Best Grunge Band?
 

I'm only putting the "big four" up here. Please just vote for one, and if you have another true favourite, post it and the one you voted for above down below. ;)

I say Soundgarden. Chris Cornell is just freakin' awesome. I was torn between them and Pearl Jam though.

Nirvana no question in my opinion. Granted I didnt "live" through that era. By live I mean listen to that kind of music. But Nirvana seemed so revolutionary in grunge. I could be totally wrong, and am being far to swayed by vh1, and such.

Alice in Chains. But they're not really grunge, more of a mix of metal and bluegrass.

Soundgarden, but I am not sure if I would consider them grunge.

I really like Nirvana as well, but just the music. Not a big fan of the members or anything. I love the album Incesticide.

someone who isnt on the lost is the screaming trees. love everything they have done and all of mark langhans solo stuff too

I'm kinda shocked to see Pearl Jam with the least amount of votes. I'm the only one who's voted for em so far. Ten is a flawless album..and they made many other great albums as well. I favor them but I also have to say each and every one of those bands had their own greatness and I can definitely see why one favors one over the other. PJ rock my world ever since they first came out. One of my all time favourite bands.

Asta!!

i have to disagree. pearl jam has never done it for me. dont know what it is but i just can not stand listening to them. just my opinion though.

That's probably because they're not a grunge band.

Awesome? Definitely, maybe best stadium-type rock band to hit the scene in 20 years, but they by no means would I consider them in the same musical category as Nirvana.

There is just one problem; Nirvana does not define grunge.
There were those that came before and influenced the genre, such as the Melvins and the godfather of grunge himself, Neil Young. There were also bands like Mudhoney, Ammonia, etc. that were very good grunge bands but had distinctively different sounds from Nirvana. Then there's the hybridized grungers, case and point Murder City Devils and essentially anything older on the SubPop label or other Seattle indie labels.
Well, that's my two cents at least.

a more accurate name for grunge might be "rock bands that sold lots of albums between 1991 and 1994". STP, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden have been labelled as grunge so often and consistently that there's no point in noting the obvious musical differences

definetly Nirvana! I don`t know if theres a person that I know who doesn`t likes them

From that list, i voted Nirvana.

Out of these four? Pearl Jam easily.

Add in the Stone Temple Pilots and it's a different story.

Also, I'd rank them this way:

1. STP
2. Pearl Jam
3. Alice in Chains
4. Nirvana
5. Soundgarden

Yeah. Sounds about right.

Before opening this thread I was saying to myself, Pearl Jam better be here. I vote Pearl Jam.

Off that list, Nirvana takes it. I only consider PJ a grunge band with their first album, they totally went away from it. I never liked soundgarden, but they are okay. Alice in chains, yes and no. I think they were in the era, but to me, not grunge. As for STP, they are my all time fav. I think they fit the era too, but I don't think they were grunge.

im went with nirvana only because they seemed the most grunge
soundgarden and alice were more heavy and less distorted but in rankings id put them
1soundgarden
2alice in chains
3nirvana
4stp
5pj

10 is an awesome album but after that they just got too soft for my taste
they had 2 harder songs on yield but the others are much too mellow for eddies voice although they sound ok

Soundgarden was good. And awesome.

I vote Nirvana.

Personally, I think they best represent grunge.

I love every band on the list. Soundgarden just edged it; Pearl Jam the only ones to have kept it going - and how.

1. Nirvana
2. Alice In Chains (were they even grunge?)
3. Soundgarden
4. Pearl Jam (never cared much for them)

They've all been called or labeled grunge a billion times, leave it at that.

Anyway, Alice In Chains easily got my vote.

I can dig some Soundgarden, more than the other two anyway, but I didn't think they were spectacular. I never really got into Nirvana, and I never liked Vedder's voice, though I've heard from almost all my friends that Ten is an amazing album.

Well Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana are all Seattle bands from the "grunge scene" or whatever you want to call it. I'm not naming them as "grunge bands" arbitrarily, this is what I've seen from numerous sources (with AIC as well, although they're not Seattle).

