The Best Grunge Music of the 2000s
From Nirvana to Pearl Jam, we take a look at the best grunge music of the 2000s.
The Early Days of Grunge
Grunge music first found its way onto the scene in the early 1990s with bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden leading the charge. The genre became massively popular in the early 1990s with the release of Nirvana’s album Nevermind. Grunge music is typically characterized by its dark and angsty lyrics, its distorted guitars, and its overall raw and unpolished sound.
The Rise of Nirvana
The early 1990s saw the rise of a new musical genre known as grunge. Grunge music is a mix of alternative rock and heavy metal that originated in Seattle, Washington. The genre was made popular by bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.
The rise of Nirvana is often considered the beginning of the grunge movement. Nirvana was founded in 1987 by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. The band released its debut album, Bleach, in 1989. Although the album was not a commercial success, it did gain the attention of indie label Sub Pop Records.
In 1991, Nirvana released its second album, Nevermind. The album’s lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” became a massive hit and propelled Nevermind to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Nevermind remains one of the most influential albums of all time and helped bring alternative rock into the mainstream.
After the success of Nevermind, Nirvana achieved massive global popularity. The band released its third album, In Utero, in 1993 to critical acclaim. However, Kurt Cobain’s struggles with depression and addiction led to his untimely death in April 1994. Nirvana disbanded shortly after Cobain’s death and has been cited as one of the most influential bands of all time.
The Rise of Pearl Jam
Grunge music exploded into the mainstream in the early 1990s with the release of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The genre became hugely popular, and other bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains found success with their own unique take on grunge.
Pearl Jam was one of the most successful grunge bands of the 1990s. Formed in Seattle in 1990, the band quickly rose to prominence with the release of their debut album, “Ten.” The album featured hits such as “Alive” and “Jeremy,” which helped to propel the band to superstardom. Pearl Jam went on to release a string of successful albums throughout the decade, cementing their place as one of the biggest bands of the era.
The Rise of Soundgarden
Soundgarden was one of the seminal grunge bands, forming in Seattle in 1984. The band’s early releases, Ultramega OK (1988) and Louder Than Love (1989), received mixed reviews but did garner some attention in the underground metal scene. Soundgarden’s breakthrough came with their third album, Badmotorfinger (1991), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The singles “Jesus Christ Pose” and “Rusty Cage” both received heavy airplay on rock radio, helping to propel the album to platinum status.
The Mainstream Grunge Movement
The grunge music scene of the early 1990s was characterized by its do-it-yourself attitude, DIY ethics, and lo-fi recording quality. The mainstream grunge movement of the early 2000s was a commercialized version of the original grunge scene. The music was more polished and the bands were more polished.
The Rise of Alice in Chains
The early 1990s saw the rise of the Seattle-based grunge movement, which would change the landscape of rock music for years to come. One of the most successful and well-known bands to emerge from this scene was Alice in Chains, who rose to fame with their dark and heavy sound.
Formed in 1987 by singer/guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, Alice in Chains began as a heavy metal band but soon developed a unique style that blended metal with elements of punk, alternative, and even pop. This sound would come to define the grunge movement, and Alice in Chains would become one of its most successful standard-bearers.
The band’s first album, Facelift (1990), was a moderate success, but it was their second album, Dirt (1992), that truly made them stars. This dark and anguished record dealt with themes of addiction and despair, and its accompanying singles “Would?” and “Rooster” helped make it one of the most successful grunge albums of all time.
With their third album, Alice in Chains cemented their place as one of the biggest bands in the world. The self-titled release (commonly referred to as AIC) featured the hit singles “No Excuses” and “I Stay Away,” both of which received heavy radio airplay. The album also featured a duet between Cantrell and Layne Staley on the song “Got Me Wrong.”
Staley’s haunting vocals were a vital part of Alice in Chains’ sound, and his personal struggles with addiction would come to define the band’s music in the years to come. After releasing two more successful albums, 1995’s Sap and 1996’s Unplugged – which featured a now-legendary performance on MTV – Alice in Chains went on hiatus due to Staley’s struggles with addiction. He would sadly never recover, dying of an overdose in 2002.
