The Top 5 Grunge Music Bands of All Time

While there are many great grunge bands, these five bands are the best of the best. Check out our list of the top 5 grunge music bands of all time.

Nirvana

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Nirvana. Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Nirvana’s debut album Bleach was released on June 15, 1989, on Sub Pop Records; its first single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released in September 1991. After signing with major label DGC Records in 1991, Nirvana found success with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from their second album Nevermind (1991).

Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known as the drummer for the rock band Nirvana and as the founder, frontman, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Foo Fighters. He has also played in other bands such as Queens of the Stone Age and Probot.

Krist Novoselic

Krist Novoselic is a Croatian-American musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and one of the founding members of the grunge band Nirvana. Novoselic was born in Compton, California, to a Croatian immigrant family. He grew up in Aberdeen, Washington, and became interested in music after hearing Jimi Hendrix on the radio. He started playing guitar at age 14, and soon began playing with local bands. In 1987 he met Kurt Cobain, and they formed Nirvana the following year.

Novoselic played a major role in shaping Nirvana’s sound, writing much of the band’s music with Cobain. He also co-wrote many of Nirvana’s most popular songs, including “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Heart-Shaped Box,” and “All Apologies.” After Nirvana disbanded following Cobain’s death in 1994, Novoselic formed a number of other bands, including Sweet 75 and Eyes Adrift. He has also been active in politics, campaigning for issues such as voting rights and freedom of speech.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band’s line-up consists of founder Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike McCready (lead guitar). Since its inception, Pearl Jam has produced five studio albums, three live albums, and numerous other releases.

Eddie Vedder

Eddie Vedder is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist, one of three guitarists, and the primary lyricist of the American rock band Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder rose to fame with the release of Pearl Jam’s debut album, Ten (1991). A native of Chicago, Illinois, Vedder moved to San Diego at age sixteen with his family. He soon began playing in local San Diego music groups before eventually forming Pearl Jam in 1990.

Vedder is known for his powerful baritone vocals. He is also noted for his sometimes cryptic lyrics. His vocal style has influenced numerous other rock singers. His work as a lyricist has earned him induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007, Paste magazine ranked him number forty-seven on its list of the “100 Greatest Living Songwriters.” Vedder was ranked thirtieth on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time” in 2008 and was included in Time magazine’s “Time 100” list of influential people in 2009.

Jeff Ament

Jeff Ament is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the bassist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. He is also a founding member of the alternative rock band Mother Love Bone. Ament is considered one of the greatest bass guitarists of all time.

Stone Gossard

Stone Gossard is an American musician who serves as the rhythm and additional lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of Pearl Jam.

Gossard’s work with Pearl Jam has yielded three Grammy Awards. As a member of Temple of the Dog, Gossard won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song “Hunger Strike”. With Battalions of Zen, Gossard released his first solo album, Bayleaf. His second solo album, Moonlander, followed in 1997.

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr, who was replaced in 1993 by Mike Inez. Although widely associated with grunge music, the band’s sound incorporates heavy metal elements.

Layne Staley

Layne Thomas Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock band Alice in Chains, which he founded with guitarist Jerry Cantrell in Seattle, Washington in 1987. He also wrote and sang for the side project Mad Season. Staley’s vocal style was defined by his deep, baritone voice and distinctive vocal harmony style. His voal delivery was emotional, yet distinctively stern and subdued in keepimg with Alice in Chains’ heavy metal-influenced sound.

Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American musician who served as the lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist and main songwriter for the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to international fame in the early 1990s during Seattle’s grunge movement, and became known for their distinctive vocal style and focus on dark lyricism. Cantrell began to sing lead vocals on Alice in Chains’ 1992 EP Sap. Following Staley’s death in 2002, Cantrell took over as the band’s sole lead vocalist until their temporary hiatus in 2005; he has also played rhythm guitar and keyboards on various Alice in Chains recordings.