Yeah STP were also lumped into that genre but I also agree that they along with Pearl Jam, and even Soundgarden were really more just a good ol rock band than a grunge band...Soundgarden especially..they were closer to being metal with Cornell amazing voice. And Mike McCreedy of Pearl Jam? He's obviously very blues and classic rock influenced you can hear that in his playing. Vedder loves Punk among other things. Scott Weiland is definitely blues influenced even put out a blues album..plus Classic rock too cause one of his idols is Jim Morrison. Nirvana probably did best fit the mold..they were that kind of band and they like those kind of bands as well. I noticed a lot of people had their favorites out of the grunge scene that were lesser known...Screaming Trees, Sunny Day Real Estate, Seven Mary Three, etc.

Asta!!

I thought that Sunny Day Real Estate was considered early emo...

Genres are fun!!!

I thought so too but I accidentally, but thankfully recorded a special on MTV2 a while back something hosted my Jim Shearer about Grunge music...they had Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Hole, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, PJ/Soundgarden/Temple Of The Dog, and yup even Sunny Day Real Estate...among many others that were considered Grunge. I agree Genre's are fun...now I asked you what guitar the guy from Muse is playing in their new video but I'm not sure if you saw it...It's nice...dunno if you know or anything just taking a shot in the dark since yer a fan of the album. Ughh..yeah..

Asta!!

fyi, alice in chains formed in seattle in 1987.

have you ever listened to "12-Bar Blues"? despite the name, it ain't a blues album. it is, however, pretty shitty! (sorry Scott) "Atlanta" from "No. 4" sounds like a Doors song, but the Jim Morrison influence isn't the most prominent that i see in Weiland. his Dave Bowie-isms strike me more and more these days. STP might be my fav band, however. seen 'em 3 times

Uh, er, I... that is to say... *runs away*

Damn so it's not even a blues album? I saw it in a Pawn shop one day and thought about picking it up..I thought "Oh cool Scott Weiland doing some blues." guess I was mistaken. I definitely see the Bowie influences, I'm sure he's got a whole slew of influences I don't know about.

Asta!!

Hey, K-Wise: Sorry, I know little to nothing about guitars.

Also, I don't know about the entire 12 Bar Blues album, but "Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down" and "But Not Tonight" are two very kickass songs.

i would have to say alice in chains, with soundgarden a close second. I see soundgarden more as a hard rock then a grunge band, they just happened to be from seattle so they were grouped with nirvana. i dont think i would consider stp a grunge band either. i think nirvana is overrated...

Isn't it about the chords they all play(ed)? Didn't they tune their guitars down to 'D' or something, in search of that heavy-heavy grunge tone? Soundgarden are definitely grunge on Superunknown; STP were diet-grunge because to me they sounded just like a slightly sanitised Alice in Chains.

I had to go with Nirvana, I just got a hold of the new 3 cd set that came out not to long ago "With The Lights Out". It brought back allot of memories. Alice in chains is a close second. I was never a Soundgarden fan and Pearl Jam just went down hill.

I agree with getting STP on the list. Any of you guys into Velvet Revolver at all? I grew up on Guns N' Roses, Slash is simply amazing. I think Scot and the old GN'R crew make a good group.

of that list? Nirvana, I guess.
I like Soundgarden, but I don't know enough of their stuff, same with AIC
and I don't really like Pearl Jam,
but if STP is on that list, that'd be my choice by a country mile.

I love STP, hate GnR, and consider VR to be decent, but not good or great.

y'know, you don't have to beat your lack of taste into the ground.

I'm not voting; I never really liked Grunge, but I appreciate the effect that it had on the music industry, and I really liked some of the new bands that started to get airplay once Grunge broke the door open. Before Nirvana hit the radio, you basically only heard U2, REM, and hair bands.

hands down nirvana, gimme a break

Not that there's anything wrong with R.E.M. right? They are a truly great band. Mind you, they aren't even close to being the same since the drummer left (Buck? Mills? Berry? I forget which one). But Automatic, and Out of Time and even Monster, Green, Eponymous, are all great albums.

I know this doesn't fit in the 'grunge' thread, but I had to defend REM.

Yes, I like REM, I also like hair metal, and I'm OK with U2, but the whole music scene was stagnant (at least on the radio) at the beginning of the 1990s. Then Nirvana happened.

