Top 5 Grunge Bands

Number 1 Nirvana Description Below

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Kris Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990.

The band established itself as part of the Seattle music scene, releasing its first album Bleach for the Independent Record Label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing to major label DGC Records, Nirvana found unexpected success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit", the band's lead single from its second album Nevermind (1991). Subsequently, Nirvana entered into the mainstream, bringing along with it a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. As Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain found himself referred to in the media as the "spokesman of a generation," with Nirvana being considered the "flagship band" of Generation X. Cobain was uncomfortable with the attention and placed his focus on the band's music, believing the band's message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenging the band's audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).

==========================================================

Number 2 Alice In Chains Description Below

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist Jerry Cantrell and vocalist Layne Staley. Although widely associated with grunge music, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and acoustic elements. Since its formation, Alice in Chains has released four studio albums, three EPs, two live albums, four compilations, and two DVDs. The band is known for its distinct vocal style which often included the harmonized vocals of Staley and Cantrell.

Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 17 million albums worldwide. The band achieved two number-one Billboard 200 albums (Jar of Flies and Alice in Chains), 14 top ten songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and seven Grammy Award nominations.Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity due to substance abuse, culminating in the death of Layne Staley in 2002. Alice in Chains reunited in 2005 with new lead vocalist William DuVall and released Black Gives Way to Blue, their first studio album in 14 years.

==========================================================

Number 3. Stone Temple Pilots Description Below

Stone Temple Pilots, often abbreviated to STP, is an American rock band consisting of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Robert DeLeo (bass guitar,vocals) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), and Eric Kretz (drums, percussion).

The band found immediate success with the release of their debut album Core in 1992, which is certified 8× platinum by the RIAA.STP went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1990s, selling nearly 40 million records worldwide, including 17.5 million units in the United States. The band has had 16 top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, seven of which peaked at #1, and one #1 album for Purple in 1994. That same year, the band won a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Plush" from the album Core. Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked #40 on VH1's The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Weiland's continual drug offenses would cause multiple concert cancellations and band separations. These setbacks resulted in the creation of various alternate bands by each of the band members (see The Magnificent Bastards, Talk Show, Army of Anyone, Velvet Revolver) and two solo albums by Weiland. Kretz would go on to launch Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles. The band's separation in 2003 lasted five years. Stone Temple Pilots reunited in April 2008 with a successful 71-date tour. The band's sixth studio album, Stone Temple Pilots, is scheduled for release on May 25, 2010

==========================================================

Number 4. Pearl Jam Description Below.

Pearl Jam Is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder(lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike McCready (lead guitar). The band's current drummer is Matt Cameron, also of Soundgarden, who has been with the band since 1998.

Formed after the demise of Ament and Gossard's previous band Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album, Ten. One of the key bands of the grunge movement in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was criticized early on as being a corporate cash-in on the alternative rock explosion. However, over the course of the band's career its members became noted for their refusal to adhere to traditional music industry practices, including refusing to make music videos and engaging in a much-publicized boycott of Ticket master. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."

Since its inception, the band has sold over thirty million records in the U.S., and an estimated sixty million worldwide. Pearl Jam has outlasted many of its contemporaries from the alternative rock breakthrough of the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands of the decade. All music refers to Pearl Jam as "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s

==========================================================

Soundgarden Is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by lead singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's permanent drummer in 1986 while bassist Ben Shepherd became a permanent replacement for Yamamoto in 1990.

Soundgarden was one of the seminal bands in the creation of grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle, and was one of a number of grunge bands signed to the record label Sub Pop. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to sign to a major label (A&M Records, in 1988), though the band did not achieve commercial success until Seattle contemporaries Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam popularized "grunge" in the early 1990s.

Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman." In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction. On January 1, 2010, Cornell alluded to a Soundgarden reunion. On April 5, 2010, it was announced that Soundgarden would play Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 6-8, 2010. A secret reunion concert under the name "Nudedragons" was held at the Showbox at the Market in Seattle on April 16, 2010. It was Soundgarden's first show since 1997.