The Best Grunge Albums NOT from the Big 4

[@tiyanawilliams5070]

Failure is a dope ass band. I have an interest in checking out The Gits. Great video!

[@eclecticism-uk]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed! Yeah, Failure are great, and not nearly well known enough.

[@tiyanawilliams5070]

@@eclecticism-uk True, glad they're still making music

[@therealkingjill]

Dive deeper: Son of Man, My Sister's Machine, these bands along with Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone all knew each other, played and attended each other's shows, parties, etc. Seattle was a really small town and scene back then. Son of Man and My Sister's Machine were integral to the sound. Important to the heavier side.

[@Diana-Kittens-Grunge-Archive]

Wonderful video and channel. Love how detailed and great explained everything is. One band I want to recommend to you is Union Youth. They were "our" Nirvana here in Germany during the 2000's. I hope you will like them. Wish You all the best with your channel and keep going!

[@eclecticism-uk]

Thanks for the kind words :) I've never come across Union Youth before, but I'm adding them and will check them out! I saw you posted some Hello Mary on your channel.. Do you have other favourites from current bands that have a grunge sound? I'm always looking out for them. Cheers!

[@Diana-Kittens-Grunge-Archive]

@eclecticism-uk Yes, there are hundreds of newer Grunge bands worth to discover, I try to archive them all on my channel, so take a free look at the playlists if you like. But a personal favorite is the album "Louder" by Cable35, Malta's only Grunge band, though they later relocated to Sheffield and are at the moment either on hiatus or disbanded.

[@I-Ren-Zero]

the only other Grunge albums I would would have added to this list are.... PAW - Dragline, one of thee great Grunge bands that a lot of people missed, but are well worth rediscovering... especially as in several points it deals with relationships between brother and fathers & sons, which very often don't get covered... The Screaming Trees - Dust, which plays like a requiem for the Seattle scene... and in my mind if there is a Big 5... The Screaming Trees could have easily been in that 5th slot....

[@eclecticism-uk]

There's definitely an argument for Screaming Trees fitting in that group, and they're one of my very favourites... I play them more than any of the big four at this point. And yes, Dust is an excellent album! I feel like Sweet Oblivion might be a better intro to the band, but Dust is a very worthy follow-up. Oh, and "Dragline" ALMOST made the list, and I'm not sure why it got included over a couple of these now that a little time has passed :D

[@joeyjojojunior4886]

Babes In Toyland were amazing live. First saw them back in the spring of 1990 in a tiny bar in Lincoln, NE while supporting Spanking Machine. I made friends with then bass player Michelle Leon right before I moved to Minneapolis. While Seattle was getting all the attention, the Twin Cities was producing a second wave of great bands following The Replacements and Hüsker Dü mostly being ignored by the major labels with the exception of Soul Asylum.

[@eclecticism-uk]

I would've loved to see them during that era! I know of Soul Asylum... who else was coming out of that scene in the late 80's/ early 90's?

[@joeyjojojunior4886]

@@eclecticism-uk Rank Strangers, The Magnolias, Trip Shakespeare, Run Westy Run, Selby Tigers, Blue Hippos, Gear Daddies, Dillinger Four, Nova Mob, The Cows, Motion City Soundtrack, The Soviettes, Awesome Snakes, Calvin Krime, Walt Mink, Lifter Puller, The Sublets, Grickle Grass, Gay Witch Abortion, Zuzu Petals, Mansize Planet, Detroit, The Sandwiches, Faux Jean, Gods Favorite Band, The Nothingheads, Sherman Electric, House of Large Sizes, 12Rods, Midnight Evils, Seawhores, The Blue Up, Polara, Arcwelder, Halo Of Flies…..

[@eclecticism-uk]

@@joeyjojojunior4886 Oh man, I love The Cows! There are a few others on there I know, but also a hell of a lot I'll have to look into. Thanks for the recs!

[@AsafSarig]

The Afghan whigs- Gentleman. A real classic grunge album

[@eclecticism-uk]

That's an excellent album! They were in the right time period and general sound to fit, but for some reason I never associate them with grunge.... probably because I found out about them way late, and they're not from the pacific northwest

[@kevinmackay2663]

E.G.B.D.F. was a great album. Mad Season, River of Deceit was a great song. Never heard of Truly but gonna check it out. Not grunge, but another top Washington band that I loved back then was Seaweed.

[@eclecticism-uk]

I've not even heard of Seaweed, actually. I'll look them up! Yeah, Truly was one I didn't know about until doing an online deep dive into grunge a while ago... I never heard about them during the nineties at all, which is a shame!

[@kevinmackay2663]

@@eclecticism-uk Spanaway was a great album in ‘95

[@KarlMars71]

Great video. I feel like it's worth noting though that Melvins relocated to San Francisco in 1988, but I don't think that makes them any less "grunge"

[@eclecticism-uk]

True! I knew they made this move, but I actually thought it happened a bit later, when the scene was further along. Thanks for pointing that out!

[@edwardlutz8631]

Lesser knowns....and early on.....Blood Circus, and the first LP by Swallow

[@BrownElectrons]

Love the gits

[@eclecticism-uk]

They're one of my most recent discoveries on this list, actually. I'm enjoying what I've heard so far, but still need to dig deeper

[@SchizoAction]

Ozma is a fantastic album but if you’ve never listened to Melvins you need to start with their 2006 release titled (A) Senile Animal. One of the most underrated albums of all time.

