Top 30 Grunge Acts

Grunge: Top 30 Acts

Grunge was a fusion of punk and heavy metal which originated out of Seattle. 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. Some of the bands on the list might stir some debate as to whether they are grunge or not. Indeed, record companies rushed to capitalize on the grunge movement and signed many artists which bore a similar sound but didn’t have quite the same credentials and were sometimes dismissed by critics. There were also what I’ll call “grunge adjacent” acts (such as Smashing Pumpkins) that attracted a similar audience and had a similar sound but weren’t really grunge. 23 lists were aggregated to create this list. The acts were grouped in three bunches based on the number of lists on which they appeared. Then each of those groups was ordered based on the acts’ overall status in Dave’s Music Database. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Nirvana 20-23 lists: 1. Nirvana 2. Pearl Jam 3. Alice in Chains 4. Soundgarden 5. Mudhoney 10-19 lists: 6. Stone Temple Pilots 7. Hole 8. Screaming Trees 9. Mother Love Bone 10. Silverchair 11. Temple of the Dog 12. L7 13. Melvins 14. Green River 15. Mad Season 16. Tad 4-9 lists: 17. Smashing Pumpkins 18. Live 19. Bush 20. Creed 21. Collective Soul 22. Garbage 23. Dinosaur Jr. 24. Soul Asylum 25. Candlebox 26. Blind Melon 27. Sponge 28. Meat Puppets 29. Veruca Salt 30. Days of the New Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 25 Grunge Albums Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Grunge/Post-Grunge Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/1/2026.

Grunge: Top 25 Albums

Grunge: The Top 25 Albums

Grunge was a fusion of punk and heavy metal which originated out of Seattle via 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. 23 best-of lists focused on grunge were aggregated and then any of those albums cited by 3 or more sources were eligible for this list. They were then resorted by overall points on Dave’s Music Database. Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here. 1. Nirvana Nevermind (1991) 2. Pearl Jam Ten (1991) 3. Nirvana In Utero (1993) 4. Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993) 5. Nirvana MTV Unplugged in New York (recorded live 1993, released 1994) 6. Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) 7. Soundgarden Superunknown (1994) 8. Pearl Jam Vs. (1993) 9. Alice in Chains Dirt (1992) 10. Hole Live Through This (1994) 11. Pearl Jam Vitalogy (1994) 12. Stone Temple Pilots Core (1992) 13. Nirvana Bleach (1989) 14. Stone Temple Pilots Purple (1994) 15. Alice in Chains Jar of Flies (EP, 1994) 16. Bush Sixteen Stone (1994) 17. Soundgarden Badmotorofinger (1991) 18. Singles (soundtrack, 1992) 19. Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog (1991) 20. Mother Love Bone Apple (1990) 21. Mudhoney Superfuzz Big Muff (EP, 1988) 22. Bush Razordblade Suitcase (1996) 23. Smashing Pumpkins Gish (1991) 24. Alice in Chains Facelift (1990) 25. Green River Dry As a Bone (EP, 1987) / Rehab Doll (EP, 1988) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Grunge: Top 50 Songs” Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists First posted 9/2/2024.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 nominees

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 2023 Nominees

On February 1, 2023, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced 14 nominees for the class of 2023. The Hall of Fame was established in 1983 and inducted its first class in 1986. The site says, “to be eligible for induction as an artist (as a performer, composer, or musician)…the artist must have released a record, in the generally accepted sense of that phrase, at least 25 years prior to the year of induction and have demonstrated unquestionable musical excellence.” Among considerations are the artist’s influence on other artists, length and depth of career, body of work, and innovation and superiority in style and technique. The nominees are sent to more than 1000 music experts who then vote on who should be inducted. Reports differ on whether only those nominees on more than 50% of the ballots are inducted or if just the top vote getters (no set number) are inducted. Inductees will be decided in May and inducted in the fall. Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Nominees. Premiere: February 3, 2023. Check out new episodes every Tuesday at 7pm CST. Fans can vote for their top 5 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The nominees are listed below based on how they ranked in fan voting as of the morning of February 2. Click on the act’s name to see its entry in the Dave’s Music Database encyclopedia. The numbers beside the act are the odds, according to Billboard magazine, of the act being inducted. Cyndi Lauper, 8:1 odds George Michael, 2:1 odds Willie Nelson, 3:2 odds Soundgarden, 3:1 odds Iron Maiden, 10:1 odds Rage Against the Machine, 4:1 odds Warren Zevon, 5:1 odds Sheryl Crow, 1:1 odds Joy Division/New Order, 10:1 odds The Spinners, 12:1 odds Kate Bush, 3:2 odds The White Stripes, 1:1 odds Missy Elliott, 3:1 odds A Tribe Called Quest, 5:1 odds See current results of fan voting here. Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Hall of Fames” Dave’s Music Database: “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, 1986-2022” Billboard (2/1/2023). “2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Odds from Least to Most Likely” by Andrew Unterberger Rock and Roll Hall of Fame official website First posted 2/3/2023.

