The Ten Best Rock Songs of the Grunge Era – Listverse
The grunge era of the late 20th century was one of the most memorable phases of rock music. Also known as the Seattle Sound because many grunge bands started in Washington State, this genre emerged in the ’80s and was all the rage in the early ’90s. Some of the more successful Grunge bands are still making music today, while others fell into obscurity or experienced the deaths of band members and never recovered.
But even years later, many of those songs are still popular. The grunge bands of the ’90s still sell records and merchandise and get plenty of airtime on the radio. With all this in mind, let’s take a look back at the ten best rock songs of the grunge era.
Related: 10 memorable songs that tell a dark story
10 “Rooster” – Alice In Chains
From their second album Soil, “Rooster” is now considered one of the quintessential grunge songs. It spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 7. Singer/guitarist Jerry Cantrell wrote the song for his father. Jerry Cantrell Sr.’s nickname from his youth was Rooster, a name he kept during his service in the Vietnam War. An acoustic version of the song was recorded for MTV’s Disconnected and both versions appear on the 1999 box set Music bank.
In the box set’s liner notes, Jerry Cantrell said of the song: “It was the beginning of the healing process between my father and I from all that damage Vietnam did. This was my entire perception of his experiences out there. The first time I heard him talk about it was when we were doing the video, and he did a 45-minute interview with Mark Pellington. I was surprised he did it.”[1]
9 “Black Hole Sun” – Soundgarden
Soundgarden is one of the most popular bands in rock history and a forerunner in the grunge genre. Originally formed in 1984 by frontman Chris Cornell, along with Hiro Yamamoto and Kim Thayil, the band’s first album was released in 1988. Although it did not sell well, it received critical acclaim and earned a Grammy nomination in 1990. Written by Cornell, “Black Hole Sun” was released in 1994 by A&M Records as the third single from the band’s fourth studio album. Super unknown.
By this time the group consisted of Cornell, Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd. This song is Soundgarden’s biggest commercial success. Yet it also underlines “the turning point where Cornell was able to break free from his self-imposed songwriting limitations and his constant focus on preserving the ‘Soundgarden Sound’.”[2]
8 “Violet” – Hole
The band Hole became big after Kurt Cobain, the husband of frontwoman Courtney Love, died. Cobain was one of the key figures in the success of the grunge movement, and many fans turned their eyes to Hole after his death. Regardless of how they got their moment in the sun, Hole was a quintessential grunge band. “Violet” was one of their most popular songs and resonated deeply with women of that generation.
The song was written in mid-1991 and was performed live on Hole’s earlier tours between 1991 and 1992, eventually appearing as the opening track on the band’s second studio album. Live through this (1994). It peaked at number 29 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks following the album’s release and is considered one of Hole’s most well-known and critically recognized songs. [3]
7 “Hunger Strike” – Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog was a short-lived “supergroup” that combined the talents of Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron and Mike McCready. In short, Soundgarden meets Pearl Jam. “Hunger Strike” was the most successful song to come out of that experiment. There is no saga in rock history quite like that of Temple of the Dog, the Seattle supergroup that defined grunge.
‘Hunger Strike’ is a direct attack on the rich and decadents. It was the last song recorded for the album; Cornell wrote it because they only had nine songs, and he has a compulsive aversion to odd numbers. Describing the Pearl Jam Twenty collection song, he said, “I wanted to express my gratitude for my life, but also my disdain for people where that’s not enough, where they want more. There’s no way to really have much more than you normally need without taking something from someone else who can’t afford to give it to you.”[4]
6 “Drain You” – Nirvana
Led by frontman Kurt Cobain, Nirvana was a definitive grunge band. Cobain called “Drain You” one of his favorite compositions, David Fricke said in 1993 Rolling stone interview that he thought it was as good, if not better, than “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. “I love the lyrics and never get tired of playing them,” Cobain said. The band released several versions of “Drain You”, including a live version. That version peaked at number 44 on the Radio & Records US Alternative Top 50 chart.
