Favourite Grunge Band ever

[Mr. TM]

Grunge is the music of a lot of the senior members of this forum's childhood. The gritty sound, the ripped up jeans, the powerful chords, the poetic lyrics, and all that that is involved.

There were quite a bit of good grunge bands during the early 90s, but two always stuck out for me. I think as a youngster, my favourite would have been Nirvana, as I remember listening to Nevermind over and over on my walkman. But as I grew up a little more, I think my favourite has shifted to Pearl Jam.

The song has always been one of my favourites, with such great songs as Better Man, Jeremy, and the cover of Last Kiss, Pearl Jam has been on of my favourite bands in my teenhood.

 

[X]

Without a doubt Nirvana. I can say that so easily because I've always considered the band to be in my top five. Earlier in my life, like when I was 11, 12 years old, that's when I really, really got into Nirvana and they became my favorite band and my obsession. Yeah, I was one of those moody kids who thought of Cobain as an idol, that's just the kind of kid I was. Nirvana is the band that really opened up my musical horizons, before then I had listened to music and had "favorite bands" (mainly Green Day and Blink 182) but once I listened to Nirvana, that's when I began my obsession with music and all of it's genres. I started with grunge, and quickly traced the roots of the genre to the hardcore of Black Flag and the heavy metal fuzz of Black Sabbath, from there my father got me into The Doors and after that it was history, I had to get my hands on every piece of music I could find on the internet, an album, my friends house, the TV, there was just so many great bands and artists to discover, and I really credit Nirvana with awakening me to that. I will always, always remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit on my friend's walkman on the basketball court outside of school one day before classes started. My mind was blown and music was never the same for me.

I love the genre though and always have, it was the first genre I really got into, even before punk. Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Green River, The Melvins, holy fuck man I could just go on and on with all of the great bands coming out of mainly the Northwest of the US. But Nirvana is always by first answer here simply because of how important they were to my musical awakening, they may not still be my very favorite band of all time (The Doors will always hold that honor), but they're certainly in my top five.

Oh grunge...holy fuck I miss you...thanks TM, you just made me and everyone else who's going to respond to this thread feel really fucking old.

Here's a gem from probably my 2nd favorite grunge band behind Nirvana, Soundgarden. Badmotorfinger is one of the best albums of the 90s.



Grunge just doesn't get better than that I'm afraid.

Oh okay, one more song, this one from Mudhoney:


Long live Grunge.

 

[The Dewbliners]

Ahh, yes, the Grunge. What's not to love about it?

Actually, once again, you and I are on the same wave length, TM. Save for the fact that I always preferred Pearl Jam over Nirvana. From the first time I heard Jeremy, I was hooked. I've never been disappointed in those boys. Never. But since you already covered everything I would have said, I'll go with another band.

Who's that band, you ask? Well, it's the Ugly Kid Joe, of course. I know, they aren't classified as "grunge". But, if you look at their style, it's very much the same thing. They played Hard Rock, Alternative, and Heavy metal. Mix all these genres, and you've got grunge.

What draws me to them is, mostly, Whitfield Crane's voice. Words can't describe how relieved I would get hearing somebody have fun, but sound angry at the same time. Everything About You is the best example I can give for this. You can totally tell the guys having fun, but telling his ex to piss off at the same time.

Later on in life, I rediscovered their cover of Cat's in The Cradle and it really spoke to me, as the song mirrors the relationship between me and my dad. Especially the way UKJ performs it. A lot of the hate there.

So, yeah, that's mine, since TM stole my original response.

 

[Dagger Dias]

My favorite grunge band was Nirvana mainly because of Nevermind and In Utero. They were two of the best cd's ever. I still listen to both of them every now and then, especially Nevermind which is still in my top 5 cd's or so. I even have a big poster of Nirvana on the door to my bedroom in my apartment. They aren't my favorite band (top 10 I'd say) but they are definitely my favorite grunge band because they had some awesome music that I have enjoyed for nearly my whole life.

 

[Lancer]

Holy crap...awesome thread.

