Seattle in the 90's
Just the greatest rock/metal albums to come out of Seattle during the 1990's. Something was in the water back then and gave us some stone cold classic albums. |
| 1 |  | Soundgarden
Superunknown
IMO the high watermark of the whole Seattle scene. An all time classic album which sounds as fresh and vital today as it did back in 1994 - and yes I was old enough to appreciate this album back in 94. |
| 2 |  | Soundgarden
Badmotorfinger
Tough decision but Superunknown by a whisker because it's the band at the peak of their powers.
Badmotorfinger though has the mighty Jesus Christ Pose, my favourite Soundgarden song. Then you have the likes of Rusty Cage, Slaves and Bulldozers, Searching with my good eye, Drawing Flies etc. Damn this shit was HEAVY when it came out, I mean there really was nothing else like it to my virgin ears. |
| 3 |  | Alice in Chains
Jar of Flies
This might raise a few eyebrows, interesting pick having this at #3 but this album just hits me right in the feels. Nutshell is the masterpiece of the album and then there's Don't Follow, Rotten Apple right behind. The rest are great too and I just like it that little bit more than Dirt. |
| 4 |  | Alice in Chains
Dirt
If I could enjoy this band as much as Soundgarden then I would have it at #2 but the only thing with Dirt is it's so damn bleak and I really need to be in a mood to listen to it. Which isn't often. That said, this album packs a hefty punch with the Staley/Cantrell duo in peak form. Songs like Would?, Rooster, Dam That River, Down in a Hole stand out for me but there's very little filler in this beast. |
| 5 |  | Pearl Jam
Ten
Ten is Pearl Jam firing on all cylinders back when they used to be able to write songs that actually meant something. Not the Dad rock rubbish they were releasing in the mid 2000's. With songs like Jeremy, Release, Porch, Oceans and of course, Black, Ten was a seminal album to come out of Seattle in the 90's. Reason why it's not top 3? I feel it's singles are just a tad overrated. |
| 6 |  | Temple of the Dog
Temple of the Dog
Chris Cornell + Eddie Vedder + Stone Gossard + Mike McCready + Jeff Ament + Matt Cameron = Supergroup. Raw fucking emotion. Cornell's performance on Say Hello to Heaven is arguably his finest. Hunger Strike was the big hit but there's some other great songs here - Your Savior, Call Me A Dog, Times of Trouble. |
| 7 |  | Soundgarden
Down on the Upside
Although it doesn't quite reach the heights of their previous two releases, DOTU is still Soundgarden churning out some ripping tracks. Tighter and Tighter and Pretty Noose has Thayil laying down monstrous riffs and solos and then there's the melodic singles "Burden in my Hand" and the brilliant "Blow Up The Outside World". |
| 8 |  | Pearl Jam
Vs.
Rivals Ten as PJ's best collection of songs. Animal, Dissident, Go, Elderly Woman, Daughter, Rearviewmirror are the equal to almost any songs on Ten but isn't consistently as strong from start to end. |
| 9 |  | Sunny Day Real Estate
Diary
This might seem an odd choice at first because it didn't come from the grunge scene per se but fuck it this album was from Seattle and it ruled and was a pioneer in it's genre. |
| 10 |  | Nevermore
Dreaming Neon Black
Another leftfield pick, this is one dense metal album that really put this band on the map. Warrel Dane and Jeff Loomis are like a twisted version of Staley/Cantrell and this album has some seriously good songs - Deconstruction, The Death of Passion, The Lotus Eaters. Then there's the concept behind the album which sends a shiver down my spine. The jury is still out if it's true or not though. |
| 11 |  | Nirvana
In Utero
As culturally important as Nirvana were at the time of Nevermind, the so called grunge pioneers hit their peak on this album IMO. This album has very few fillers, the likes of Heart Shaped Box, Pennyroyal Tea, Dumb and Rape Me that stand out for me. |
| 12 |  | Alice in Chains
Facelift
While lacking the songwriting maturity that became realised on Dirt, this album still showcases the awesome melodic choruses and foot stamping groove that AIC became known for. Listening to Man In The Box today thinking holy shit this came out in 1990?! |
| 13 |  | Pearl Jam
Vitalogy
An overlooked 90's gem this album showcased a more mature and restrospective Pearl Jam (Immortality, Nothingman) but showed they could still rock out when they wanted to (Spin the Black Circle, Satans Bed) |
| 14 |  | Screaming Trees
Sweet Oblivion
In the middle of the grunge movement, Screaming Trees came out with this album which was overshadowed by many other bands. But with the iconic voice of Mark Lanegan on vocals, you realise just how damn good this is and it holds up very well against other albums of it's time. |
| 15 |  | Nirvana
Nevermind
At #15 most people would cock an eyebrow, but despite having several radio hits and being hugely influential, it still doesn't hold a candle to the best of Soundgarden's or AIC albums. Musically Nirvana were leagues behind those two bands but the public latched onto Cobain and his cohorts. Without fail every year, on my local radio stations, you can nearly put your house on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to come in at Number #1 as the supposed "Best song of all time". That's the masses for ya. |
| 16 |  | Mad Season
Above |
| 17 |  | Foo Fighters
The Colour and the Shape |
| 18 |  | Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains |
| 19 |  | Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters |
| 20 |  | Brad
Shame |
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