Nirvana, Pearl Jam, & Soundgarden Top ‘Best Grunge Albums’ List

Nirvana topped a new list of the “Top 30 Grunge Albums,” selected by the editors of Ultimate Classic Rock. Not surprisingly, the band also scored the Number Two and Nine slots. Coming in at Number One was 1991’s Nevermind, followed by the band’s 1993 followup In Utero. Fellow Seattle rockers Pearl Jam rounded out the Top Three with its 1993 set, Vs.

Also figuring in the upper reaches of the list was Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, grunge supergroup Temple Of The Dog, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Ultimate Classic Rock’s “Top 10 Grunge Albums”:

1. Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
2. Nirvana – In Utero (1993)
3. Pearl Jam – Ten (1991)
4. Soundgarden – Superunknown (1994)
5. Alice In Chains – Dirt (1992)
6. Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger (1991)
7. Pearl Jam – Vs. (1993)
8. Temple Of The Dog – Temple Of The Dog (1991)
9. Nirvana – Bleach (1989)
10. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream (1993)

To see the UCR’s full To 30, log on to: https://bit.ly/3ayVkfo

A while back, Billy Corgan explained to us the lasting impact of Smashing Pumpkins and other ’90s rockers on American society: “As much as the music of the late-’60s was about a flowering consciousness, the music of the early-’90s was about a flowering of reality, and kind of calling America out for the phony, kinda shiny object that it is. And that’s it. We just shattered it to pieces. Nobody knew how to pick up their own pieces, including ourselves, and we’re still dealing with that. But there’s an arc of energy there between 1989 and 1994 that’s unmistakable.”

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil told us what he thinks Chris Cornell‘s brilliance as a songwriter and a performer pushed boundaries across the board: “Well, the eclectic nature of his talent, the breadth, the spectrum of his talent, but the growth and development of his talent. I think it indicates work. The guy had a pretty good work ethic, and I think the growth is reflective of that. You actually get to see the consequence of his effort and work to improve his craft and his instrument.”