The Best of Early 2000s Grunge Music

A look back at some of the best grunge music from the early 2000s.

The Rise of Grunge

In the early 1990s, grunge music became mainstream with the help of Nirvana and their album, Nevermind. This album contained the hit song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, which launched Nirvana into the mainstream. Grunge music was a departure from the traditional sound of rock music and it quickly became popular with people who were tired of the same old sound.

The early days of grunge music

Grunge music first emerged in the early 1990s, with bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden leading the way. Grunge quickly gained popularity due to its raw, unpolished sound, which was a stark contrast to the polished pop music that was prevalent at the time. Grunge music was also known for its dark and often depressing lyrics, which spoke to the disaffected youth of the early 1990s.

Grunge bands found success both commercially and critically in the early 1990s, with Nirvana’s album “Nevermind” becoming a global phenomenon. However, grunge’s popularity waned in the mid-1990s, as some of its leading bands broke up or disbanded. Nonetheless, grunge continued to influence rock music in the years that followed, and many of its key artists remain popular to this day.

The popularity of grunge music

Grunge music became popular in the early 1990s, with bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the way. The genre was characterized by its raw, unpolished sound and angsty lyrics, and it quickly gained a loyal following among disaffected youth.

Grunge music captured the mood of an entire generation, and its popularity only increased in the wake of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s untimely death in 1994. In the years that followed, grunge bands continued to make waves with their raw, honest approach to music.

Today, grunge music enjoys something of a cult following, and its influence can be heard in many modern-day bands. If you’re a fan of grunge music, be sure to check out some of the best early 2000s grunge songs below.

The Best Grunge Bands

The early 2000s were a golden age for grunge music. The genre reached its peak with bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains releasing some of their best work. While grunge music is no longer as popular as it once was, these bands still hold a special place in the hearts of many music fans.

Nirvana

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Though the band dissolved in 1994 after the suicide of Cobain, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and roll culture.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band, formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band’s lineup consists of founder Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar, ukulele), Mike McCready (lead guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), and Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar). Since their debut album, Ten, Pearl Jam has had five further studio albums reach the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart: Vs. (1993), Vitalogy (1994), No Code (1996), Yield (1998), and Backspacer (2009); the band has also issued two live albums, spanning their tours between 2003 and 2010.

Pearl Jam has been praised for its live performances and anarchic attitude. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017 as a part of their first year of eligibility. Alongside Nirvana and Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam was one of the most commercially successful grunge bands of the early 1990s.

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. Matt Cameron became the band’s full-time drummer in 1986, while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990. The band built its audience with dynamic live shows and powerful albums, and was one of the pioneers of the grunge movement of the early 1990s.

soundgarden’s third studio album, Badmotorfinger (1991), brought the band to a new level of commercial success; its singles “Jesus Christ Pose”, “Rusty Cage”, and “Outshined” all achieved heavy rotation on MTV. After releasing its fourth album, Superunknown (1994), to critical acclaim and commercial success, Soundgarden experienced a hiatus when Cornell left to pursue a solo career from 1997 to 2001. He was replaced by Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell. The band reunited in 2010 and released their sixth studio album King Animal two years later.On May 17th 2017, frontman Chris Cornell died by suicide at the age of 52.

The Legacy of Grunge

It was a time of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. The early 1990s saw the rise of a new musical genre called grunge. Grunge music was characterized by its dark and angsty lyrics, its DIY aesthetic, and its stripped-down sound. It was a reaction against the hair metal music of the 1980s and the polished pop music of the early 1990s. Grunge music was a commercial and critical success, and it left a lasting legacy.

The influence of grunge music

Whereas hair metal bands of the 1980s filled arenas with sound and spectacle, grunge groups played small clubs, usually without pyrotechnics or costume changes. Nirvana’s 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind brought grunge mainstream popularity and commercial success; this was followed by Pearl Jam’s VS. (1993), Soundgarden’s Superunknown (1994), and Alice in Chains’ self-titled album (1995). The popularity of Seattle-based grunge bands gave rise to a new genre, called “post-grunge”, which was derivative of and similar to the original grunge sound. By the end of the 1990s, post-grunge had supplanted grunge as the dominant form of rock music.

The lasting popularity of grunge music

Grunge music emerged from the Seattle music scene in the early 1990s and quickly gained popularity for its raw and unpolished sound. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden became some of the most successful bands of the decade, with their records selling millions of copies. Even though grunge music was short-lived, its influence can still be felt today.

Many current bands cite grunge as a major influence, and the sound of grunge has continued to be popular through the years. Grunge fashion has also made a comeback in recent years, with many people embracing the 90s trend. For many people, grunge is more than just a musical genre – it’s a way of life.