{"id":570097,"date":"2026-08-01T09:48:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T09:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/570097\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T09:48:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T09:48:16","slug":"the-best-grunge-song-of-each-year-from-1987-to-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/570097\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Grunge Song of Each Year From 1987 to 1996"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are our picks for the best grunge<\/a> song of each year from 1987 through 1996.<\/p>\n

As with most genres and subgenres, grunge didn’t necessarily have a hard start date or an end. In fact, plenty of artists from the grunge scene still make music today and there are even newer bands forming that carry the spirit of the Pacific Northwest sound in their songs.<\/p>\n

For the sake of this list and some other similar ones we’ve done, we narrowed the years down to when grunge truly started to pick up in momentum, when it peaked and when it started to wane. The subgenre’s beginnings go back to the mid-1980s, but ’87 was the year that bands such as Melvins<\/a> and Soundgarden<\/a> were actually putting out albums and songs.<\/p>\n

Grunge peaked in the early and mid-’90s but started to slow down in momentum a few years later. By ’96, Nirvana<\/a> had already been over for two years, Alice in Chains<\/a> started to slow down quite a bit and much of the industry had shifted its focus toward bands such as Korn<\/a> and their nu-metal comrades.<\/p>\n

Since we’ve done a few lists on the best song of each year for some other subgenres, we figured it was grunge’s turn. Thus, below are our picks for the best grunge song of each year from 1987 to 1996.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0The Best Grunge Album of Each Year From 1987 to 1996<\/a><\/p>\n

For each year, we took a few things into consideration: whether the track actually\u00a0was\u00a0one of the best grunge songs of that year, how successful it was and whether or not it had a lasting impact. So we weren’t able to get too obscure with these with those parameters and a few artists show up multiple times throughout the list because they truly were some of the most influential groups of the era.<\/p>\n

See our picks below.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Loudwire on YouTube<\/a>!<\/p>\n

1987: Soundgarden, ‘Hunted Down’<\/p>\n

“Hunted Down” was Soundgarden’s first standalone single released through Sub Pop Records in 1987. Not only was the song and its B-side “Nothing to Say” fantastic, but it was the first single Sub Pop ever released by an artist. So it was monumental for Soundgarden, for the label and for grunge in general.<\/p>\n

1988: Mudhoney, ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’<\/p>\n

Mudhoney<\/a> were another pivotal group to the formation of grunge in the late ’80s and their first single was “Touch Me I’m Sick,” which was also released through Sub Pop and quickly became one of the defining songs of the early grunge era. Its fuzzy guitars, aggressive energy and punk-driven sound helped establish the blueprint for a lot of grunge hits that came later.<\/p>\n

1989: Nirvana, ‘About a Girl’<\/p>\n

We sort of bent the rules a little bit for this year because Nirvana’s “About a Girl” was not a massive hit in 1989. It was\u00a0featured on the band’s debut album that came out that year, but it actually became one of the band’s defining songs several years later after\u00a0Nevermind\u00a0came out and\u00a0Bleach\u00a0was re-released through DGC Records. Regardless, it was still one of the most important early grunge songs.<\/p>\n

1990: Alice in Chains, ‘We Die Young’<\/p>\n

Alice in Chains were actually the first grunge band to achieve major commercial success with their 1990 debut album\u00a0Facelift,\u00a0which was the first grunge album to land in the Top 50 of the Billboard 200\u00a0and\u00a0to be certified gold. Of course, “Man in the Box” was really the breadwinner from that album because it gave the band huge exposure on the radio and MTV, but the album’s opener “We Die Young” is a visceral, two-and-a-half minute punch to the gut that’s remained\u00a0one of the band’s most beloved songs among fans for decades.<\/p>\n

1991: Nirvana, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’<\/p>\n

Choosing a best album and a best song for the year 1991 always feels impossible because of all the amazing releases that came out that year: Screaming Trees<\/a>‘\u00a0Uncle Anesthesia,\u00a0TAD<\/a>‘s\u00a08-Way Santa,\u00a0Temple of the Dog,\u00a0Mudhoney’s\u00a0Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge,\u00a0Pearl Jam<\/a>‘s\u00a0Ten,\u00a0Soundgarden’s\u00a0Badmotorfinger\u00a0and of course, Nirvana’s\u00a0Nevermind.<\/p>\n

