The 35 Best Grunge Rock Songs, from Seattle and Beyond

What are the most famous grunge rock songs?

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana is the most famous grunge rock song, the 1991 single that took the Seattle sound around the world. "Alive" and "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam, "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, "Would?" by Alice in Chains and "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots are the other defining songs of the genre. In the lists below, the year is the year the song's album or single came out.

The best grunge songs

1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Nirvana, 1991: the anthem of a generation, from Nevermind.
2. "Alive", Pearl Jam, 1991: the soaring first single from Ten.
3. "Black Hole Sun", Soundgarden, 1994: a surreal, Beatles-tinged hit from Superunknown.
4. "Would?", Alice in Chains, 1992: a brooding tribute to Mother Love Bone's Andrew Wood.
5. "Plush", Stone Temple Pilots, 1992: the Grammy-winning hit from Core.
6. "Jeremy", Pearl Jam, 1991: a haunting song with an award-winning video.
7. "Hunger Strike", Temple of the Dog, 1991: a duet between Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder.
8. "Come as You Are", Nirvana, 1991: a murky, hypnotic riff and one of Kurt Cobain's best melodies.
9. "Man in the Box", Alice in Chains, 1990: the grinding breakthrough from Facelift.
10. "Touch Me I'm Sick", Mudhoney, 1988: the fuzzy, chaotic single that defined the early Seattle sound.

More Nirvana and Pearl Jam

11. "Heart-Shaped Box", Nirvana, 1993: a dark, heavy single from In Utero.
12. "Lithium", Nirvana, 1991: quiet verses and an explosive chorus.
13. "In Bloom", Nirvana, 1991: a catchy, sarcastic song about fair-weather fans.
14. "Even Flow", Pearl Jam, 1991: a driving song with a famous guitar solo by Mike McCready.
15. "Black", Pearl Jam, 1991: a heartbreaking ballad about lost love.
16. "Daughter", Pearl Jam, 1993: an acoustic-driven single from Vs.

Soundgarden and Alice in Chains

17. "Outshined", Soundgarden, 1991: a heavy, lurching song from Badmotorfinger.
18. "Rusty Cage", Soundgarden, 1991: a frantic rocker that Johnny Cash later covered.
19. "Spoonman", Soundgarden, 1994: a Grammy winner featuring a real street performer on spoons.
20. "Fell on Black Days", Soundgarden, 1994: a slow, melancholy fan favorite.
21. "Rooster", Alice in Chains, 1992: Jerry Cantrell's song about his father in Vietnam.
22. "Down in a Hole", Alice in Chains, 1992: a dark, beautiful ballad from Dirt.

The Seattle underground

23. "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns", Mother Love Bone, 1990: a sweeping ballad from the band that came before Pearl Jam.
24. "Say Hello 2 Heaven", Temple of the Dog, 1991: Chris Cornell's farewell to his friend Andrew Wood.
25. "Nearly Lost You", Screaming Trees, 1992: a big, psychedelic single from Sweet Oblivion.
26. "River of Deceit", Mad Season, 1995: Layne Staley's supergroup with Mike McCready.

90s grunge songs from beyond Seattle

27. "Interstate Love Song", Stone Temple Pilots, 1994: a breezy, melodic hit from the San Diego band.
28. "Vasoline", Stone Temple Pilots, 1994: a tight, catchy riff from Purple.
29. "Doll Parts", Hole, 1994: Courtney Love's raw, unforgettable ballad from Live Through This.
30. "Pretend We're Dead", L7, 1992: a catchy, sludgy hit from the Los Angeles band.
31. "Far Behind", Candlebox, 1993: a melodic rock radio favorite.
32. "Glycerine", Bush, 1994: a string-backed ballad from the London band.
33. "Tomorrow", Silverchair, 1995: a hit for three Australian teenagers.
34. "Everlong", Foo Fighters, 1997: Dave Grohl's post-Nirvana masterpiece.
35. "Cherub Rock", the Smashing Pumpkins, 1993: a wall of guitars from Chicago's alternative giants.

What is grunge rock?

Grunge is a style of rock that grew up in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in the mid-80s. It mixed the heavy, slow riffs of 70s hard rock and metal with the raw energy and do-it-yourself spirit of punk. Guitars were fuzzy and loud, songs often moved from quiet verses to crashing choruses, and singers like Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell and Layne Staley sang about pain, anger and alienation with unusual honesty. Bands dressed in thrift-store flannel and ripped jeans, which turned into a fashion trend of its own.

Sub Pop and the rise of the Seattle sound

The Seattle record label Sub Pop released early records by Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Nirvana, and helped build the scene's image. When Nirvana's Nevermind, on a major label, knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top of the Billboard 200 in January 1992, record companies rushed to Seattle, and grunge became the sound of mainstream rock for the next few years. For the full story of the biggest band, see our Nirvana songs.

Temple of the Dog and Mother Love Bone

Mother Love Bone was one of Seattle's most promising bands until its singer Andrew Wood died in 1990, just before their first album came out. Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Wood's roommate, wrote songs in his memory and recorded them as Temple of the Dog with Mother Love Bone's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, guitarist Mike McCready and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. A young singer from San Diego, Eddie Vedder, sang on "Hunger Strike", and the same musicians went on to form Pearl Jam. For more, see our Pearl Jam songs and Soundgarden songs.

The Singles soundtrack

Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles, a romantic comedy set in Seattle, came with a soundtrack that works as a snapshot of the scene: "Would?" by Alice in Chains, two Pearl Jam songs, "Breath" and "State of Love and Trust", "Nearly Lost You" by Screaming Trees, Soundgarden's "Birth Ritual", Mudhoney's "Overblown" and Mother Love Bone's "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns". For more from that soundtrack, see our Alice in Chains songs.

Women of grunge

Grunge and the wider 90s alternative scene had fierce women at its center. Hole's Live Through This is one of the great albums of the decade, L7 combined heavy riffs with humor and politics, and Babes in Toyland were a leading band of the Minneapolis scene. For more female voices of the decade, see our 90s female singers.

The end of the grunge era

Kurt Cobain's death in April 1994 shook the music world, and by the late 90s Soundgarden had broken up, Alice in Chains had gone quiet and many bands had moved on. Grunge's sound lived on in post-grunge bands like Bush, Candlebox, Foo Fighters and later Staind, and its honesty about depression and addiction changed rock for good. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. See also our Staind songs.

Grunge albums to start with

• Nevermind, Nirvana (1991): the album that broke grunge to the world.
• Ten, Pearl Jam (1991): with "Alive", "Jeremy", "Even Flow" and "Black".
• Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden (1991), and Superunknown (1994).
• Dirt, Alice in Chains (1992): dark, heavy and brilliant.
• Temple of the Dog (1991): the tribute album that linked Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Grunge rock songs for a road trip or a workout

For a drive, play "Alive", "Interstate Love Song", "Plush", "Black Hole Sun", "Nearly Lost You" and "Everlong". For a workout, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Rusty Cage", "Outshined", "Man in the Box" and "Spoonman" bring heavy energy. On a quiet night, "Black", "Down in a Hole", "Say Hello 2 Heaven" and "Glycerine" set a moody tone. For more, see our road trip songs.

A song as honest as grunge

Grunge songs said what people really felt. A personalized rock song can do the same for someone you love: their name, what you have been through together and what they mean to you, with loud guitars or a quiet acoustic arrangement. It makes a great birthday or anniversary gift for someone who wore flannel in the 90s.

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