Grunge/Post-Grunge: Top 100 Songs

Grunge/ Post-Grunge: Top 100 Songs

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) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Other Genre/Category Song Lists” First posted 5/25/2017; last updated 8/30/2021.

Chris Cornell: His Top 20 Songs

Chris Cornell Top 20 Songs

The music world was saddened by the loss of Chris Cornell on May 18, 2017. The voice of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave committed suicide after a Soundgarden concert in Detroit. He was 52. In honor of Cornell, here are his top 20 songs according to Dave’s Music Database, which compiles sales, chart performance, radio airplay, and best-of lists. Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Chris Cornell DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Soundgarden DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Temple of the Dog DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Audioslave Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists”

Awards:

Top 20 Songs 1. Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun” (1994) 2. Soundgarden “Spoonman” (1994) 3. Audioslave “Like a Stone” (2002) 4. Temple of the Dog “Hunger Strike” (1991) 5. Soundgarden “Burden in My Hand” (1996) 6. Audioslave “Be Yourself” (2005) 7. Soundgarden “Pretty Noose” (1996) 8. Soundgarden “Outshined” (1991) 9. Soundgarden “Jesus Christ Pose” (1991) 10. Soundgarden “Fell on Black Days” (1994) 11. Soundgarden “Blow Up the Outside World” (1996) 12. Audioslave “Cochise” (2002) 13. Audioslave “I Am the Highway” (2002) 14. Chris Cornell “Billie Jean” (2007) 15. Chris Cornell “Can’t Change Me” (1999) 16. Audioslave “Original Fire” (2006) 17. Audioslave “Show Me How to Live” (2002) 18. Audioslave “Doesn’t Remind Me” (2005) 19. Temple of the Dog “Say Hello 2 Heaven” (1991) 20. Soundgarden “The Day I Tried to Live” (1994) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Chris Cornell DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Soundgarden DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Temple of the Dog DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Audioslave Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 5/18/2017; last updated 2/24/2024.

Soundgarden “Black Hole Sun” charted

Black Hole Sun Soundgarden

Writer(s): Chris Cornell (see lyrics here) Released: May 4, 1994 First Charted: April 23, 1994 Peak: 24a US, 25 CB, 16 GR, 13 RR, 17 AR, 2 MR, 12 UK, 5 CN, 6 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 250.0 video, 514.57 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Soundgarden formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. The rock band became a cornerstone of the grunge movement in the early 1990s. Their first album, 1988’s Ultramega OK, failed to chart. However, Louder Than Love reached #108 in 1989 and Badmotorfinger got to #39 in 1991 and went double platinum. They exploded with their fourth album, 1994’s Superunknown. The album reached #1 and went six-times platinum. Five songs from the album reached the top 20 on Billboard’s album rock chart. The highest was third single, “Black Hole Sun,” which got to #1. Billboard named the song #1 of the year for their modern rock tracks chart, even though it only peaked at #2. The song also went to #1 in Iceland and reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, and Ireland. WK It won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. VH1 ranked it one of the 100 greatest hard rock songs. The band’s lead singer, Chris Cornell, wrote the song while driving home to Seattle. He misunderstood a TV news anchor, thinking he heard “black hole sun.” He thought it would make an amazing song title and liked the juxtaposition of a black hole, “a void, a giant circle of nothing, and then you have the sun, the giver of all life.” SF He said, “It all came together, pretty much the whole arrangement…I spent a lot of time spinning those melodies in my head so I wouldn’t forget them. I got home and whistled it into a Dictaphone.” WK Cornell said the lyrics were “a stream of consciousness based on the feeling I got from the chorus and title.” WK He also said “lyrically it’s probably the closest to me just playing with words for words’ sake…I have no idea how you’d begin to take that one literally…I was just sucked in by the music and I was painting a picture with the lyrics. There was no real idea to get across.” WK Resources: AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/2/2022; last updated 2/3/2023.