My vote is for Mudhoney and mother love bone

Tough choice, I went with Alice in Chains.

I'll keep that in mind. Hey, do you still have those Good Charlotte mp3s shared?

Redlemon, I'm curious what "grunge followers" you think were decent. As far as late adopters to a popular genre go, I've always felt that grunge offerings (Bush, Creed, Nickelback, Default, Seven Mary Three, Godsmack, Puddle of Mudd, etc) were simply horrible. The best "late grunge" bands didn't really get significant airplay (Toadies, Tripping Daisy, Hum, Shudder to Think, Dandelion, non-Frogstomp Silverchair, etc)

Absolutely...saw them live twice.

Mark Lanegan's solo albums, particularly Field Songs, are fantastic.


Also, don't forget bands like Helmet and Mother Love Bone...

I'm not referring to "second-wave grunge" or something like that. There was a lot of generally fun music by one hit wonder bands, all lumped under a huge banner called "alternative", for no good reason. Elastica, Breeders, Veruca Salt (for some reason only the girl groups are coming to mind right now), groups like that. "Flagpole Sitta", whoever sang that. Third-wave ska. The Presidents of the United States of America.

These groups were signed becase Nirvana was signed, and the record companies all wanted to find something new and fresh. I think that the more one-hit-wonders are on the radio at any time, the healthier the music scene is.

I can't believe no-one has mentioned Mudhoney - another of Seattle's finest!

I defy you to listen to 'In And Out Of Grace' and not have a face melting moment. That song is pure grunge/rock genius. Then go and listen to the rest of their early stuff. Fucking awesome.

Harvey Danger.

The album was pretty consistent and overall decent, but that was far and away the top song.

I chose Nirvana, although I really didn't start listening to them until around '96, and had been listening to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden previously. Never listened to Alice In Chains that I'm aware of.

Hmm I actually love Bush..they're one of my favorite bands heh. I figure a lot of people never really gave them a chance because from the get go they were slammed for being "Nirvana rip-off's!" which is bullshit...Silverchair had the same bad rap except they were considered "Pearl Jam rip-offs!" and it's all bullshit..they both really good bands with their own sound...I don't know anyone who sounds like Bush and right now I can't really think of anyone who quite sounds like Silverchair either.

Asta!!

I beg to differ on your opinion, and your labelling of Default or Bush as grunge. I can maybe see calling Bush grunge, but Default? There ain't a grungy sounding bone in the body of that band.

mudhoney .

I voted Nirvana, I don't care if they're grunge or not, I just like their music.

i have never heard silverchair refeared to as "pearl jam" rip offs... they sound nothing like pearl jam. who ever said that must be american.

on that note, i didnt know they were that well known in america...

Isn't Creed an (ex) Christian Rock band? (Just kidding)

Creed started up right here in Tallahassee (where I grew up and still live). I remember seeing them at The Mill Brewery with along with 5 people in the audience (nobody's basically). They grew more and more popular locally and the Clear Channel X station in town picked them up.

I was at the last show they played in Tallahassee right before they started My Own Prison tour at Floyds Music Store (probably know nationally from the various Girls Gone Wild filmed there :p). They never came back to town to do a show. After we supported them for so long, helped make a name for them, etc they basically sold us out.

Creed == Sellout Christian Rock != Grunge

I hate you, and I hope you die.

I've seen them referred to as Nirvana clones.

^ And they don't sound anything like Nirvana either. And yeah they High-Way they were kinda big here in America for a while...Tommorow was a hit but they still weren't well recieved I remember MTV news covered a story where they were performin Tommorow at a bar or club or something and some asshole threw a beer bottle right at Daniel Johns face...poor guy was probably 15 at the time. Then they had Anna's Song which was a HUGE hit here in America and I think I even remember it doing rather well on TRL. But they're pretty much considered 2 hit wonders...they even made a 2 hit wonders count down on VH1. Which is stupid because they have way more than just 2 great songs. People are still giving them shit to this day calling them rip-offs...some dumbass said they ripped off the main piano riff in Across The Night from John Lennon's Imagine...it's not true...they don't sound the same at all. People are so fuckin stupid it pisses me off.

Asta!!

