career appearances, which is Nazar’s tally entering the 2025-26 campaign. Nazar, who still has one year left on his entry-level contract before his extension will kick in for 2026-27, has yet to spend an entire season on the NHL roster. Last year was his first full run in the pros after two years at the University of Michigan, but he made his NHL debut in the final three games of 2023-24 after signing his ELC. He did not make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster but, after recording 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games for AHL Rockford, was recalled in mid-December shortly after Chicago’s coaching change and never looked back. He faltered out of the gate, recording only one assist and a -5 rating through his first 10 appearances while averaging 14:44 of ice time per game. But under interim head coach Anders Sörenson, who had overseen his early-season success in Rockford, he was extended some patience. That paid off in the long run as Nazar built confidence, including a four-game point streak in January and a run of nine points in eight games in April to end the season. All told, Nazar finished the season with a 12-14–26 scoring line 53 games — ninth on the team — and averaged nearly 16 minutes per game. While size concerns (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) created some detractors about his ability to hold down his natural center position in the NHL, he saw a fair amount of time as Chicago’s second-line middleman behind Connor Bedard. His most common deployment (107 minutes) amid an astronomical 91 different line combinations used by the Hawks last year was at 2C between Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen, although he did also see some time up on Bedard’s wing. Nazar was seen as a top-10 threat in the 2022 class, but after slipping to Chicago and missing most of his freshman year at Michigan due to injury, there were warranted doubts about his development path. He silenced them quickly with a point-per-game sophomore showing for the Wolverines and has made about as good an adjustment to pro hockey as can be expected, given the lack of quality veteran support on the Hawks’ NHL roster. A long-term bet at what’s even now a conservative second-line price point in 2025 could pay incredible dividends for the Blackhawks if he remains a long-term top-six piece, even if it’s on the wing, as the cap increases and they reward the other pieces of their young core with long-term deals. There’s also an incredible risk factor for someone still relatively early on their development track with less than a full season’s worth of NHL experience. The only recent comparable for someone with his experience is Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year, $45M contract after his rookie season (55 GP). Kaprizov, however, had far more professional experience after coming up through Russia’s KHL and was two years older than Nazar is now, making him a more projectable player. Kaprizov also took home the Calder Trophy that year and had twice the offensive output Nazar did. As such, the Blackhawks are betting hard on Nazar being a long-term solution, either as a wingman for Bedard or as a second-line center behind him. There’s certainly reason for optimism – he’s developed well and is coming off a spectacular World Championship showing with the United States that earned him a spot at their Olympic orientation camp. He’ll be under contract through the 2032-33 season and can walk to unrestricted free agency upon expiry. Getting Nazar’s extension out of the way now isn’t just about him, though. Chicago has two other big-ticket RFAs next summer — Bedard and new No. 1 goalie Spencer Knight — who will take serious resources to extend. They still have barely over $40M in allocated cap hits for 2026-27, though, leaving them with virtually unlimited spending power under a projected $104M cap. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the Blackhawks were signing Nazar to a seven-year extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli reported a more accurate cap hit in the $6.6M range.