There really is no right answer for the year 1991, but we went with the obvious, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” If it weren’t for the success of that song, a lot of the other albums we just mentioned may not have become as legendary and widely-known as they are today. Grunge was already on its way into the spotlight, but\u00a0Nevermind\u00a0was what helped it break through.<\/p>\n

For that, we owe a lot to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”<\/p>\n

1992: Alice in Chains, ‘Would?’<\/p>\n

Alice in Chains arguably put out the strongest grunge album of 1992:\u00a0Dirt.\u00a0Its closing track, “Would?,” was written as a tribute to late Mother Love Bone<\/a> vocalist Andy Wood<\/a>, who died in 1990 at the age of 24. Not only was it a tribute to him, but it was featured on the soundtrack for the Cameron Crowe film\u00a0Singles\u00a0and they actually had a cameo performing the song during the movie.<\/p>\n

The song has an ominous vibe, complemented by Jerry Cantrell<\/a> and Layne Staley<\/a>‘s signature vocal harmonies and remains one of the most celebrated songs of the era.\u00a0The band nearly left it off Dirt, but the album feels all the more complete because they didn’t.<\/p>\n

1993: Pearl Jam, ‘Go’<\/p>\n

Pearl Jam were still a relatively new band in 1993, as they’d only formed three years earlier after the death of Wood and the breakup of Mother Love Bone. But ’93 was definitely their year: their sophomore album\u00a0Vs.\u00a0debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and its intense opening track “Go”\u00a0was its lead single.<\/p>\n

“Go” immediately set the tone for Vs.\u00a0and proved that the album was louder, faster and more aggressive than much of Ten.\u00a0It\u00a0proved Pearl Jam didn’t want to repeat themselves \u2014 instead, they highlighted\u00a0their raw energy and\u00a0cemented themselves as one of Seattle’s biggest bands.<\/p>\n

1994: Soundgarden, ‘The Day I Tried to Live’<\/p>\n

Soundgarden had been around for a full decade by the time their true\u00a0mainstream breakthrough,\u00a0Superunknown, came out in early 1994. Now, it was their turn to dominate. “Black Hole Sun” is a song known around the world but “The Day I Tried to Live” fully encapsulates everything that made Soundgarden who they were.<\/p>\n

Packed with odd time signatures, a bold rhythm section, menacing guitar work and otherworldly vocals, “The Day I Tried to Live”\u00a0showed that Soundgarden were capable of evolving and broadening their fanbase without sacrificing the complex and unusual musicianship that made them so appealing in the first place.<\/p>\n

1995: Mad Season, ‘River of Deceit’<\/p>\n

At a time when grunge’s momentum was starting to slow down, Mad Season were a supergroup formed by several key players of the scene: Staley of Alice in Chains, Mike McCready<\/a> of Pearl Jam, Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees<\/a> (with contributions from Mark Lanegan<\/a>) and John Baker Saunders. Together, they created an adventurous and hypnotic set of songs that explored the depths of blues, psychedelia and jazz more than their respective bands had ever done.<\/p>\n

“River of Deceit” is the most well-known song of the batch, though it still doesn’t typically receive the recognition it deserves. It has an airy, delicate feel to it that’s complemented by light instrumentation that allows Staley’s soothing vocals\u00a0room to breathe.<\/p>\n

1996: Screaming Trees, ‘All I Know’<\/p>\n

Speaking of Screaming Trees, they released one of their\u00a0strongest albums in 1996 with Dust. By this point, many of grunge’s biggest bands had either stepped out of the spotlight, broken up or\u00a0were experimenting\u00a0far beyond their signature sound while Screaming Trees became tighter than ever by refining the psychedelic, bluesy sound that had always set them apart from their peers.<\/p>\n

“All I Know” is the defining track on\u00a0Dust.\u00a0It’s the perfect blend of swampy psychedelic rock, gritty distortion and Pacific Northwest attitude. Plus, it saw commercial success and became their only Top 10 hit. As one of the last great singles from grunge’s heyday, it’s a fitting song to close the chapter with.<\/p>\n

See our picks for the best song from every “Big 4” grunge album below.<\/p>\n

The Best Song off Every ‘Big 4’ Grunge Album<\/p>\n

We went through every album by Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and picked the very best song from each.<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are our picks for the best grunge song of each year from 1987 through 1996. As with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,134982,1346,409,43,1548],"class_list":["post-570097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-link-in-bio","tag-lists","tag-music","tag-news","tag-rock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}