My favorite grunge band, and favorite band of all time, period, is Alice in Chains. I never really became fully aware of them until after Layne Staley died (April 5, 2002). While listening to the radio, I heard a song from Jerry Cantrell's Degradation Trip Vol. 1 & 2, "Anger Rising." Then, immediately after, they played AIC's "Would?" from the Dirt album. I was instantly hooked, and over the course of the next few months got my hands on every AIC album I could find.

The style of the music, which is surly and morose, appealed to me in a way that no other genre of rock had ever done before. You could call it the soundtrack of my life at the time. Lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell called the band's style a "combination" of things, but never let the fact go that they are a "metal" band to begin with, and that the metal part would never leave. I think that is the main reason they appealed to me. They are a combination of so many different things, but the genres that stick out most to me are the metal, and there is definitely a blues influence for sure.

While taking nothing away from William DuVall, who shares the vocals on Black Gives Way To Blue with Cantrell (and does a solid job), the music was definitely built for and around Layne Staley's voice. He could snarl, he could croon, and he could scream in what sounded like primal, tortured, and scarred sound. If I could sing, I would sing like him, no doubt. And he was a tortured soul...one journalist said that his obituary was always on "standby." Plus, Jerry balances the sound out with his soothing, melodic voice, which could be at home on a country album.

I am no music critic, but I have always described their sound to others as "wading through mud." I could post any of their songs, and this characteristic could be true. Just go listen for yourself.

Here's a gem from probably my 2nd favorite grunge band behind Nirvana, Soundgarden. Badmotorfinger is one of the best albums of the 90s.

Long live Grunge.

Amen X.

 

[Hacksaw Highway]

Soundgarden. Soundgarden. Soundgarden. Holy shit I love that band. From their heavy stuff like Jesus Christ Pose and 4th of July up to their lighter usic like Zero Chance and Blow Up The Outside World, everything they did was just golden to me. I was only 3 years old when Superunkown came out, but when I was about 14 I was really into Audioslave, which using the magic of wikipedia I traced back to Soundgarden. The first song I ever heard by them was Rusty Cage, and I was hooked. Chris Cornell is, for my money, the best rock singer of all time, and Kim Thayil is just a kickass guitarist. Now they're reuniting, and I hope to God if they make a new album Cornell doesn't fuck it up like he did with his 2 most recent solo albums (especially Scream) because if he fucks up this time, it's messing with a legacy I can't stand to see tarnished.

 

[lghikas]

I would have to go with Pearl Jam without a doubt...for me. Eddie Vedder's voice is just simply AMAZING. I'm am not sure I have heard a PJ song I don't like. From Ten to Backspacer. I feel so much emotion and feeling and energy in the in the lyrics and instruments. I was amazed when I first heard Yellow Ledbetter, than EV work for the soundtrack of Into the Wild.

 

[INDYjon22]

I absolutely love the Grunge music genre. I pretty much grew up on it and without a doubt Nirvana was my favorite. They pretty much invented the genre and made it their own. So many other bands broke into the Grunge genre because of them and the Seattle music scene blossomed. Nirvana is still my favorite band to listen to and I always take the day Kurt Cobain's body was found as a day of remembrance for someone who was an influence in my life. Not to mention they had a bunch of hit songs that are always amazing to listen to.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

#1 - Alice in Chains

They truly captured the darker, razor-sharp essence of the genre the best I felt. And for all of the attention that Grind and Rooster get, I'll put Jar of Flies in my top 10 best albums of the 90's. Besides, Alice in Chains put on the best of all of the MTV Unplugged specials from that era. AIC unplugged trampled Nirvana unplugged.

#2 - Soundgarden

Some terrific lyrics, and Chris Cornell's epic vocals. I loved every album they did. I lived and dies on Superunknown in 1994. Just terrific stuff.

#3 - Stone Temple Pilots

I hate doing this to Pearl Jam, but I just barely have STP edging Eddie and co. in my personal book. STP's harmonies were terrific and some of their songs were just fun despite being somewhat serious. One of my favorite "car singing bands."

#4 - Pearl Jam

Ten and Vitalogy were all terrific albums. There wasn't much from them I disliked, they just set their own bar so damn high. Vetter's voice has been ripped off by artists for years now. He's the best example of a guy who used puberty to his vocal advantage in the wake of the high octive hair metal genre.