Cantrell has released five solo albums: Boggy Depot (1998), Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2 (2002), Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), Blue Room (2012), and A World Without (2016). His first solo album was released under the pseudonym “Jerry Cantrell”, while subsequent albums have been credited to him simply as “Cantrell”.

Sean Kinney

As the drummer for Alice in Chains, Sean Kinney is responsible for creating the hard-hitting, signature sound that has come to define the band. Considered one of the best drummers of the grunge era, Kinney’s unique style combines elements of metal, punk and funk. He is also a songwriter and occasional backing vocalist, and has co-written some of Alice in Chains’ biggest hits, including “Would?”, “Them Bones” and “Angry Chair”.

Born in Seattle in 1966, Kinney grew up listening to classic rock and metal bands like Led Zeppelin, Kiss and Black Sabbath. He began playing drums at an early age, and by his teenage years was performing in local punk and hardcore bands. In 1987, he met guitarist Jerry Cantrell while they were both working at a music store, and the two soon began jamming together. This led to the formation of Alice in Chains, with vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr rounding out the lineup.

Alice in Chains released their debut album Facelift in 1990, which included the hits “Man in the Box” and “We Die Young”, both of which feature Kinney’s signature drumming. The album was a commercial success, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band’s second album Dirt (1992) is considered a grunge classic, with singles like “Would?”, “Them Bones” and “Rooster” receiving heavy airplay on rock radio. Dirt was also a huge commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Alice in Chains went on hiatus after Staley’s death in 2002, but reunited with new vocalist William DuVall in 2005. They have released two more albums since then – 2009’s Black Gives Way to Blue and 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here – both of which have been met with critical acclaim. The band continues to tour regularly, and Sean Kinney remains an integral part of Alice in Chains’ sound and vision.

Soundgarden

Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. The band’s third studio album, Badmotorfinger (1991), brought them to a new level of commercial success, and by the early 1990s, they were one of the most successful rock bands of the time.

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell (born Christopher John Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. Cornell was considered one of the chief architects of the 1990s grunge movement, and is well known for his expansive four-octave vocal range as well as his powerful vocal belting technique. He released four solo studio albums, Epiphany (2006), Carry On (2007), Scream (2009), Higher Truth (2015), and live album Songbook (2011).

Cornell received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song “The Keeper” which appeared in the 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher, and won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for “Black Hole Sun” in 1995. He was ranked number eight on Rolling Stone’s list of the Greatest Lead Singers of All Time. He committed suicide on May 18, 2017 by hanging at the age of 52.

Kim Thayil

Kim Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the grunge band Soundgarden. He was ranked number 45 in Rolling Stone’s list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in 2003,[1] and number 33 in 2012.

Matt Cameron

Matt Cameron is an American musician who serves as the drummer and co-founder for the alternative rock band Soundgarden. He has also been a member of Pearl Jam since 1998. With both bands, Cameron has won multiple Grammy Awards.

Temple of the Dog

Chris Cornell

Cornell was not only the lead singer for Soundgarden, but he was also the co-founder and lead singer for Temple of the Dog. The group was created in 1990 as a tribute to Wood and his death. The band only released one album, which was a self-titled album that was released in 1991. The album included hits such as “Hunger Strike” and “Say Hello 2 Heaven”. After the release of the album, Cornell went on to join Audioslave, and the band broke up.

Jeff Ament

Jeff Ament is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist for the grunge band Pearl Jam. He is also a founding member of the band Temple of the Dog, and has played with rock bands Three Fish and RNDM.

Stone Gossard

Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland, brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo, and Eric Kretz. Since the death of Scott Weiland in 2015, the band has been on an indefinite hiatus. Cheesehead Stone Gossard is best known as the co-founder of both Pearl Jam and Brad. He was also a member of Temple of the Dog, Mother Love Bone and JPJ. As a songwriter Gossard has penned some of grunge’s most memorable tunes, including “Alive”, “Daughter” and “Better Man”.