While many fans thought Alice in Chains would never recover from Staley’s death, Cantrell and Kinney persevered, recruiting new singer/guitarist William DuVall and releasing a new album in 2009 called Black Gives Way to Blue. This album – which features DuVall taking on lead vocal duties – was both a commercial and critical success, proving that Alice in Chains was still a force to be reckoned with more than 20 years after they first started making music.
The Rise of Stone Temple Pilots
stone temple pilots played a huge role in making grunge music popular in the early 1990s. their debut album, core, was released in 1992 and featured the singles “sex type thing” and “plush.” the album went on to sell more than eight million copies.
The Rise of Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most successful grunge bands of the early 1990s. The group’s first two albums, Gish (1991) and Siamese Dream (1993), were both critical and commercial successes. The Smashing Pumpkins became one of the most popular alternative rock bands of the 1990s with their mix of anthemic songwriting, heavy guitars, and melodic pop hooks. The band’s third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), was a quadruple-platinum success that saw the band experimenting with different sounds and textures. The album’s first single, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” became one of the band’s most iconic songs.
The Smashing Pumpkins’ popularity began to decline in the late 1990s, due in part to creative differences within the band. The group disbanded in 2000, but reformed in 2005 with a new lineup. The reformed band has released two albums, Zeitgeist (2007) and Oceania (2012).
The Legacy of Grunge
Grunge music emerged in the early 1990s as a response to the polished, glitzy sounds of hair metal and pop music. Grunge artists were defined by their DIY aesthetic, distorted guitars, and apathetic attitude. The genre enjoyed mainstream success in the early 1990s thanks to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Despite grunge’s brief moment in the spotlight, the genre left a lasting impact on popular music. In this article, we’ll take a look at the best grunge music of the 2000s.
The Influence of Nirvana
Nirvana was one of the most influential grunge bands of the early 1990s. Formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987, the band rose to prominence with their debut album, Bleach, which was released in 1989. Their follow-up album, Nevermind, was released in 1991 and became a global sensation, propelled by the success of its lead single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Nirvana’s sudden success had a profound effect on the music industry and popular culture throughout the world.
Nirvana’s music was marked by its intensity and aggression, as well as by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain’s distinctive voice and songwriting. The band’s sound was a unique blend of punk rock and heavy metal that influenced many other artists who would emerge in the 1990s and beyond. Nirvana’s impact was particularly felt in the grunge scene of Seattle, Washington, which produced many other successful bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains.
Despite their success, Nirvana was plagued by personal turmoil and largely disbanded after Cobain’s death in 1994. However, their music continues to be celebrated by fans around the world and their legacy continues to influence new generations of artists.
The Influence of Pearl Jam
Few would argue that Pearl Jam is one of the most influential bands of the grunge era. Emerging from Seattle in the early 1990s, the band found success with their debut album, Ten. The album’s mix of hard rock and pop sensibilities struck a chord with grunge fans and catapulted the band to superstardom.
While Pearl Jam would go on to enjoy greater commercial success than many of their grunge contemporaries, they always maintained a strong connection to their roots. This was evident in their music, which often dealt with dark subject matter, and in their stage performances, which were often characterized by an intensity that was unmatched by any other band.
Pearl Jam’s influence can be seen in the success of many other grunge bands, including Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. These bands took what Pearl Jam had started and built upon it, helping to create a musical movement that would change the course of rock music.
The Influence of Soundgarden
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The term grunge was first used to describe the Seattle music scene by music critic Mark Arm in the May 1981 issue of Second Avenue Sodomy, a local zine. The genre is characterized by heavy guitar riffs, distorted sounds, and dark or angsty lyrics.
Soundgarden was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. The band was one of the most successful grunge bands of the 1990s, selling over 10 million albums worldwide. Soundgarden’s break-through album was 1991’s Badmotorfinger, which featured the singles “Rusty Cage” and “Outshined.” The band’s follow-up album, Superunknown, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over nine million copies worldwide. It included the singles “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun,” which won Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance respectively.
