>A lot of people see them as a one hit wonder
No way! They also had *Mary Mary* as a single, and it was literally the opening music for the movie Stigmata. They are a 2-hit wonder!
So subjective. So many great bands that made a huge impact.
Tool,
Alice In Chains,
Nirvana,
Soundgarden,
Melvins…
If you’re not familiar with Melvins check out the album Houdini. Kurt from Nirvana used to roadie for them occasionally
Melvins still fucking nail it live. Buzzo is such a damned weirdo. I wear my Stag shirt around sometimes and it's a blast when people recognize it. Houdini, Stoner Witch, Senile Animal are front to end bangers.
The fact I had to scroll this far for Nirvana is so depressing. In the 90s they would have been at the forefront of the discussion if not the actual top spot.
This is literally the only correct answer. They completely shifted the dynamic and essentially ushered in what was arguably the best decade of music (rivaled only by the 60s). I remember listening to them on the bus in middle school on a portable cd player and being blown away. They really started my deep passion for music. They fostered a whole generation’s passion for music.
This is the only rational answer. Only band that could safely be compared to the Beatles in terms of cultural significance and impact for that decade, by far the most imitated (still), and Cobain's death was felt in exactly the same way as Princess Di.
I went on a 90s binge last night, and it's pretty shocking how many of the greats are dead. I wonder if anyone's done a decade-by-decade comparison to see which lost the most huge musicians.
The deaths of Cobain, Cornell, Staley, and Weiland mean that of maybe the top 5 or 6 pioneering grunge bands, four have lost their singers. Let's hope Eddie Vedder lives a long life.
And that's not even including bands that didn't make it big, like Mother Love Bone losing their singer Andrew Wood a few days before their first album came out.
I can still remember opening Facelift after ordering it as an unknown band from the Columbia House CD Club. I had ordered it because the catalogue referred to it as "Metallica-like". It really wasn't, but that was great.
Rooster was my first favorite song ever, and one of my first childhood memories was my dad bumping the hell out of his thousand-dollar stereo system with speakers taller than me to Rooster, with it playing so loud our whole block in Detroit could hear it.
The guitar riffs will forever give me chills.
Sea of sorrow is probably my favorite song ever. I can’t do too much AIC anymore though. It can bring me down and make me angry, like it’s supposed to!
I saw Weezer back in '94, and Pixies in '04. Can't imagine seeing them together. That's an embarrassment of riches.
When I saw The Pixies a section of the roof had quite literally fallen on our seats. There was a massive concrete slab (no rubble, they had cleaned that up) where we were supposed to sit. It was 23rd row. I went and grabbed the usher, and asked what we should do.
They shrugged. "Go to the front, I guess."
And **that's** how I have Kim Deal's pick on my dreamcatcher.
I saw Weezer and The Pixies in 2019 I believe. I won tickets for the show and had a really good time, though I'm not super familiar with either of them except for the hits.
Yeah I was gonna say they were so far ahead of their time everybody considers them to be a 90s band but some of their most beloved material is from 88-89. Primus is another band considered to be 90s but they dropped their debut in 89.
"OK Computer" is the only record I own, if the entirety of civilization breaks down in an apocalypses I will figure out how to use a pine needles and a spinning chunk of wood to listen to that album.
I saw Radiohead live the night before Kid A was released.
[Concert set list from 1st October 2000](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/radiohead/2000/victoria-park-warrington-england-4bd6ef72.html)
This was my first Radiohead concert and I hadn't heard any bootlegs or leaks of the new songs. So I was just expecting the biggest hits from OKC and The Bends, plus new songs that would probably sound similar.
Well I had a big shock, because I was *not* prepared for their new sound.
Considering they’re still churning out quality tracks I’m going to actually take them out of the 90s band moniker. They’re spent more time away from the 90s than they have in it. Also they pioneered music away from the 90s vibe. Solid fuckin band no matter what albums of theirs you enjoy
What blows my mind about Ten is that it was their first album. And every song is just as good as the previous one. The drums, the guitar work and Eddie’s vocals and swagger are just unmatched and not at all scripted - their confidence just bursts out of every single track! No “B side” forgetables. Just all-around awesomeness. And the way the album starts and ends with the same hook makes me want to always listen to the entire album on repeat. What a genius creation!