Temple of the Dog release only album

Temple of the Dog Temple of the Dog

Released: April 16, 1991 Peak: 5 US, -- UK, 11 CN, 56 AU, 12 DF Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.1 world (includes US + UK) Genre: grunge rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Say Hello 2 Heaven [6:22] (11/7/92, 5 AR, 9 DF) Reach Down [11:11] Hunger Strike [4:03] (7/18/92, 4 AR, 7 MR, 51 UK, 50 CN, 7 DF) Pushin’ Forward Back (Ament/ Cornell/ Gossard) [3:44] (single, 28 DF) Call Me a Dog [5:02] Times of Trouble (Cornell/ Gossard) [5:41] Wooden Jesus [4:09] Your Saviour [4:02] Four Walled World (Cornell/ Gossard) [6:53] All Night Thing [3:52] Songs written by Chris Cornell unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 54:59 The Players: Jeff Ament (bass) Chris Cornell (vocals) Matt Cameron (drums) Stone Gossard (guitar) Mike McCready (guitar) Eddie Vedder (vocals)

Rating: 3.871 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: The grunge-rock group Mother Love Bone had churned out an EP and an album before their lead singer, Andrew Wood, died of a heroin overdose in 1990. Former roommate Chris Cornell, who fronted Soundgarden, approached Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament on working together. They also recruited Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron and newbies Mike McCready on guitar and Eddie Vedder for background vocals. This collective produced only one album before Cornell and Cameron returned to Soundgarden. In the fall of 1991, they reached its widest audience yet with their double-platinum breakthrough, Badmotorfinger, and “helped set the stage for Soundgarden’s mainstream breakthrough with Superunknown” SH in 1994. Meanwhile, the rest of Temple of the Dog formed Pearl Jam and their 1991 debut Ten became one of the biggest albums of the decade and now consistently lands in lists of the best albums of all time. The success of those bands cast a spotlight on Temple of the Dog and in 1992, more than a year after its initial release, the album found an audience to the tune of a top five, million-selling album. The album has largely been seen as a tribute to Wood, but only Reach Down and Say Hello 2 Heaven were specifically written with him in mind. However, the album and band title also derived from Wood, specifically the lyrics in the Mother Love Bone song “Man of Golden Words” – “seems I’ve been living in the temple of the dog.” The rest of the material originated from songs Cornell was working on before Wood’s death. WK and then developed out of the new collective’s “natural chemistry.” SH It came together quickly; they only took 15 days during November and December of 1990 to record the album. WK Gossard described it as a “non-pressure filled” situation and “the easiest and most beautiful record that we’ve ever been involved with.” WK “As a result, there’s a very loose, jam-oriented feel to much of the album, and while it definitely meanders at times, the result is a more immediate emotional impact. The album’s strength is its mournful, elegiac ballads, but thanks to the band’s spontaneous creative energy and appropriately warm sound, it’s permeated by a definite, life-affirming aura.” SH Entertainment Weekly’s David Brown said, “maybe because the musicians avoid the often-labored anthems they play with their own bands, the songs sound relaxed and airy without losing any of the crunch or drive of the best arena rock.” WK “Keeping in mind that Soundgarden’s previous album was the overblown metallic miasma of Louder Than Love, the accessibly warm, relatively clean sound of Temple of the Dog is somewhat shocking, and its mellower moments are minor revelations in terms of Cornell’s songwriting abilities.” SH This album also offered “the first glimpse of Chris Cornell’s more straightforward, classic rock-influenced side.” SH “It isn’t just the band, either – he displays more emotional range than ever before, and his melodies and song structures are (for the most part) pure, vintage hard rock. In fact, it’s almost as though he's trying to write in the style of Mother Love Bone.” SH The album also understandably “sounds like a bridge between Mother Love Bone’s theatrical ‘70s-rock updates and Pearl Jam’s hard-rocking seriousness. What is surprising, though, is that Cornell is the dominant composer, writing the music on seven of the ten tracks (and lyrics on all).” SH One of those songs, Hunger Strike, became a duet between Cornell and Vedder, giving Vedder his first lead vocal work in a recording studio. WK The song was a natural first choice to plug the album that featured the now well-known groups. Rolling Stone magazine’s David Fricke said that for that song and “Reach Down”, “Temple of the Dog deserves immortality; those songs are proof that the angst that defined Seattle rock in the 1990s was not cheap sentiment.” WK Fricke also points out “the irony of an album, made in great sadness, kick-starting the last great pop mutiny of the twentieth century.” WK “Consider the adage that funerals are more for the living than the dead; Temple of the Dog shows Wood's associates working through their grief and finding the strength to move on.” SH Notes: In 2016, a deluxe edition of the album was released which included alternate mixes, demos, outtakes, and live recordings.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Temple of the Dog DMDB encyclopedia entry for Pearl Jam DMDB encyclopedia entry for Soundgarden SH Steve Huey, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 7/2/20/2011; last updated 12/14/2023.