Originally titled “Formula”, “Drain You” was written in 1990. The song was first recorded in the spring of 1991, when Cobain and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl visited Melvins drummer Dale Crover and his then-girlfriend Debbi Shane in San Francisco, California. . It became the eighth song on their album Forget it and one of the most memorable grunge songs ever recorded.[5]
5 “Plush” – Stone Temple Pilots
“Plush” was released as the second single from the band’s 1992 debut studio album Core in August 1993. It became their first single to top the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and became the number one song of 1993. Stone Temple Pilots were one of the most popular bands of the grunge era and one of the few to didn’t. It’s not from the Seattle area. The band was formed in San Diego in 1989 and was extremely successful with two albums.
Frontman Scott Weiland was plagued by substance abuse and was in and out of prison until his death in 2015 at the age of 48. With the many possible interpretations, fans and musicologists often come up with their own theories. Many link it to Weiland’s own addiction problems, while others link it to a nervous breakdown. Other possible meanings include “a broken love story, a senseless tragedy, or an unsolved mystery.”[6]
4 “Alive” – Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam was and is undoubtedly the most successful band of the grunge era, and ‘Alive’ helped put them on the map. It was the band’s first single from their debut album Ten. The song was only available in the United States via import, so it could not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. However, “Alive” is number 16 in the UK and nine in Australia.
In August 2018, it became the first Pearl Jam song to receive certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It eventually received gold certification in July 2022 for sales and streams over 400,000. The song is a semi-autobiographical account that reflects Eddie Vedder’s own childhood experience of learning the truth about his real father. It has become a grunge song.[7]
3 “Jane Says” – Jane’s addiction
Jane’s Addiction broke up in 1991, the start of the grunge era, but their Generation X anthem, “Jane Says,” is considered one of the first grunge hits. It was released in 1987 and became the band’s first hit on the Alternative Songs chart, peaking at #6. The band made a name for itself before the grunge era, but the LA band played an important role in the music of the s 90 thanks to the founding of Lollapalooza by singer Perry Ferrell. The legendary music festival allowed many grunge bands to reach fans across the country for years.
The band has reunited several times over the years and released a live version of the song, featuring steel drums. Today the song is associated with grunge, a genre that has faded in terms of sales but contributed to a handful of radio staples. Alternative rock stations like “classic grunge songs” like “Jane Says.”[8]
2 “Smells like teen spirit” – Nirvana
Nirvana’s biggest hit, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, is undoubtedly an iconic grunge song and one of the most successful songs of all time. It is the opening track and first single from the band’s second album Forget it (1991), released on DGC Records. The song was hugely successful, more than anyone expected. It brought enormous mainstream attention to the group. Although that attention eventually brought success, the small band felt uncomfortable with it.
Thirty years after Kurt Cobain’s death, the song still receives regular airplay on radio stations across North America. ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is an essential anthem of Generation X and perhaps the most iconic grunge song. A little-known fact about the title: Although it’s not mentioned in the text, the phrase refers to a night of drinking at Kurt’s apartment in Olympia, Washington. His girlfriend Kathleen wrote the immortal phrase “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit” on his wall.[9]
1 “Jeremy” – Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam’s first album Ten is full of grunge classics. ‘Jeremy’, potentially the most successful, tells the story of a troubled young man. The song and video were both critically acclaimed and won several awards. It left the image of “Jeremy” as a school shooter forever on track and led to the song becoming one of the most misinterpreted in rock history, with most casual fans believing the song was about a school shooting and not about suicide.
The song was inspired by a newspaper article that lyricist Eddie Vedder read about Jeremy Wade Delle, a high school student who shot himself in front of his English class on January 8, 1991. It reached number 5 on the Album and Modern Rock Billboard charts. . The song has not received much airtime in recent decades, largely due to its controversial content. Yet there is no better example of a grunge song than ‘Jeremy’.[10]