[@eclecticism-uk]

You know, I think I've missed out on that whole era from about 2000 until the 2010's... they've been so prolific it's hard to keep up. I'll go back and try that one out!

[@damagedchromosome]

TAD! YES!

[@jjphillippe]

I highly recommend Truly's Fast Stories... One of the most underrated albums of the 90s.

[@eclecticism-uk]

That was a discovery not that long ago for me, and the minute I heard it I couldn't believe that I'd NEVER seen it mentioned. They're such an underrated band!

[@jjphillippe]

@@eclecticism-uk I worked at a record store through most of the 90s and was hooked on it immediately. It didn't seem to get much exposure in the US when it was released.

[@eclecticism-uk]

@@jjphillippe That would've definitely helped with finding cool bands. I applied at so many record stores over the years and never even got an interview... I finally got desperate enough to talk about music that I started a KZbin channel instead

[@jjphillippe]

When comparing methods of discovering new music, I believe the internet is superior. Personally, discovery today seems more autonomous/unbiased because we are less influenced by what a record executive, DJ or music critic prefers and there are many online resources. You're off to a great start with your channel, which will no doubt turn up new music for discussion. Here's a link to my youtube playlist channel. I started out making ones for family, but making new music playlists for a high school friend has inspired me to do more. music.kzbin.info/door/muNKWvgm-JvyO1iA7Y6x_g?si=fFO6goXJbFH3T7sZ

[@karvonenDale]

Gruntruck and Brad

[@eclecticism-uk]

Yeah, both excellent, and both definitely considerations or the list!

[@karvonenDale]

@@eclecticism-uk oh yeah for albums id say the first one by each.

[@CCS216]

I like the list. However, there’s a band that grunge fans should give a listen that time has forgotten; Calamity Jane. They have one full-length album from 1991 or 1992. I saw them in 1989 or 90 at the old Pine St. I remember the guys in Nirvana mentioning them on TV. Good band. There are others from the Pacific NW that time forgot, but more punk or thrash for a list like this; Coffin Break, Wehrmacht (they headlined a rock against racism benefit in Portland in case you’re wondering about the name), Crackerbasher and many, many others.

[@eclecticism-uk]

Thanks for the recs! I've not heard any of those, but I'll check them out. I'm seeing Calamity Jane listed some places as riot grrrl, which is another scene I love, so I'm especially excited to explore them. Cheers!

[@CCS216]

@@eclecticism-uk I always felt like riot grrrl and grunge were so parallel, like stoner, doom and sludge metal.

[@eclecticism-uk]

@@CCS216 Yeah, a lot of those early nineties movements were influenced by the combination of punk and all the explorations with guitar feedback from the 80's, so there are some definite connections. Hole is a good example of a band that brought together both the riot grrrl and grunge sound, but you can hear some of that in Babes in Toyland and others, too!

[@gucci_cucci4703]

missing sleater kinney self titled

[@eclecticism-uk]

To me, that fits much more into the riot grrrl scene than grunge. Then again, if I'm including Babes in Toyland and L7, you're right, they'd be worth mentioning!

[@pbjones-in6tb]

why is Stone Fox photo ? Check out Scarlets new band Lost Puppy Forever.

[@graydenday3760]

Green River released Dry as a Bone and Rehab Doll at one point together. I would have cheated and put that in as # 1.

[@eclecticism-uk]

I had those together on CD back in the late nineties, and together it would definitely have made my top 10!

[@shanesmith2853]

Great list, but how does Dead Moon NOT make the list. I know they're "technically" a garage punk band, but still...

[@eclecticism-uk]

Honestly, if I'd thought about how close Portland is to Seattle, they might've been included... I don't think of them as grunge, but they do have a lot of those same elements of their sound, and they were coming up at the right time to be included, too. They're definitely an excellent band!

[@brav0_629]

i know they arnt from seattle but bro, silverchair is such a great band. do yourself a favor and check them out!

[@karvonenDale]

Mother love bone is good for you. They're like soup.

[@averagetim6190]

My Sister's Machine **

[@MadThespian]

It's only grunge if it comes from Seattle/PNW. Everything else is alternative.

[@eclecticism-uk]

This isn't a very useful definition if you're someone trying to find music with a certain sound, though. If you like the big 4 grunge bands, there's a decent chance you'll like Babes in Toyland, for example. I decided to focus more on the sound than just what happened in Seattle for this one, although I did make a whole video going through the history of Seattle's grunge scene, and even talking about why my approach to the definition of grunge is more inclusive than it used to be.

[@MadThespian]

@@eclecticism-uk from Seattle and was there when the scene happened. Grunge is not a genre or sound. It was a time and place specific scene. The "sound" was alternative. All of the grunge bands were various flavors of alternative, and the scene they came from was grunge. My big issue is mentioning STP and Smashing Pumpkins. They are not, and never were, grunge. The video is a pretty good dive into the lesser known bands, although The Winding Sheet should have been higher, and not including Rehab Doll is a huge omission.

[@eclecticism-uk]

@@MadThespian Ah, I'm envious... I was just watching the scene happen from the middle of the country, and my first show from ANY of the grunge bands was in about 2000! The term "alternative" to me is way too broad of a bucket, used to describe everything from Radiohead to STP to Neutral Milk Hotel, so a video covering the best alternative albums would likewise be too broad to feel meaningful. I went with the definition of grunge closer to what is on RateYourMusic, which defines it as a style and not a scene, but I can understand how your perspective on that would be much different having been there. Either way, thanks for taking the time to watch, and I'm glad you enjoyed some of the picks!