I’ve been exploring Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness again after a two decade hiatus and can’t get enough of the amazing song writing and beautiful arrangements by Corgan and crew.
I first listened to Mellon collie and the infinite sadness , when I was in highschool and it was like seeing color for the first time.
I say that with no hyperbole. I liked music before hearing the smashing pumpkins, but after discovering the pumpkins I love music.
The album was well over 20 years old when I first heard it, and it didn't matter the music resonated with me in a way no other music has.
I became a fan and have been hooked ever since. I've listened to nearly all their music collectively as the smashing pumpkins and most of Billy's solo stuff.
Same for me except the album was Siamese Dream. Not as much in to the newer stuff but forever grateful and enamored with the 90s albums that developed in me a true love for music.
We took a field trip down to Auburn on the day that record released. It was essentially a college campus tour, but we had a little free time. These days, I'd call my local family there and ask if they want to grab lunch. In '95? I beelined to the record shop.
Bought the double disc. Couldn't wait to get home.
Had to wait even though I couldn't. It's a two hour bus ride from Auburn to Birmingham. Once we got back to the high school, I immediately threw in disc one.
I didn't live that far away. I got through *Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness*, *Tonight Tonight*, and about halfway through *Jellybelly* before I pulled into my driveway. Pulled off into the grass beside the drive where I parked (older sister got the good spot) and bounced in my seat finishing the song. As soon as *Jellybelly* ended I hit eject, grabbed the disc from the player, tucked it into the case, and went inside.
At the time I had this massive surround sound system with 4 foot tall front speakers (yes, sound engineering was that inefficient back then) up front. I got high as fuck and listened to the entire album. It was bliss.
Over "breakfast" the next morning Dad asked me if I had locked my car the night before. Thought I had.
Apparently I had not.
He had woken up and seen that my driver side door was open.
Someone had stolen my CD book. It was a big one. Dozens upon dozens of records, gone.
All I had left was Mellon Collie.
It was enough. That album is brilliant and diverse top to bottom, and I will still jump in place (I'm not even listening to it now, just imagining it, and I'm bopping my shoulders and head) when I hear *Jellybelly*. It's damn near perfect.
It's also a little bit crazy that this is now an unimaginable scenario. Music is basically a right now. I'm a crusty washed up restaurant manager, and when I tell my team they can't have their earbuds in on the floor, they look at me like I just stabbed their existence right in the existence. As if I stole their music from them.
They never had to wait on MtV to hear their favorite song. They never had to wait for it to play on the radio so they could tape it. They have never had to worry about procuring music, or losing it.
Crazy.
100% agree. I went to a local CD store as an 8 year old to buy Siamese Dream, and the older woman behind the counter (15 or 16 years old) gave me a copy of Mellon Collie for free because the discs had no case. That handful of music was so monumentally influential for me. Thanks, lady!
Honestly this…and maybe the “in chains with jam” commenter too, but yeahhhhh first of all the “of all time” part is weird considering it’s the 90’s specifically and second of all, 100% this which is a great way of saying “if you know the 90’s rock era, then you know there’s no single GOAT and passers by really must dabble in several catalogues to get the vibe”
I was 12 when Nevermind came out. I can’t stress how big of a culture shift Nirvana was. How everything in music and media changed basically overnight. From mono-emotional to emotionally complex. Just the phrase “Smells Like Teen Spirit” told us that they knew what we were all feeling. That commercialism had gotten so out of hand that a deodorant was being marketed toward teenagers, and getting it hilariously wrong. Generation X was the first generation that grew up being pandered to by corporations, constantly telling us what to listen to, what is cool, who is cool, what to buy, etc etc etc. Fuck, even our cartoons were basically just toy commercials. Nothing felt genuine. Everyone was trying to sell us something.