 

[Frozentrash75]

This is so Easy it is Nirvana they are the greatest band ever i mean b4 Nirvana it was all this crappy hair metal or horrible 80's techno garbage and then this little band from nowhere made a CD called nevermind that changed all of music foreve. Because of Nirvana all of that garbage music went away and they cleared the way for other great bands like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine. So the greatest grunge band ever is easily Nirvana.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is so Easy it is Nirvana they are the greatest band ever i mean b4 Nirvana it was all this crappy hair metal or horrible 80's techno garbage and then this little band from nowhere made a CD called nevermind that changed all of music foreve. Because of Nirvana all of that garbage music went away and they cleared the way for other great bands like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine. So the greatest grunge band ever is easily Nirvana.

I agree with you that Nirvana was the best grunge band.... but I disagree with part of your reason for why. What was so bad about the 80s music? The hair metal bands had some of the best music ever and are still somewhat popular, also much of the techno "garbage" as you called it had some really good beats to it. Nirvana opened up the door for grunge and alternative rock because Nevermind definitely changed music forever, that is true and I agree with that. However there are still a lot of people out there who like the 80s stuff, it's not garbage, it had a large influence on today's musicians too. I suppose it's not for everybody as some hits from back then sound a little cheesy by today's standards but it's certainly not garbage.

 

[Morpheus101]

Since I was a teenager in that era, I would have to say Alice In Chains, closely followed by Nirvana. Alice In Chains win it for me though, mainly due to their incredibly deep, dark, nihilistic and powerful songs. "Nutshell" is one that particularly stands out for me -- I know it wasn't a massive hit as a single, but it is probably my favorite song of the entire decade (very deep, very haunting and very "Layne"). Regarding Alice In Chains, I'm glad that they're back (different vocalist of course), but they will never be the band they were back in the 90's.

 

[Leafy]

Well unlike some of you I was being born during the Grunge era. But I still like playing some of the bands on my Ipod. But Alice in Chains is by far my favorite.

I first heard them looking up Dreamer's theme song. I'd only heard the instrumental version and that is a piss stain on the amazing song that is "Man in a Box" I heard the full version and fell in love. Just the amazing vocals and drums made me download some more of their songs.

I got "Black Fades Way To Blue" after seeing them on Conan one night. And most of the songs on there are really good songs. So Alice in Chains is my favorite Grunge band. You tell me you can't sing along to "Man in a Box" It's impossible.

 

[Schizophrenic]

It's too damn hard to pick. It's a toss up between Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots & Mad Season.

Pearl Jam has always been a big influence on me and was the first album I ever bought. I purchased "VS" and I have been hooked ever since. I have gotten to fortune to see them live alot and no matter how many times they play it I still scream to high hell when they being "Evenflow". That's partiallyt eh reason I started watching Raven a he called his finisher the Evenflow DDT.

Alice In Chains is the same way. I hav always been drawn to Layne's voice and the pure agony in it. Still a band I put on daily. I went through a severe depression, and still am going though the remnants of that and AIC helped me to cope in a way. I saw Layne in this torture (which we all found out later would kill him) and it made me realize that this guy was just as messed up but he was using it to further himself and try to let it out, and that was a big inspiration.

What's there to say about STP that hasn't been said? Scott Weiland has to be one of the best singers in rock history. The guy can do anything and be with anyone and make them a hit. Still listen to STP today and people still know them even if they don't know the band's name. Sme of their stuff is iconic.

Mad Season alot of people don't know. It's pretty much a grunge supergroup with members of AIC, Pearl Jam and others. They only released one album and it is without a doubt one of the better grunge albums I have personally ever heard. It was so hard to find that when I found it online at amazon and they had it in stock my english teacher (who is a huge grunge fanatic) gave me his credit card and told me to get two copies, one for him and one for me. Mad Season still gives me shivers when I listen to "Lifeless Dead".

 

[D-Man]

#1 - Alice in Chains

They truly captured the darker, razor-sharp essence of the genre the best I felt. And for all of the attention that Grind and Rooster get, I'll put Jar of Flies in my top 10 best albums of the 90's. Besides, Alice in Chains put on the best of all of the MTV Unplugged specials from that era. AIC unplugged trampled Nirvana unplugged.