"Everything Zen" not a Nirvana rip? "Tomorrow" not a Pearl Jam rip? sorry, you'll never convince me otherwise. sure Bush and Silverchair went in different directions after their first albums (and yes, there was some variety even on their first albums), but having the Nirvana or PJ sound is what got them on the radio. daniel johns of silverchair even straight up admitted that they probably listened to a bit too much PJ when writing Frogstomp... that can be forgiven of course, considering they were just 15 at the time.

silverchair has produced some impressive and varied stuff, but all of bush's experimentations with strings, electronic sounds, etc can't hide their crap songwriting :thumbsup:

there's certainly differences, but there's plenty of differences between the orignal grunge bands too. i'd say the bands i listed are undeniably influenced by popular music (grunge) in the early 90's. default and nickelback are sanitized and over-produced 2nd rate grunge.

EDIT: if you don't believe me, allmusic.com lists default, nickelback, and bush as grunge and/or post-grunge

Well I voted for Alice in Chains. I like all the bands that are listed, but AIC was heavier and I just loved their music. Dirt still gets regular playin my CD player.

the reason for that is that the silver part came from nirvanas sliver

I heard about that...I heard some other things it could have meant to in the "How Bands Got Their Names" post. I can agree with the similarities of songs on their first albums but most peoples first albums sound like someone...Haha I actually think Gavin is a great writer but I gotta admit..I don't always know wtf he's talkin about :p

Asta!!

You hurt me deep inside. Defiling all of the bands that I love with your evil words. :( I thoroughly enjoyed Nickleback's first album, Default's first album (although not as much), and most of Bush's stuff. FOR SHAME! I challenge you to a duel.

uh oh... well, don't tell me what else you like, because there's a good chance i despise that too! ;)

I ALSO ENJOY G-FUNK WESTCOAST RAP! :thumbsup: What're some bands/artists that you like, so I may mention my distaste for them?

I couldn't vote for any because I love all 4 of those bands and they all have a different sound.

Pearl Jam has a really good mellow sound but can also crank it out. I think they're music is pretty sophisticated compared to the other bands listed.

Nirvana's music has more of a punk-ish influence with a lot of screaming, angsty music. Very simple stuff to play.

Soundgarden has power. Chris Cornell belts out notes that peel paint off walls. He beats all the other bands singers in my opinion. Overall, Soundgarden has a rock-and-roll feel.

Alice in Chains is a darker band. Layne Stanley had a voice that let you know this. I'd say their music was a mix of angst and depressing (but not depressing in a bad way... if you know what I mean).

Pearl Jam. I just bought their Greatest Hits yesterday.... simply amazing.

Not for You is the best song ever.... period.... ever.!!!

I had to go with Soundgarden. They were really just an awesome band, and Chris Cornell's voice was/is just incredible. Alice in Chains would have to be a close second for me. I liked Ten by Pearl Jam, as well as VS, but anything after that, I really couldn't get into.

Now that I did not know.

well i have always said you learn something new everyday.

also the chair part came from you am i's berlin chair...

1 - Soundgarden - One of my all time favorites. Kim Thayil picks up where Iommi left off. Matt Cameron; great drummer considering the odd time signatures they used. And Cornell could wail something fierce back then... too bad he seems to have lost his voice now. Saw an Audioslave live video, he sounded like he was struggling the entire show.

2 - Alice in Chains - Cantrell's guitar tone one of the ballsiest, saturated sounds I've heard. Some badass riffs, too. Love the vocal harmonies and the dark, brooding mood they creat.

3 - Pearl Jam - Nothing special, just some great rocking tunes.

4 - Nirvana - I got turned off to them due of over-exposure. Cobain's a decent songwriter, but way way WAY overrated as a guitar player. Too many 15 year-olds just picking up the guitar, labeling Cobain as the best player ever... the man played nothing but power chords and piss-easy melodies. At least the other three bands' players had chops.

i guess i owe you your fair shot:

STP, Killswitch Engage, Roy Buchanan, Shadows Fall, Mastodon, Soundgarden, Incubus, Clutch, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Haunted, Nothingface, Guns n' Roses, Alice in Chains, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Megadeth, Hum, Blood Has Been Shed, Lamb of God, Hopesfall, Tripping Daisy, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, In Flames, Pantera, Tool

...but as you can see, each band is impervious to criticism! ;)

Pearl Jam.