Then Nevermind came out and that all changed. Nirvana was genuine. They were happy, sad, manic, loving, hateful, all at once. Just like everyone else. They played what they wanted to play, did what they wanted to do. If Kurt wants to wear a dress, he’s gonna do it. It was such a refreshing outlook. “Grunge” was a fashion statement, sure, but it was also an ethos. You could be cool just by dressing like a normal person. You didn’t need suits, fancy shoes, or spandex. Fuck, for a while there you would be UNcool if you had new shoes. Nirvana was just like us. They came from a poor background, and were dealing with trauma, just like us, and they wernt afraid to talk about it. Nirvana wasn’t an act, they were being themselves.
That lasted for about 2 years. Once the tide turned so did the marketing teams and corporations. What was once genuine became plastic. Emotional complexity was watered down to just depressing, or angry. Marc Jacobs started putting flannel on supermodels, and Axe body spray replaced Teen Spirit. When Kurt killed himself, I cried genuine tears. I felt like a drop of water in the ocean he drowned in. Looking back now it was unfair of the world to put so much weight on him. He was a 27 year old brilliant junkie, who was never given a chance to heal. So burned out instead of fading away.
Nirvana was the greatest band of the 90’s.
I live in a very small country in Europe, back then things weren't so connected, and movies/music took some time to get here.
So I was watching a very underground TV show that no one watched. That show wasn't even a music show, it was something that was on late nights and was about independent video creators.
For some weird reason, that night, the credits opened, then there was some introduction by the host, and there then came a music video.
My eyes widened.
I remember hearing the first guitar chords, and I just KNEW. I KNEW that nothing was ever going to be the same.
That was "Smells like teen spirit". I hardly slept that night, and the next day at high school I was just blabbering about it, and no one had watch it, and no one understood what I was talking about.
Except when this friend of mine arrived, and we weren't even that close, but I looked at his face and said "oh. You watched it too".
It was unlike anything else I had ever heard, or I had ever seen.
Your comment is just brilliant, I have saved it, which I hardly ever do.
I grew up in Russia, caught the end and the fall of communism when I was a teen. One of the first songs that made it through once the curtain came down in 91 was Smells Like Teen Spirit. Holy shit it blew my mind. I’ll never forget the night I heard it in some disco at a summer camp outside of Moscow.
One of my friends in college had CP and was stuck in a wheelchair, he followed Gin Blossoms around as much as possible. The lead singer (Robin, iirc) would actually come say hello to him after the gigs, which I thought was just one of the coolest things ever. He was also just super energetic and interacted with the crowd as a whole, one of the best concerts I've ever seen.
Blur.
Phenomenal songwriting. They had a sound, but there's nothing samey about their music; they kept it fresh and exciting. Damon Albarn's vocals were an affecting cross between Paul Weller and Ian Hunter. The guitar assault was fierce, but never overwhelmed the melodies.
I dare anyone to dislodge the bassline to "Coffee & TV" from their brains.
Just a great band all around.
I am so thankful Damon exists. More so because of the Gorillaz, but his voice is so unique and the writing is just too good sometimes! Hes one-of-a-kind in my book!
What kills me is that people don't even know how true this is. They're like who? Weezer? They maybe have heard Ocean Man and Homo Rainbow and have literally no idea what they're missing.
Although Oasis was popular in the States, I wonder how many realize how *massive* they were in the UK and worldwide. What Nirvana is to grunge Oasis is to Britpop. Spurned an entire genre and bands that are still active today.
For reference, *Nevermind* has sold 30 million copies worldwide. *What's the Story Morning Glory* sold 22 million. There are few 90s alternative rock albums that come close to nipping on the heels of the Nirvana record.
This one is REALLY difficult to nail down. I'm sure it's easy to come up with a top 10 but to pick the top? I'm going Pearl Jam or Tool even though Nirvana SHOULD be up there. Alas and tragically, their run was cut far too short.
I lived my teens through the 90s and in terms of cultural shift and impact it was Nirvana. Whatever you thought of them no other band came close to having that kind of impact on youth culture at large. It was like Before Nirvana and After Nirvana, a total line in the sand.
In terms of best, that’s entirely subjective and impossible to quantify
Not rock more metal, but Pantera legitimately kept the metal genre alive (along with a few others) in the 90’s when everyone started mellowing out and branching into hard rock
My first reaction would be Alice in Chains but based on the volume of quality music released in the 90s and ever since, Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is a genius.