#2 - Soundgarden

Some terrific lyrics, and Chris Cornell's epic vocals. I loved every album they did. I lived and dies on Superunknown in 1994. Just terrific stuff.

#3 - Stone Temple Pilots

I hate doing this to Pearl Jam, but I just barely have STP edging Eddie and co. in my personal book. STP's harmonies were terrific and some of their songs were just fun despite being somewhat serious. One of my favorite "car singing bands."

#4 - Pearl Jam

Ten and Vitalogy were all terrific albums. There wasn't much from them I disliked, they just set their own bar so damn high. Vetter's voice has been ripped off by artists for years now. He's the best example of a guy who used puberty to his vocal advantage in the wake of the high octive hair metal genre.

While these four bands are my top four, I do not agree with the order in which they have been displayed by IC25... respectively, of course.

Here is my top 4:

4. Soundgarden
IC25 basically said it all with this band. They hit all sides of the spectrum: slow, melodic songs... fast, tough-metal songs... pop-culture songs... They were universal. And Chris Cornell's vocals?? Yikes... the guy was incredible.

3. Pearl Jam
The sheer longevity of this band should tell you enough about how good they are. Their songs were instant pop hits and people immediately related to the people. Not to mention that Eddie Vetter is truly a product of the grunge era. He was a grunge icon, similar to that of Kurt Cobain.

2. Stone Temple Pilots
Man, these guys released "Core" and it was like an ATOM BOMB went off on the radio. "Plush" became #1 instantly, and STP flew up the charts. But, while their music was catchy and different from all other grunge albums, no one could realize their true potential until they watched a live STP show. I've said it before and I'll say it again, 'Scott Weiland is one of the greatest frontmen in rock and roll history.' Yup, I said it. The guy is absolutely ELECTRIC in concert. Granted, he's no Steve Perry on vocals, but his unique style of dress, eclectic dancing, and stage antics are what made him famous. Well, that and his drug habits.

1. Alice in Chains
Many listeners of Alice Chains don't give them the credit due to them. This band was DISGUSTINGLY talented. Besides Layne Staley's incredible vocal prowess and incredible blues singing, Jerry Cantrell often goes unnoticed and doesn't get the credit he deserves. This man wrote the majority of Alice in Chains' songs, which included the idea of harmonizing the majority of the vocals with Staley. Do you realize how difficult that is?? To harmonize almost an entire song for EVERY song on EVERY one of your albums?? It's like having two lead singers that sing at the exact same time and make a beautiful melody within a dark and sinister group of songs.

 

[Alex]

It's really hard for me to decide as I like the majority of grunge acts but I'm going with Nirvana, mainly because they were the first grunge band I listened to and they opened the door for me to explore Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

However each band had something unique which I love as it each gave them an identity.

 

[FromTheSouth]

There is no question in my mind that Alice In Chains is the best band of the last 20 years. No one can touch them lyrically. It is fun to say that Cobain was a misunderstood poet, but honestly, throwing nonsensical phrases together and them grunting them does not make you a poet. I like Nirvana, but they do not come anywhere close to AiC.

Down in a Hole is the best song to come out of the grunge movement. Never has a song captured the joy and despair of life in five minutes like that song. All of the happy metaphors (flowers, sand) having to be seen in a hole or grave. It's just amazing imagery combined with haunting melody. The song, along with most of the bands work, forces one to look inside himself and find his own balance in life.

 

[theuntold100]

Without a shadow of a doubt, nirvana. Nirvana are arguabley the greatest band of all time, definately the greatest grunge band . some of their songs were just incredible, smells like teen spirit made nirvana its their best song and their most well knoown, not to forget nevermind which is my favourite cd ever.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It has to be Alice In Chains. I love grunge music and Soundgarden, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots are 3 of my favourite bands but none of them can touch Alice.

Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell were the perfect match, they wrote incredible songs that could be heavy, melodic and yet emotional too. As soon as I first heard "Man In The Box", "Would?" and "Angry Chair", I knew that this band was going to be one of my faovurites. I only wish I had been old enough to appreciate the grunge movement as it was happening, rather tha discovering it well after the deaths of Kurt and Layne.

Alice In Chains have written so many tracks that I would list among the best I have ever heard, ranging from the head-banging classics to slow emotional masterpieces like"Nutshell", "Your Decision" and "Down In A Hole". Even now, without Layne, they still produced a masterpiece of an album and although the style of music was slightly changed, they still are one of the best acts in the world today. More metal than any other grunge band, Alice In Chains are by far the best act to come out of the grunge movement.

Best tracks:

- Man In The Box
- Would?
- Nutshell
- Down In A Hole
- Rooster
- Angry Chair
- Check My Brain
- We Die Young
- Bleed The Freak

Now, Stone Temple Pilots are another extremely underrated band, with one of the best frontman in the business in Scott Weiland. Criticised as sounding too much like Pearl Jam (and Plush really does sound like Eddie Vedder), STP produced one of the best albums on the era in "Core", and almost every song from that CD is amazing. If you have not got a copy of "Core", and like grunge music, please buy one- you will not regret it!

Personally I prefer STP to Pearl Jam, although Vedder has written some phenomenal songs (e.g- Once, Alive, State Of Love & Trust, Black and "Jeremy), but Stone Temple Pliots have produced songs that I fell in love with the first time I heard them. Again a mixture of heavier and slower tracks, STP have never worried about trying to diversify their musical style, with their last (self-titled) album not even being grunge. I don't like everything they have done, but I like ALOT of it.

Best tracks:

- Dead & Bloated
- Silvergun Superman
- Crackerman
- Creep
- Plush

Soundgarden are another band I love. Chris Cornell has one of the best voices in rock music and I love his other work in Audioslave and Temple Of The Dog, but he was at his peak in Soundgarden. The range in his vocals was astonishing and some of the riffs in their music are great. I was recommended "Superunknown" by a friend who was amazed that I had no Soundgarden in my CD collection, and I am so grateful that he did. It really is a masterpiece of an album, filled with absolute classics.

BadMotorFinger is another wonderful album, and while I do not like their last full album (Down On The Upside- where the style changed), Soundgarden are still a great band and I hope they end up releasing new material soon.

Best tracks:

- Outshined
- Room A Thousand Years Wide
- Holy Water
- Rusty Cage
- Fell On Black Days
- Spoonman
- 4th July
- Let Me Drown

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Soundgarden without a second thought. While i do love AIC, have a soft spot for Pearl Jam, and couldn't care less about Nirvana, Soundgarden are solidified as my favourite Grunge band ever.

From the dirty, raw craziness of 'Louder Than Love' all the way through to the melodic symphonies found on 'Down On The Upside', Soundgarden hit all cylinders when it comes to their music. Most don't have a great deal of love for 'Ultramega Ok' (and i'd have to agree) but BadMotorFinger and SuperUnknown are both arguably the one of the best albums of the 90's.

I heard 'Black Rain' an unreleased track from BMF for the first time not too long ago, and even though it was written in the early 90's it was still better than 80% of the stuff i'd listened to since then.

 

[Scuba 06]

A lot of good posts. I have to say, I loved the grunge/Seattle scene. Most of my time in middle school, I spent jamming to Nirvana on my Sony CD player. I loved Nirvana. They were one of the first bands I ever really got in me. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was on a whole different planet, and we probably never hear anything like that again for a long time. With that said, as I got a little, I found another Seattle band that I would be even more impressed with, and I can say has become my favorite band ever. Alice In Chains.

When I picked the Dirt album during my freshmen year in high school, I went on a journey like no other album has ever taken be on such a ride for. That album from top to bottom was an emotional roller coaster that had amazing highs and some really dark lows. Every song, you could feel Layne's pain. It was truly a masterpiece. After I thought for years, how great Nirvana's unplugged album was, I got AIC's, and they really impressed me.
I also really enoyed Soundgarden's BMF and SU. Not a huge fan of Pearl Jam, I do have Ten & vs. Really enjoyed STP:Core and Purple but that was about it.