After Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell committed suicide in 2017, I posted a list of the top 50 grunge songs as a tribute. That list, as with amost Dave’s Music Database lists, was created by aggregating multiple other lists.
However, there is a challenge with creating such a list. Grunge was a fusion of punk and heavy metal which originated out of Seattle and bands such as Nirvana, Pearl, Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. The movement developed in the latter half of the ‘80s and peaked in the early ‘90s.
While its rise and fall was quick, it birthed a revival of interest in guitar-based, alternative rock. When record companies started rushing to sign similar-sounding bands, another movement was born: post-grunge. Often these groups have been critically dismissed as less authentic, cash-in versions of grunge. As with all genres, though, the lines are never completely clear. Some bands such as Bush and Collective Soul walked a tightrope, not clearly falling in one camp or the other. Others, such as Nickelback and Creed, sold boatloads but came to be reviled by critics.
In any event, I’ve posted two lists – one focused on grunge and the other on post-grunge. Some songs qualified for both lists but were only listed on one. So here we go – the two lists – one on the top 50 grunge songs and the other on the top 50 post-grunge songs.
Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.
Spotify Podcast:
Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The Best of Grunge based on this list. It debuts August 31, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.
Top 50 Grunge Songs
 image from fanboysanonymous.com,
l to r: Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley
1. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
2. Alice in Chains “Would?” (1992)
3. Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun” (1994)
4. Pearl Jam “Jeremy” (1991)
5. Temple of the Dog “Hunger Strike” (1991)
6. Pearl Jam “Alive” (1991)
7. Stone Temple Pilots “Plush” (1992)
8. Screaming Trees “Nearly Lost You” (1992)
9. Pearl Jam “Even Flow” (1991)
10. Mudhoney “Touch Me I’m Sick” (1988)
11. Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” (1994)
12. Soundgarden “Outshined’ (1991)
13. Mother Love Bone “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns” (1989)
14. Pearl Jam “Black” (1991)
15. Nirvana “Lithium” (1991)
16. Mad Season “River of Deceit” (1995)
17. Nirvana “All Apologies” (1993)
18. Nirvana “Come As You Are” (1991)
19. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” (1991)
20. Nirvana “Heart-Shaped Box” (1993)
21. Alice in Chains “Rooster” (1992)
22. Soundgarden “Spoonman” (1994)
23. L7 Pretend We’re Dead” (1992)
24. Stone Temple Pilots “Big Empty” (1994)
25. Hole “Doll Parts” (1994)
26. Stone Temple Pilots “Sex Type Thing” (1992)
27. Nirvana “In Bloom” (1991)
28. Nirvana “You Know You’re Right” (1994)
29. Bush “Glycerine” (1995)
30. Alice in Chains “Them Bones” (1992)
31. Hole “Violet” (1994)
32. Blind Melon “No Rain” (1993)
33. Toadies “Possum Kingdom” (1994)
34. Temple of the Dog “Say Hello 2 Heaven” (1991)
35. Bush “Everything Zen” (1994)
36. Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock” (1993)
37. Pearl Jam “Yellow Lebetter” (1992)
38. Nirvana “About a Girl” (1989)
39. Bush “Comedown” (1994)
40. Pearl Jam “Better Man” (1994)
41. Nirvana “Rape Me” (1993)
42. Soundgarden “Burden in My Hand” (1996)
43. Soundgarden “Jesus Christ Pose” (1991)
44. Stone Temple Pilots “Wicked Garden” (1992)
45. Stone Temple Pilots “Creep” (1992)
46. Alice in Chains “No Excuses” (1992)
47. Soundgarden “Rusty Cage” (1991)
48. Nirvana “Aneurysm” (1991)
49. Veruca Salt “Seether” (1994)
50. Pearl Jam “Daughter” (1993)
Top 50 Post-Grunge Songs
 image from alternativenation.net
1. Foo Fighters “Everlong” (1997)
2. Puddle of Mudd “Blurry” (2001)
3. 3 Doors Down “Kryptonite” (2000)
4. Staind “It’s Been Awhile” (2001)
5. Nickelback “How You Remind Me” (2001)
6. Candlebox “Far Behind” (1993)
7. Bush “Machinehead” (1994)
8. Live “I Alone” (1994)
9. Creed “My Own Prison” (1997)
10. Marcy Playground “Sex and Candy” (1997)
11. Three Days Grace “I Hate Everything About You” (2003)
12. Live “Lightning Crashes” (1994)
13. Silverchair “Tomorrow” (1994)
14. Collective Soul “Shine” (1993)
15. Filter “Hey Man, Nice Shot” (1995)
16. Better Than Ezra “Good” (1995)
17. Foo Fighters “The Pretender” (2007)
18. Everclear “Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)” (1995)
19. Seether “Fake It” (2007)
20. Creed “Higher” (1999)
21. Foo Fighters “My Hero” (1997)
22. Third Eye Blind “Semi-Charmed Life” (1997)
23. Fuel “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” (2000)
24. Incubus “Drive” (1999)
25. Breaking Benjamin “The Diary of Jane” (2006)
26. Incubus “Wish You Were Here” (2001)
27. Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly” (1999)
28. Sponge “Plowed” (1994)
29. Tonic “If You Could Only See” (1997)
30. Hoobastank “The Reason” (2003)
31. Creed “With Arms Wide Open” (1999)
32. The Verve Pipe “The Freshmen” (1996)
33. Alter Bridge “Metalingus” (2004)
34. Seether “Fine Again” (2002)
35. Local H “Bound for the Floor” (1996)
36. Semisonic “Closing Time” (1998)
37. Puddle of Mudd “She Hates Me” (2002)
38. Three Days Grace “Animal I Have Become” (2006)
39. Seether with Amy Lee “Broken” (2004)
40. Foo Fighters “All My Life” (2002)
41. Seven Mary Three “Cumbersome” (1995)
42. Audioslave “Like a Stone” (2002)
43. Foo Fighters “Best of You” (2005)
44. Foo Fighters “Big Me” (1995)
45. Hinder “Lips of an Angel” (2006)
46. Days of the New “Touch, Peel, and Stand” (1997)
47. 3 Doors Down “When I’m Gone” (2002)
48. Foo Fighters “Times Like These” (2002)
49. Foo Fighters “This Is a Call” (1995)
50. Candlebox “You” (1993)
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First posted 5/25/2017; last updated 8/30/2021. | 
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