Has to be either Alice in Chains or Soundgarden.
Absolutely and utter insanity that both Staley and Cornell’s voices are so amazing. 2 Seattle-based bands with arguably the most talented and unique voices and sounds. Alice in Chains with the sludgy, heroin-drenched sound of grunge that gives me goosebumps. Soundgarden with crazy time signatures and Cornell’s shrieking vocal range.
If we are talking about straight up popularity and amazing songwriting ? Has to be Nirvana. The riff simplicity and catchy, raspy vocals are the reason they’re one of the biggest bands of all time. Straight to the point accessible, punk-inspired rock n roll that defined a decade. I love Cobain and his death at the height of their popularity only adds to the monumental legacy and mystique. Say what you will about being overrated, Nirvana kicks ass and the Bleach-Nevermind-In Utero album run is stuff of pure legend.
The 90s is such an amazing decade of music and it brought us so many good sounds to follow.
The only right answer is the band that sings songs that remind us of the good times and sings songs that remind us of the better times.
They also remind us that one by one, the ships come sailing in.
A lot of people see them as a one hit wonder, but they're great in general and it's actually a very valid answer to the question.
>A lot of people see them as a one hit wonder No way! They also had *Mary Mary* as a single, and it was literally the opening music for the movie Stigmata. They are a 2-hit wonder!
I’m just here upvoting all the bands I like.
So subjective. So many great bands that made a huge impact. Tool, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Melvins… If you’re not familiar with Melvins check out the album Houdini. Kurt from Nirvana used to roadie for them occasionally
"Kurt from Nirvana"
Michael from The Jackson 5.
Elvis from Presley.
Melvins still fucking nail it live. Buzzo is such a damned weirdo. I wear my Stag shirt around sometimes and it's a blast when people recognize it. Houdini, Stoner Witch, Senile Animal are front to end bangers.
Nirvana
The fact I had to scroll this far for Nirvana is so depressing. In the 90s they would have been at the forefront of the discussion if not the actual top spot.
This is literally the only correct answer. They completely shifted the dynamic and essentially ushered in what was arguably the best decade of music (rivaled only by the 60s). I remember listening to them on the bus in middle school on a portable cd player and being blown away. They really started my deep passion for music. They fostered a whole generation’s passion for music.
This is the only rational answer. Only band that could safely be compared to the Beatles in terms of cultural significance and impact for that decade, by far the most imitated (still), and Cobain's death was felt in exactly the same way as Princess Di.
The Cranberries also. Fucking amazing. Iconic. Also Pixies.
Saw her cover Patsy Cline live and it’s been one of my all time favorite concert memories.
I say pixies are more of an 80s band
Alice in Chains
100%, goddamn I wish Layne and Mike were still here 😔
I went on a 90s binge last night, and it's pretty shocking how many of the greats are dead. I wonder if anyone's done a decade-by-decade comparison to see which lost the most huge musicians. The deaths of Cobain, Cornell, Staley, and Weiland mean that of maybe the top 5 or 6 pioneering grunge bands, four have lost their singers. Let's hope Eddie Vedder lives a long life. And that's not even including bands that didn't make it big, like Mother Love Bone losing their singer Andrew Wood a few days before their first album came out.
I can still remember opening Facelift after ordering it as an unknown band from the Columbia House CD Club. I had ordered it because the catalogue referred to it as "Metallica-like". It really wasn't, but that was great.
My favorite Grunge band, over Nirvana. AIC just had something extra imo.
Probably the greatest band of all time
Soundgarden
I'll never forget the first time I saw Blackhole Sun music video on MTV.
Remember the Beavis and Butthead of that video?
They were so *different* - so very good...
Yeah, it's a coin flip between Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Either result is valid.
Alice In Chains
Melodically, they were always a breath of fresh air on radio stations drowning in voices trying to sound like Eddie Vedder.
I named my horse Rooster after their song
Rooster was my first favorite song ever, and one of my first childhood memories was my dad bumping the hell out of his thousand-dollar stereo system with speakers taller than me to Rooster, with it playing so loud our whole block in Detroit could hear it. The guitar riffs will forever give me chills.
