The 10 Best Grunge Songs of All Time, Ranked

There are times when music can bring about a societal revolution. That was certainly the case in the late 1960s, when rock and roll spoke for the counterculture in a time of war. It happened again in the 1990s. As the decade began, the subgenre was in a dull place. Pop music reigned and rock was often watered down Top 40 junk for the masses. But then came a new style of rock known as grunge. The traditional guitar and drum sound got back to the basics, losing the over-produced nothingness and returning to raw, simplistic energy. It’s exactly what a frustrated Generation X needed. Grunge’s time was short, barely making it to the middle of the 90s, but what it created is timeless. Here are 10 songs that defined grunge. As an added challenge, a band can only appear on the list one time.

10

“Far Behind” by Candlebox (1994)

This first choice is probably controversial for many. Is Candlebox really grunge? A lot of fans see Candlebox as a post-grunge band who capitalized on a popular sound. It’s not so. The band, who are from Seattle, formed in 1990. In 1993, during the peak of grunge, they released their self-titled debut. The third single in particular, 1994’s “Far Behind,” became a staple of alternative radio for years to come. Released just days after Kurt Cobain‘s death, the song is a tribute to another fallen star, Mother Love Bone‘s Andy Wood. The song works with the usual slow verse leading into a high-energy chorus. Grunge was dying, but it wouldn’t be left far behind with this song.

9

“Violet” by Hole (1994)

Love or hate Courtney Love, what can’t be denied is how talented of a musician she is. In the early 90s, her band Hole was right there with other top grunge acts. The group’s biggest album, Live Through This, came out less than a week after the death of Love’s husband, Kurt Cobain. It’s a masterpiece album, and its third single, “Violet,” is an anthem of post-relationship rage. As Love repeatedly screams, “Go take everything, take everything, I want you to,” she takes her lost power back, a woman refusing to crumble no matter what a man has done to her.

8

“Touch Me I’m Sick” by Mudhoney (1988)

Mudhoney stood there at the beginning of grunge, as the Seattle band ruled the area’s indie rock scene in the late 1980s. Although they never quite reached the mainstream, singer and guitarist Mark Arm and company left an indelible mark and influenced what was to come. Their debut album, 1988’s Superfuzz Bigmuff, is a classic of the subgenre. The most memorable song on the Sub Pop release is “Touch Me I’m Sick,” a two-and-a-half minute raw blitzkrieg of fuzzy guitar, machine gun drums, and Arm’s scratchy voice wailing about accepting the worst parts of yourself and, without shame, forcing someone else to as well.

7

“Nearly Lost You” by Screaming Trees (1992)

Mark Lanegan is the most underrated voice of the grunge era, a name that deserves to be up there with the likes of Chris Cornell and Layne Staley. Formed in Washington State in 1984, Lanegan’s band, Screaming Trees, found indie success throughout the decade, then capitalized on the grunge swell for their biggest hit, “Nearly Lost You.” Also appearing on the Singles movie soundtrack, the song starts out with a catchy blast of familiar sound. It’s when Lanegan appears, however, that “Nearly Lost You” sets itself apart. His baritone vocals transform the simple into something powerful. When he sings “I nearly lost you there” on repeat, you feel it.

6

“River of Deceit” by Mad Season (1995)

Mad Season was a supergroup made up of Alice in Chains‘ Layne Staley and members of Pearl Jam and the Screaming Trees. They only made one album, 1995’s Above, before drug addiction forced Staley into becoming a recluse for the remaining years of his life. By 1995, grunge was considered past its expiration date. Mad Season, and Above‘s first single, “River of Deceit,” showed that the passion of music could never die. This is a heartbreaker, the most woeful grunge song of them all. It never goes too hard, instead staying quiet and focusing on Staley’s confession about how his and everyone’s pain is self-chosen.

5

“Rooster” by Alice in Chains (1993)

Before Mad Season, Layne Staley was one of the most gifted vocalists in rock with Alice in Chains. The Seattle band is one of the greatest of the grunge era, and there are at least a half dozen songs you could put on this list that would get no argument. We’ll go with “Rooster,” released in 1993 as the fourth single from their 1992 album, Dirt. Rather than being about the pain of drug addiction, “Rooster” is a tribute to Jerry Cantrell’s father, nicknamed Rooster, and the hell he went through during the Vietnam War. Cantrell and Staley are almost dream-like in a song about surviving the worst conditions until, in classic Alice in Chains fashion, the chorus explodes like a bomb as Layne screams, “You know, we ain’t gonna die.”

4

“Outshined” by Soundgarden (1991)

Chris Cornell is the greatest vocalist not only of grunge, but one of the all-time rock greats. He was his generation’s answer to Robert Plant, and although the rest of Soundgarden is so talented, it’s his mesmerizing voice which made them a household name. A list like this would usually include their biggest hit, “Black Hole Sun.” As great as that song is, you can’t get more grunge than 1991’s “Outshined” from their album Badmotorfinger. It stomps through the dirt and mud, with thick guitar riffs crashing into Cornell’s raw screams. You can’t come up with a better lyric than “I’m lookin’ California and feelin’ Minnesota.” It’s simple, yet says so much.

3

“Alive” by Pearl Jam (1991)

If Nirvana became the face of grunge in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was nipping at their heels. They actually became even bigger in the mainstream, and it all started with their 1991 debut album, Ten. It’s one filled with many of the band’s biggest songs. Take your pick on which is the greatest, but we’re going with “Alive.” Led by Eddie Vedder‘s impossibly deep voice, the lyrics will rip into your soul as he tells his real life story about his mother confessing to him at a young age that “what you thought was your daddy was nothing but.” More verses give more example of pain, all coming back to the powerful chorus of “I’m still alive!” 35 years later, Vedder is the last big grunge frontman of his era still alive.

2

“Hunger Strike” by Temple of the Dog (1992)

The music world first got to know Eddie Vedder not with Pearl Jam, but the supergroup Temple of the Dog. Their one and only album was released in April 1991, with members of Mother Love Bone (the future Pearl Jam), paying tribute to their fallen lead singer, Andrew Wood, with members of Soundgarden, and Vedder, the new guy from California. “Hunger Strike” was released as a single in the summer of 1992. It’s grunge heaven, as Vedder and Chris Cornell take turns hypnotizing the listener. They warned us about the evils of greed, the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention. This is grunge as peak art.

1

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana (1991)

Roll your eyes at the most obvious choice being number one if you like. What Nirvana‘s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the album Nevermind did for rock and roll can’t be understated. In the early 90s, music was trying to change, but the emerging grunge couldn’t reach the top of the charts. With one instantly memorable opening guitar riff, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic kicked the door down and ushered in a wave of change. Cobain’s lyrics are confusing. The message and the emotion, however, are unmistakable. With a sound that’s punk meets pop, Kurt delivered a Gen X anthem that woke up the bored and frustrated. “Here we are now, entertain us” was a demand. Nirvana and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” answered the call.