Rate Your Music’s Top 10 Grunge Albums
Contents
Rate Your Music is an online music community that compiles and calculates the Top 10 Grunge Albums of all time.
Introduction
Rate Your Music’s Top 10 Grunge Albums list was created by its members and is based on over 63,000 different ratings. This list was created to celebrate the 90s grunge music scene and to acknowledge the great albums that came out of it.
#10 – Dirt by Alice in Chains
Dirt is the second studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 1992, through Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album was well received by music critics. It has since been certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA and gone on to sell five million copies worldwide, making it the band’s best-selling album. The album remains one of the essential records of the grunge era.
#9 – Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden
Released in 1991, Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger was the band’s third studio album and the first to really break them into the mainstream. It’s a CLASSIC of the genre, and features some of their most well-known songs like “Rusty Cage” and “Outshined.”
#8 – Facelift by Alice in Chains
Released in 1990, Facelift was the debut album from Seattle-based grunge band Alice in Chains. The album was a critical and commercial success, reaching #6 on the Billboard 200 chart and receiving positive reviews from music critics. Facelift contains the singles “Man in the Box,” “We Die Young,” and “Sea of Sorrow.”
#7 – Superunknown by Soundgarden
Superunknown is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, by A&M Records. Upon its release, Superunknown entered the Billboard 200 chart at number one and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Selling 9.8 million copies worldwide, Superunknown is Soundgarden’s most successful album and features their most well-known song, “Black Hole Sun”.
The album was nominated for four Grammy Awards at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards in 1995 and won two: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Spoonman”, and Best Hard Rock Performance for “Black Hole Sun”. In 2013, the album was ranked number 340 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
#6 – Vs. by Pearl Jam
Vs. is the second studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on October 19, 1993 through Epic Records. After a relentless touring schedule in support of their 1991 debut album Ten, the band began work on a new album in early 1993. Vs. was characterized as having a much more aggressive sound than its predecessor, and was produced by Brendan O’Brien. It was the first Pearl Jam album to feature drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who had joined the band in August 1991.
The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1994. Vs. occupied the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart for five weeks, while the single “Daughter” peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album has been certified seven times platinum by the RIAA in the United States and has sold over nine million copies worldwide.
#5 – In Utero by Nirvana
Nirvana’s third and final album, In Utero, was released in 1993 to critical acclaim. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA. The album was produced by Steve Albini, who sought to capture a more raw and live sound. The result was a more abrasive and bleak album than its predecessor, Nevermind. In Utero was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, though it did not win any.
#4 – Nevermind by Nirvana
Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, dethroned Michael Jackson’s Dangerous to become the biggest pop album of all time. It turned the group into superstars and inspired kids around the world to start a band. Released in September 1991, Nevermind featured two of Alternative Nation’s most popular songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are.”
#3 – Ten by Pearl Jam
Ten is the debut studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. The album produced three hit singles: “Alive”, “Even Flow”, and “Jeremy”. Ten was voted ninth in a 2005 poll of The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. It has been certified diamond by the RIAA in the United States and has sold over 12 million copies there. It was ranked number 207 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
#2 – Dirt by Alice in Chains
Dirt is the second studio album by Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 1992, through Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album was certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA and went on to become the band’s best-selling album. It is the first Alice in Chains album to feature bassist Mike Inez.
Dirt has been ranked by many publications as one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named it the 70th greatest hard rock album of all time, and in 2012, it was ranked number two on Guitar World magazine’s list of “Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994”.
#1 – Nevermind by Nirvana
Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind, is the one that took them from being an underground band to a global phenomenon. The album’s success was thanks in large part to the lead single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which became an anthem for Generation X. The rest of the album is equally as strong, with tracks like “Come As You Are,” “In Bloom,” and “Lithium” all becoming classics in their own right. Nevermind is a flawless album that influenced a generation of music and changed the course of popular culture.