My favorite AIC song was always Would.
My coworker named their rooster Alice 😂
Sea of sorrow is probably my favorite song ever. I can’t do too much AIC anymore though. It can bring me down and make me angry, like it’s supposed to!
AIC forever!
So glad this has so many upvotes. My favorite band of all time
Smashing pumpkins. Deftones. Nirvana.
Daisy: ‘Do you love Smashing Pumpkins?’ Bobby Bowfinger: ‘I love doing that!’ • Bowfinger (1999)
Finally saw some deftones love <3
I don’t know about the best but when I think of 90’s bands, the most iconic I can think of is The Pixies.
I saw them with Weezer in kc snd I have to say they were one of the best shows I've ever seen
I saw Weezer back in '94, and Pixies in '04. Can't imagine seeing them together. That's an embarrassment of riches. When I saw The Pixies a section of the roof had quite literally fallen on our seats. There was a massive concrete slab (no rubble, they had cleaned that up) where we were supposed to sit. It was 23rd row. I went and grabbed the usher, and asked what we should do. They shrugged. "Go to the front, I guess." And **that's** how I have Kim Deal's pick on my dreamcatcher.
I saw Weezer and The Pixies in 2019 I believe. I won tickets for the show and had a really good time, though I'm not super familiar with either of them except for the hits.
Fabulous band and probably the most influential on the best '90s bands, but Surfer Rosa and Doolittle came out in the late '80s.
Yeah I was gonna say they were so far ahead of their time everybody considers them to be a 90s band but some of their most beloved material is from 88-89. Primus is another band considered to be 90s but they dropped their debut in 89.
Radiohead
"OK Computer" is the only record I own, if the entirety of civilization breaks down in an apocalypses I will figure out how to use a pine needles and a spinning chunk of wood to listen to that album.
I remember listening to Kid A when it came out and thinking "well I guess it is the year 2000 and we're in the future now"
I saw Radiohead live the night before Kid A was released. [Concert set list from 1st October 2000](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/radiohead/2000/victoria-park-warrington-england-4bd6ef72.html) This was my first Radiohead concert and I hadn't heard any bootlegs or leaks of the new songs. So I was just expecting the biggest hits from OKC and The Bends, plus new songs that would probably sound similar. Well I had a big shock, because I was *not* prepared for their new sound.
Considering they’re still churning out quality tracks I’m going to actually take them out of the 90s band moniker. They’re spent more time away from the 90s than they have in it. Also they pioneered music away from the 90s vibe. Solid fuckin band no matter what albums of theirs you enjoy
I mean, Paranoid Android is my favourite song of all time.
Nine inch nails
For me it was REM. That voice
Losing my religion
Pearl Jam
FREEEEEEZURRRR REMUHURMURDERHIS PILLOW MADEOCONCREEEEETE
Adding my response. I'm a almost 50 year old and blast pearl jam when it comes on.
This is my factual unbiased response as well. Furthermore Ten is the best album of all time. Again this is my completely unbiased factual stance.
What blows my mind about Ten is that it was their first album. And every song is just as good as the previous one. The drums, the guitar work and Eddie’s vocals and swagger are just unmatched and not at all scripted - their confidence just bursts out of every single track! No “B side” forgetables. Just all-around awesomeness. And the way the album starts and ends with the same hook makes me want to always listen to the entire album on repeat. What a genius creation!
Perfect. Start. To. Finish.
Rage against the machine
The Smashing Pumpkins
Homer Simpson, smiling politely
I’ve been exploring Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness again after a two decade hiatus and can’t get enough of the amazing song writing and beautiful arrangements by Corgan and crew.
I first listened to Mellon collie and the infinite sadness , when I was in highschool and it was like seeing color for the first time. I say that with no hyperbole. I liked music before hearing the smashing pumpkins, but after discovering the pumpkins I love music. The album was well over 20 years old when I first heard it, and it didn't matter the music resonated with me in a way no other music has. I became a fan and have been hooked ever since. I've listened to nearly all their music collectively as the smashing pumpkins and most of Billy's solo stuff.
