The history of grunge can be generally summed up in about 13 albums. Most people are familiar with the bands that are considered the “Big 4” of grunge — Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and of course, Nirvana. It is commonly understood that the latter’s groundbreaking 1991 album Nevermind and particularly the single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” were responsible for popularizing the scene and making it a massive part of pop culture.
The origins of grunge started years before “Smells Like Teen Spirit” though, and even several years before Nirvana formed. There was a cluster of bands that started popping up in the Pacific Northwest area — not just Seattle — that were influenced by heavy metal, classic rock and punk, planting the seeds for what later became known as grunge.
Numerous groups that helped lay the foundation for the Seattle rock scene go mostly unrecognized today because so much emphasis has always been placed on the “Big 4.” Groups like the Melvins, Mudhoney, Tad, Mother Love Bone and even Screaming Trees are not credited as much as they should be.
To give you a proper look back on the history of grunge, we are going to take it all the way back to the mid-1980s when a band put out what is regarded as the first true grunge record. From there, we will cover the Sub Pop label and a few of the artists that were formative to the scene.
But to keep things interesting, we are going to tell the story of grunge through the albums that helped shape the subgenre and explain why they were so monumental in laying the groundwork for what was to come in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
See our picks for the best grunge album of each year from 1987 to 1996 below.
