The peak of grunge has come and gone, but we’re fortunate that so many bands and musicians once delivered their take on the fuzzy, grimy rock genre. Because there were so many grunge outfits in the 1990s, there also happens to be a lot of underrated songs from that time that deserve a bit more love nowadays. Let’s look at just five examples of underrated grunge songs that defined the 1990s alt-rock sound! You may just remember a few of them.
1. “Dollar Bill” by Screaming Trees
Grunge as a genre didn’t follow the mainstream direction of music. Part of Screaming Trees’ appeal was that they didn’t even follow the direction of grunge itself, despite being a grunge band.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Dollar Tree” is one example of the band’s ability to take the basic grunge sound and go in a more straightforward direction with it. This 1992 track has all the elements of a grunge track, but the writing is a bit more polished than you’d expect.
2. “Jessie” by Paw
It’s a rock song about a dog. That’s about it. Nothing too complicated to hear here. However, “Jessie” has the kind of instrumentation that you can’t forget. Those explosive drums, the muted chords, the hard-rock vibe of it all… It’s one of the best underrated grunge songs from the 1990s, but it can’t be pigeonholed. “Jessie” teeters around between grunge and rock and country.
3. “Blew” by Nirvana
Nirvana was without a doubt the face of the movement. It’s wild to think that any of their songs are “underrated” in the context of grunge. That being said, we think “Blew” deserved more praise, or at least as much praise as their bigger hits. A lot of songs from Bleach get overlooked in favor of the latter two albums, but “Blew” is probably at the top of the list.
4. “Goin’ Blind” by Melvins
Are Melvins underrated in the worlds of grunge and metal? Probably not. But we do think they were underrated (and still are) as a whole. Some would even argue that they were never a grunge band at all. After one thorough listen of the 1993 album Houdini, though, it’s hard to not consider them at least grunge-adjacent. “Goin’ Blind” is one of their best tracks.
5. “Between The Eyes” by Love Battery
This 1991 hit was floating around everywhere, but it rarely gets its dues in conversations about the golden era of grunge. It’s understandable, to a degree. This song came shortly before the onset of the movement, and other bands sucked up all the attention.
Still, “Between The Eyes” is an incredibly underrated track from that era. We’d be bold enough to say Love Battery was the most underrated grunge band from the 1990s, period.
Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.