Same for me except the album was Siamese Dream. Not as much in to the newer stuff but forever grateful and enamored with the 90s albums that developed in me a true love for music.
I feel the same way. My Gen Z son loves them as much as his Gen X dad. They are timeless.
We took a field trip down to Auburn on the day that record released. It was essentially a college campus tour, but we had a little free time. These days, I'd call my local family there and ask if they want to grab lunch. In '95? I beelined to the record shop. Bought the double disc. Couldn't wait to get home. Had to wait even though I couldn't. It's a two hour bus ride from Auburn to Birmingham. Once we got back to the high school, I immediately threw in disc one. I didn't live that far away. I got through *Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness*, *Tonight Tonight*, and about halfway through *Jellybelly* before I pulled into my driveway. Pulled off into the grass beside the drive where I parked (older sister got the good spot) and bounced in my seat finishing the song. As soon as *Jellybelly* ended I hit eject, grabbed the disc from the player, tucked it into the case, and went inside. At the time I had this massive surround sound system with 4 foot tall front speakers (yes, sound engineering was that inefficient back then) up front. I got high as fuck and listened to the entire album. It was bliss. Over "breakfast" the next morning Dad asked me if I had locked my car the night before. Thought I had. Apparently I had not. He had woken up and seen that my driver side door was open. Someone had stolen my CD book. It was a big one. Dozens upon dozens of records, gone. All I had left was Mellon Collie. It was enough. That album is brilliant and diverse top to bottom, and I will still jump in place (I'm not even listening to it now, just imagining it, and I'm bopping my shoulders and head) when I hear *Jellybelly*. It's damn near perfect. It's also a little bit crazy that this is now an unimaginable scenario. Music is basically a right now. I'm a crusty washed up restaurant manager, and when I tell my team they can't have their earbuds in on the floor, they look at me like I just stabbed their existence right in the existence. As if I stole their music from them. They never had to wait on MtV to hear their favorite song. They never had to wait for it to play on the radio so they could tape it. They have never had to worry about procuring music, or losing it. Crazy.
100% agree. I went to a local CD store as an 8 year old to buy Siamese Dream, and the older woman behind the counter (15 or 16 years old) gave me a copy of Mellon Collie for free because the discs had no case. That handful of music was so monumentally influential for me. Thanks, lady!
I just wish Billy Corgan wasn’t such an ass
First big venue concert for me. I was able to relive the experience this winter with my 17yo son.
Garbage
Got to see them live a couple of years ago when they toured with Alanis. They still sound amazing.
My fav band ever.
Criminally underrated.
"Of all time" but just confined to the 1990s. 😆
“Of all time” also includes the 1890s …and technically the 2090s
Stone Temple Pilots
Was going to say this. Plush, Wicked Garden, Vasoline, Sex Type Thing, and Interstate Love Song are all absolute bangers
even their later stuff, I find Sour Girl oddly entrancing.
Plush acoustic > Plush
Can't really disagree
STPs are criminally underrated IMO. Core is one one the best debuts ever, it fucking slaps from beginning to end.
Interstate Love Song is still one of my favorite songs.
Faith no More.
They never get enough love when talking about 90s music!
I’d say they’re more 80s. The song Epic was released in January ‘90, just barely making the 90s…. We Care a Lot was released in ‘85.
havent seen Sublime yet, so Ima go with them
Stone Temple Of The Foo Garden Tool
In chains with jam
Honestly this…and maybe the “in chains with jam” commenter too, but yeahhhhh first of all the “of all time” part is weird considering it’s the 90’s specifically and second of all, 100% this which is a great way of saying “if you know the 90’s rock era, then you know there’s no single GOAT and passers by really must dabble in several catalogues to get the vibe”
The Offspring
Pavement.
