Grunge Music - Top Grunge Albums 
(my 'Hall of Fame')

Grunge Rock was the revolution of the 1990s. Here is a list of the absolutely essential Grunge albums. 
Are there some missing?  Email me your hall of fame choice.

1) Nirvana - Nevermind
	Of course this had to be number one, right? Nirvana's breakthrough second album that spawned the mega-hits "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are." If you haven't heard this, you've been living in a cave.
2) Pearl Jam - Ten
	Simply an in-your-face, in-your-head, loud, melodic rock grunge album. And lead singer Eddie Vedder, known for his possessed stage presence,  lets out primal growls that sound like it requires three vocal chords. The personal, narrative singles "Alive," "Jeremy," and "Even Flow" catapulted the reluctant band into the 10-million-plus-sales division with this album.
3) Pearl Jam - Vs.
	Their second album was not what people expected, and that's why it was chosen for this list. With the pressure to produce another album like their debut Ten, they released this eccentric and subversive album. The performance ranges from Raw and Punky numbers to heartfelt acoustic songs like "Elderly Woman Behind A Counter."
4) Mad Season - Above
	Mad Season was a side project of Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. They had a hit song with the song "River Of Deceit" which, unsurprisingly, sounds like a cross between Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam.
5) Hype! (Soundtrack)
	This is the excellent CD counterpart to the film that documents the Northwest music explosion. Album includes the biggies like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden as well as lesser-knowns like The Fastbacks, Supersuckers and The Gits. Recommended album and Movie.
6) Temple of the Dog - Temple of the Dog
	A Grunge supergroup formed to pay tribute to the late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood. Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron from Soundgarden and Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam make up the band. This one-off album spawned the dark hit "Hunger Strike." Although recorded before Pearl Jam existed, this didn't become successful until after Pearl Jam found fame.
7) Singles (Soundtrack)
	The movie was a corny romantic comedy starring Matt Dillon that took place in the Seattle music scene. However, the soundtrack is jam packed with goodies. Screaming Trees, Alice In Chains, Mudhoney, Paul Westerberg, Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone are all here. The film includes cameo's by all your favorite rockers.
8) Green River - Dry As A Bone/ Rehab Doll
	This is a band that existed through the mid 1980s. They basically made depressing, sludgy Punk. The band consisted of future members of Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone (and ultimately Pearl Jam). This disc comprises the second and third albums.
9) Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
	Soundgarden were much more Metal than the other Seattle bands. There's plenty of guitar riffing and solos, but this album has a dark artyness behind it. The album spawned the minor hit "Outshined" and contained some amazing songs. It was picked for this list because of the song "Rusty Cage."
10) Mother Love Bone - Stardog Champion
	Like Green River, this is another early Grunge band. Their sound was a blend of chunky 70s Metal and Glam. The musical core was made up of future Peal Jam members while the vocals came from Andrew Wood, an over-the-top modern day hippie and sex symbol. Wood died in 1990 of a heroin overdose, just before the release of their anticipated breakthrough album Apple. This CD comprises all of the MLB material on one disc.
11) Mudhoney - Mudhoney
	Arguably the ultimate Grunge album. This 1989 debut album by Mudhoney is a sludgy, messy affair. The instruments are sloppy and heavy-handed. Standout tracks are "The Gift," "By Her Own Hand" and "Here Comes Sickness," but the finest moment is "When Tomorrow Hits."
12) Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
	Of every great album to come out of the "grunge era", none has touched the ethereal beauty of Siamese Dream. It's interesting to note that this was only the second major-label album by the Smashing Pumpkins, and it delivers so much more than Gish does that it is mind-blowing. Simply calling it an improvement would be a grave understatement because the album delivers on so many levels.
13) SoundGarden - Superunknown
	"Superunknown" is Soundgarden's full-blown masterpiece. Picking highlights is difficult, because every single track is a gem in its own right, giving this album a consistency that is seldom found on any album of any genre.
14) Nirvana - In Utero
	The mindblowing success of Nevermind left Nirvana somewhat unsettled; they vowed that their second major label album would be rawer and less produced sounding.  They got what they wanted with In Utero.  The sound of this ranges from songs like Milk It, with its prominent drumming and chunky guitars and Kurt's singing escalating into an angry howl, and tourette's with his distorted screaming noises, to Heart-Shaped Box, which starts out with a short guitar solo and is quiet and subtly powerful, and Rape Me, which is darkly emotional with a churning guitar sound.  In Utero captures the best of Nirvana; Kurt's versatile voice, the band's ability to write catchy songs, and their sheer power.