5 Records That Defined Seattle’s Grunge Explosion
The Seattle grunge explosion of the 1990s created some of the most well known records of the decade. These 5 albums continue to resonate.
In 1989, the enterprising upstart label Sub Pop – long before they’d achieved their joking goal of “world domination” – brought British music journalist Everett True out to Seattle to drum up some buzz about the city’s fertile backwater music scene. The resulting piece for Melody Maker shone an international light on bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, TAD, Girl Trouble, and many others, and helped popularize the term “grunge” – which had been used by Sub Pop’s Bruce Pavitt as early as 1987 to describe Green River in a company record catalog. The following decade, the Seattle grunge explosion produced a number of classic records that continue to resonate today.
Pearl Jam
Ten (1991)
Although frontman Eddie Vedder had come to Seattle from San Diego – at a time when Pacific Northwesterners were particularly wary of California transplants – Pearl Jam had deep roots in the Seattle scene prior to grunge. Bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard had previously played in both Mother Love Bone with Andrew Wood and in Sub Pop band Green River with future Mudhoney members Mark Arm and Steve Turner. As a frontman, Vedder brought to Pearl Jam both an elusive kind of charisma and his distinctive, yarling vocals – a grunge hallmark that became a template for imitators ranging from reverent next generation bands to Adam Sandler parody. Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten came out a month before Nirvana’s Nevermind, and – along with Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger – heralded the arrival of grunge and alternative rock as a mainstream phenomenon, spawning the singles “Evenflow,” “Alive,” and “Jeremy” along with their iconic music videos. Pearl Jam would go on to carve out their own unique path in the face of commercial success, taking on Ticketmaster decades before Taylor Swift did, self-releasing a comprehensive series of live bootlegs, and continuing to tour and record to this day, with new album Dark Matter out in April 2024.
Mudhoney
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (1991)
Mudhoney never quite achieved the commercial success or mainstream fame of the other acts on this list, but in many ways the beloved hometown heroes were the real connecting thread of “grunge.” From Mark Arm and Steve Turner’s high school band Mr Epp and the Calculations in the early 1980s through their stint in Sub Pop group Green River with future members of Pearl Jam to Mudhoney (founded with Melvins bassist Matt Lukin), the band drew a throughline from Seattle’s early punk era to the grunge blow-up. And their fuzzed-out, garage rock influenced sound also called back to earlier eras of the PNW, with bands like the Sonics. And while so much of the grunge and alternative era was often dour and self-serious, Mudhoney were a band who actually seemed to be enjoying themselves and to have a good sense of humor to go along with their musical chops. The band has continued to record and tour, most recently releasing 2023’s Plastic Eternity on longtime label Sub Pop – where Mark Arm has also long served as warehouse manager.
Nirvana
Incesticide (1992)
Though Nevermind is of course the obvious choice – the album that changed everything, topping the charts, dispatching Michael Jackson and hair metal, and setting the stage for a decade of alternative music to come – Nirvana’s 1992 stop-gap of b-sides and rarities Incesticide reveals both Kurt Cobain’s prolificacy as an artist and hinted at some then lesser-known influences behind his contributions to the grunge canon. The single “Sliver,” originally released as a 7” in 1990 and given second life post-Incesticide thanks to a music video shot and released in 1993, finds Nirvana at their poppiest, while “(New Wave) Polly” turns the dark Nevermind ballad into a fuzzed-out punk pogo fest. In between are a string of covers, one of Devo’s “Turnaround” and two incredibly catchy numbers from obscure Scottish indie twee band the Vaselines, “Molly’s Lips” and “Son of a Gun.” At a time when Cobain’s nod could elevate relative unknowns to cult icon status – see also Daniel Johnston, Flipper, and the entire list at KEXP’s Cobain 50 – covers like these revealed hidden paths connecting grunge to punk, new wave, noise, indie pop and other influences too often flattened in the popular memory of flannel shirts and headbanging.
Alice in Chains
Dirt (1992)
Alice in Chains began life as a glam metal band of roughly the same name led by vocalist Layne Staley before teaming up with guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell. By 1992’s Dirt, however, any last vestiges of that previous life were long gone, replaced by the sound that Alice in Chains would become famous for, led by Cantrell’s dark, chugging riffs, searing guitar leads and Staley’s uniquely expressive voice, a drawling, sharp-edged wail that could pivot from a high chorus to a low growl with ease. Their sophomore album Dirt went multi-platinum and spawned several singles, including “Them Bones,” “Rooster, and “Would?” which appeared earlier that year in the soundtrack to the film Singles, Cameron Crowe’s ode to early ‘90s Seattle. Although their original line-up’s run ended when Staley passed away in 2002 at age 34 of a heroin overdose, Alice in Chain’s legacy continues to this day.
Soundgarden
Superunknown (1994)
Soundgarden were perhaps the most virtuosic of the big 4 Seattle grunge bands, from Kim Thayil’s dexterous guitar shredding to the commanding rhythm section of Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron to most of all Chris Cornell’s singularly powerful singing voice. By the time of 1994’s Superunknown, the band were at the peak of their powers, and the album spawned several singles, notably “Fell on Black Days,” “Spoonman,” and the dark, drenched power ballad “Black Hole Sun,” whose face-twisting music video remains one of the most memorable of the alternative 1990s. Superunknown topped the Billboard 200 chart and was certified six-times platinum. Cornell would go on to record two more studio albums with Soundgarden, along with live and b-sides records, three albums with supergroup Audioslave (featuring members of Rage Against the Machine), and several solo albums. And although Cornell passed away by suicide in 2017 at age 52, the mark that he and Soundgarden made on music endures.
You might also like
KEEP DIGGING
Don’t miss a beat
Subscribe to Discogs’ email list to learn about sales, discover music, record collecting guides, product tips, limited edition offers, and more.