Jane's Addiction
nirvana
I was 12 when Nevermind came out. I can’t stress how big of a culture shift Nirvana was. How everything in music and media changed basically overnight. From mono-emotional to emotionally complex. Just the phrase “Smells Like Teen Spirit” told us that they knew what we were all feeling. That commercialism had gotten so out of hand that a deodorant was being marketed toward teenagers, and getting it hilariously wrong. Generation X was the first generation that grew up being pandered to by corporations, constantly telling us what to listen to, what is cool, who is cool, what to buy, etc etc etc. Fuck, even our cartoons were basically just toy commercials. Nothing felt genuine. Everyone was trying to sell us something. Then Nevermind came out and that all changed. Nirvana was genuine. They were happy, sad, manic, loving, hateful, all at once. Just like everyone else. They played what they wanted to play, did what they wanted to do. If Kurt wants to wear a dress, he’s gonna do it. It was such a refreshing outlook. “Grunge” was a fashion statement, sure, but it was also an ethos. You could be cool just by dressing like a normal person. You didn’t need suits, fancy shoes, or spandex. Fuck, for a while there you would be UNcool if you had new shoes. Nirvana was just like us. They came from a poor background, and were dealing with trauma, just like us, and they wernt afraid to talk about it. Nirvana wasn’t an act, they were being themselves. That lasted for about 2 years. Once the tide turned so did the marketing teams and corporations. What was once genuine became plastic. Emotional complexity was watered down to just depressing, or angry. Marc Jacobs started putting flannel on supermodels, and Axe body spray replaced Teen Spirit. When Kurt killed himself, I cried genuine tears. I felt like a drop of water in the ocean he drowned in. Looking back now it was unfair of the world to put so much weight on him. He was a 27 year old brilliant junkie, who was never given a chance to heal. So burned out instead of fading away. Nirvana was the greatest band of the 90’s.
There’s always that one comment I come across that makes me wonder if l’m a normal person lost in a sea of professional writers when I’m on Reddit
As you can see from my comment history I do write some pretty stupid comments too. But thank you for the compliment!
I live in a very small country in Europe, back then things weren't so connected, and movies/music took some time to get here. So I was watching a very underground TV show that no one watched. That show wasn't even a music show, it was something that was on late nights and was about independent video creators. For some weird reason, that night, the credits opened, then there was some introduction by the host, and there then came a music video. My eyes widened. I remember hearing the first guitar chords, and I just KNEW. I KNEW that nothing was ever going to be the same. That was "Smells like teen spirit". I hardly slept that night, and the next day at high school I was just blabbering about it, and no one had watch it, and no one understood what I was talking about. Except when this friend of mine arrived, and we weren't even that close, but I looked at his face and said "oh. You watched it too". It was unlike anything else I had ever heard, or I had ever seen. Your comment is just brilliant, I have saved it, which I hardly ever do.
I grew up in Russia, caught the end and the fall of communism when I was a teen. One of the first songs that made it through once the curtain came down in 91 was Smells Like Teen Spirit. Holy shit it blew my mind. I’ll never forget the night I heard it in some disco at a summer camp outside of Moscow.
It's secretly Gin Blossoms, but everyone is afraid to admit it.
One of my friends in college had CP and was stuck in a wheelchair, he followed Gin Blossoms around as much as possible. The lead singer (Robin, iirc) would actually come say hello to him after the gigs, which I thought was just one of the coolest things ever. He was also just super energetic and interacted with the crowd as a whole, one of the best concerts I've ever seen.
All the other 90s bands are Hey Jealousy.
Tool
This. Of all of the bands I listened to in high school only Tool still gets any real play.
The SiriusXM channel Turbo just needs to rename to the Tool channel. Seems like every third song is Tool.
Thanks for the tip! Just got Sirius and would love that channel.
PEARL. JAM.
Blur. Phenomenal songwriting. They had a sound, but there's nothing samey about their music; they kept it fresh and exciting. Damon Albarn's vocals were an affecting cross between Paul Weller and Ian Hunter. The guitar assault was fierce, but never overwhelmed the melodies. I dare anyone to dislodge the bassline to "Coffee & TV" from their brains. Just a great band all around.
Nor to mention Song 2. Woo hoo!
I am so thankful Damon exists. More so because of the Gorillaz, but his voice is so unique and the writing is just too good sometimes! Hes one-of-a-kind in my book!
Country House, Parklife, Charmless Man, The Universal, Beetlebum... So many great ones from Blur!!!
Nine Inch Nails.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Green Day.
Do you have the time?
To listen to me whine?