There are very few albums that can match Ten song for song. Their musicianship is outstanding, better than the other three bands, imo. Nirvana is great as well and I would rate them second. I only own one Alice in Chains album (Dirt) and no Soundgarden albums, so I don't really have a solid opinion of them. :o

Dang. Okay, I'll just do the ones I've heard of. STP is good, Soundgarden is auditory sex, Alice in Chains is good, Stevie Ray Vaughan is good, Megadeath is good, Incubus good, Led Zep very good, Tool good.

Guns n' Roses makes me angry because Axl has the most IRRITATING VOICE ever! He also has an ego the size of a watermelon, as he re-started gnr with none of the original members. Basically, I hate Axl Rose.

My Morning Jacket. Nothing bad to say about their music, but WHAT THE HELL KIND OF NAME IS THAT? :D (kidding, I think it's unique at least)

Pantera is exactly like all other screamy powerchord metal bands out there. HELLO, WE ONLY KNOW THE "E" POWERCHORD, EXCEPT WE CAN PLAY IT TUNED DOWN ONE OR TWO OCTAVES AS WELL, AND WITH ENOUGH DISTORTION TO DESTROY THE MELODIC QUALITIES OF THE MUSIC. ALSO, YELLING MAKES FOR ENJOYABLE LYRICS. (note: I've only heard one or two songs by Pantera at a maximum)

Truthfully though, it seems that we have some common taste in music, aside from a couple of black sheep. :D

Meh, Suave, I beg to differ on the Axl Rose having the most annoying voice. As annoying as it may be, my vote for most annoying voice goes to the AC/DC singer! Lol. And on that note, my vote went to Nirvana.

well, atleast you have some taste, nickelback, default, and bush notwithstanding ;) (please don't tell me you like 3 doors down too)

...but this pantera comment... it's basically pointless to refute it because it's so innaccurate. not only are dimebag's riffs melodic and (to some) memorable, they're certainly more complex than those of the bands you noted, let alone "E POWERCHORD CHUGGING". with metal, you often have to look to the guitar lines for melody, not the vocals. if that's not your cup of tea, so be it, but to say that metal doesn't have melodic qualities is simply untrue.

I have 3 doors down's first album...Liked the song "Be Like That" Thought about getting the second one..but then never got around to it cause I started picking up different albums instead. It's not on the top of my list. If I saw it at a pawn shop though for a couple a bucks...I'd get it sure.

Asta!!

Yes, I do enjoy some of Three Doors Down's stuff as well, although the only song I've seen fit to download from them is When I'm Gone. :P And the comment on metal was obviously pretty unfounded; I do hate the vast majority of it though (aside from some 80's metal which is funny in a campy way, and Metallica, Megadeth, etc).

I won't cite any of the rap I like, since I don't think it will help my case, but I also enjoy (to offset my "lack of taste" as you put it):
Coldplay
Radiohead
I Mother Earth (mainly with the original singer)
Louis Armstrong

I vote for Alice in Chains.

Followed by Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam.

--jaded

pearl jam for me, but like others said if STP were in the list, they would get my vote.

1. pearl jam - up to and including VS.
2. nirvana - a little whiny for me
3. soundgarden - cornell's voice doesn't do it for me.
4. alice in chains - can't stand them.

Well now you know, there is. Hi, my names MacGuyver, and I dont like Nirvana.

Hi MacGuyver, welcome to Angst Anonymous. :D

The Meat Puppets, The Melvins, The Pixies, Throwing Muses, Mudhoney, The Halo Benders

to name a few grunge bands not on the list.

Soundgarden is my favorite band of all time, to the point where I use pieces of their album names for all of my online handles (see mine, it's over there on the left).

Guess who I voted for?

Mudhoney.

btw, just because a band came out of seattle don't make em grunge. How anyone could consider soundgarden grunge is beyond me...

You need to listen to more early Soundgarden. :)

I'm don't like grunge much, but none of those other bands can touch Soundgarden.

I wouldn't really consider Stone Temple Pilots as grunge, but if they were up there, they'd get my vote. They kick(ed) ass.