1. Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses
For something recorded in 1987, it’s raw, fresh, visceral, and relevant.
2. Ten by Pearl Jam
A perfect, well-rounded album. Strong riffs, thoughtful lyricism, and an anthemic sound bring it all together.
3. The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails
It’s long, but there’s a lot of great, complex songs to dig into.
4. Black Holes & Revelations by Muse
Muse has always been a stunning band, and with this release, they play to their strengths. There is an obvious addition of electronica elements added to their hard-rocking, Queen-esque sound, as well.
5. Pinkerton by Weezer
Quirky, off-beat, and catchy could sum this record up well. Full of raw confessions and blaring guitars, it’s a definite departure from their debut, and arguably their best work.
6. Binaural by Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam took a big leap here,s tepping into unchardted territory while creating meaningful songs that ignore their “grunge” label.
7. Shangri – La Dee Da by Stone Temple Pilots
Lots of psychedelic elements mixed with STP’s traditional hard-rocking/alternative sound. It’s more “them” then any prior work.
8. Title of Record by Filter
Moving from their atypical industrial sound, the fury actually lets up for a few moments with slower tracks like “Take a Picture”, all while new textures blend with and explore the band’s sound.
9. Into the Wild by Eddie Vedder
A folksy, ambitious solo album from Pearl Jam’s lead singer that merges perfectly with the movie it scores.
10. Superunknown by Soundgarden
Cornell’s voice is Earth-shattering, and as a whole the record is very cohesive and muscular.
11. The Colour and the Shape by Foo Fighters
Take the drummer from Nirvana, give him a backing band, and add his throat-shredding vocalls and aggressive power-chords and you get an album that’s a perfect snapshot of mid-90s rock after the grunge explosion.
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