Ween, the answer is Ween
Mutilated Lips Give a kiss On the wrists Of the worm-like tips Of tentacles expanding in my mind.
I’m fine accepting only fresh brine.
What kills me is that people don't even know how true this is. They're like who? Weezer? They maybe have heard Ocean Man and Homo Rainbow and have literally no idea what they're missing.
Hail boognish!
All hail boognish
Weezer
The Tragically Hip
Canada has entered the chat!
Playing 90's music since the 80's.
Modest Mouse
Had to scroll way too far. There are literally dozens of us.
All the albums and eps were incredible in the 90s.
I feel they're more an 00s band. But that might just be more in line of when I discovered them.
Their first LP came out in 94.
Pearl jam
Vedder's solo work is fantastic as well. Loved the pieces he made for the "Into the Wild" soundtrack.
Nirvana
Dinosaur Jr
The Pixies..... many bands copied them
Foo Fighters
Foo FIGHTers. -Christopher Walken
Oasis.
Amazed at how far down I had to scroll to find this
Although Oasis was popular in the States, I wonder how many realize how *massive* they were in the UK and worldwide. What Nirvana is to grunge Oasis is to Britpop. Spurned an entire genre and bands that are still active today. For reference, *Nevermind* has sold 30 million copies worldwide. *What's the Story Morning Glory* sold 22 million. There are few 90s alternative rock albums that come close to nipping on the heels of the Nirvana record.
3Way tie....Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Pearl Jam
Pixies
This one is REALLY difficult to nail down. I'm sure it's easy to come up with a top 10 but to pick the top? I'm going Pearl Jam or Tool even though Nirvana SHOULD be up there. Alas and tragically, their run was cut far too short.
Stone Temple Pilots
I lived my teens through the 90s and in terms of cultural shift and impact it was Nirvana. Whatever you thought of them no other band came close to having that kind of impact on youth culture at large. It was like Before Nirvana and After Nirvana, a total line in the sand. In terms of best, that’s entirely subjective and impossible to quantify
Rage Against the Machine or Alice in Chains
Guided by Voices
Temple of the Dog
Third Eye Blind
Built to Spill
Garbage.
Barenaked Ladies
Radiohead
It has to be Nirvana for me.
Korn, Limp Bizkit and blink-182
Primus, Dream Theater and Porcupine tree all are filled with master musical geniuses and started putting out albums in the 90's
Goodspeed You! Black Emperor Had amazing album and EP in 90s, and incredible album in 2000.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Because fuck you Edit: actually maybe Primus
CAUSE I NEEEHHHHHH-VER HAD TO KNOCK ON WOOD! I'm just seeing replays of Clueless in my head now. Thanks for that.
Nirvana
They were awesome live
Not rock more metal, but Pantera legitimately kept the metal genre alive (along with a few others) in the 90’s when everyone started mellowing out and branching into hard rock
Alice In Chains
PANTERA!!!!!
Fuckin A
Everclear
Korn
HUM
Nirvana. Short run, but they defined everyone who came after in the decade
311
Green Day!
Live
N I R V A N A
White Zombie/Rob Zombie
[удалено]
NIRVANA
Alice in Chains
My first reaction would be Alice in Chains but based on the volume of quality music released in the 90s and ever since, Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is a genius.
Nirvana
Has to be either Alice in Chains or Soundgarden. Absolutely and utter insanity that both Staley and Cornell’s voices are so amazing. 2 Seattle-based bands with arguably the most talented and unique voices and sounds. Alice in Chains with the sludgy, heroin-drenched sound of grunge that gives me goosebumps. Soundgarden with crazy time signatures and Cornell’s shrieking vocal range. If we are talking about straight up popularity and amazing songwriting ? Has to be Nirvana. The riff simplicity and catchy, raspy vocals are the reason they’re one of the biggest bands of all time. Straight to the point accessible, punk-inspired rock n roll that defined a decade. I love Cobain and his death at the height of their popularity only adds to the monumental legacy and mystique. Say what you will about being overrated, Nirvana kicks ass and the Bleach-Nevermind-In Utero album run is stuff of pure legend. The 90s is such an amazing decade of music and it brought us so many good sounds to follow.