12 Must-Have Albums For Grunge’s 30th Anniversary

By JC Villamere. 24 Sep 2021 6:19 AM

When Nirvana released Nevermind on September 24, 1991, it ushered in a new era in music. Now, 30 years later, we look back at 12 touchstone albums that helped define the epoch.

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'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'

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'Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'

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'Nevermind'
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Nirvana's second album was a surprise smash hit. When it rocketed to #1, it left the hair metal genre in its wake. The musically diverse record included absolute punk-rock thrashers like "Stay Away", as well as acoustic ballads like "Polly" and "Something in the Way". 'Nevermind' and its signature single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" brought grunge and alt-rock to the mainstream. In 2004, the US Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry, which collects "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" sound recordings. However, the album remains controversial, most recently for its cover art, which features a naked baby chasing a dollar bill in a pool. That baby is Spencer Elden, now 30. He has filed a lawsuit against Kurt Cobain's estate and the band's surviving members for allegedly violating federal child pornography statutes and sexually exploiting him.
'Superunknown'
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Is Soundgarden's 1991 album 'Badmotorfinger' a strong contender for this list? Sure. But it was their followup in 1994 that really embraced the nihilistic, distorted ethos of grunge. The video for "Black Hole Sun" is a classic, and singles like "Fell on Black Days" and "Spoonman" helped propel the record to the #1 spot. "Black Hole Sun" won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, while "Spoonman" picked up the trophy for Best Metal Performance.
'Garbage'
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Scottish singer and musician Shirley Manson heads up the Madison, Wisconsin, band Garbage. Their self-titled debut disc thrust them into the spotlight. Hits like "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains" have helped the band sell over 17 million albums worldwide. Their debut album garnered them two Grammy nominations and set them up to perform the Bond theme for "The World Is Not Enough" in 1999.
'Ten'
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Pearl Jam's quintessential grunge record has some Hendrix and Zeppelin flavours among its anthemic and passionate songs. The first two singles, "Alive" and "Even Flow", were hits, but it was the third single, "Jeremy", that struck an eerie chord with listeners. As a result, it garnered nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Hard Rock Performance at the 35th Grammy Awards. Along with 'Nevermind', 'Ten' helped consolidate grunge's dominance on the charts.
'Jagged Little Pill'
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Alanis Morissette's 1995 breakthrough album embraced a grunge ethos while ushering in the post-grunge, alt-rock era. The songs were angry and aggressive yet expressed rage with a less abrasive tone. Hit singles like "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", and "You Learn" propelled the album to sell more than 15 million copies and earned Morissette the Grammy for Album of the Year when the Ottawa native was just 21 years old.
'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'
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The Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 double album spawned a whopping six hit singles: "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", "Muzzle", and "Thirty-Three". Their followup to 1993's 'Siamese Dream' (a contender for this list in its own right) was praised by critics and fans alike. It was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
'Core'
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This 1992 #1 debut is Stone Temple Pilots' bestselling album. Over 12 tracks, it delivers critiques of toxic masculinity, organized religion, social injustice and abuses of power. The single "Plush" won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance.
'Weezer'
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While their sound now might not scream flannel shirts and Docs, Weezer's 1994 debut was actually super-grunge. This self-titled album is the one everyone calls 'The Blue Album'. The triple-platinum record featured the distortion-heavy singles "Undone – The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly", and "Say It Ain't So".
'Live Through This'
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On her band's second record, Hole lead singer Courtney Love snarled about co-dependency, motherhood, and feminism. Both the Edmonton Journal and the Toronto Star included 'Live Through This' on their lists of the five best records of 1994. The band careened from hectic to harmonic on the singles "Doll Parts", "Violet", and "Miss World".
'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'
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Before the grunge label was coined, there was college rock. L.A.'s Red Hot Chili Peppers fit squarely in that genre. Sure, you might argue that 1991's 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik' is more funky alt-rock than grunge, and that if we're going to include it on this list, we might as well add Green Day's grungey punk-pop 'Dookie' and Nine Inch Nails' grunge-adjacent, electro-industrial 'Pretty Hate Machine'. In response to that assertion, we say, sure.
'Dirt'
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Alice in Chains evolved from the late-'80s glam metal roots of Alice N' Chains, a group that looked more like contemporaries of Guns N' Roses than Nirvana. Personnel changes brought new funk, acoustic, and alt-rock elements to the band's sound before their sophomore release in 1992. The album's dark, gritty songs like "Them Bones" and "Junkhead" reflected frontman Layne Staley's battle with heroin.
'Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'
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Director Cameron Crowe had actually started writing this 1992 movie before 'Nevermind' was released, which ushered in the age of grunge. Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda starred in the Seattle-set rom-com. Inspired by "The Graduate", Crowe wanted a soundtrack that would play a significant role in the movie. Some of grunge's luminaries contributed to the hit soundtrack, including Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney and the Smashing Pumpkins.

12 Must-Have Albums For Grunge’s 30th Anniversary

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