The Best Grunge Album of Each Year From 1987 – 1996

Though the subgenre had a rather short-lived reign, these are our picks for the best grunge albums of each year from 1987 to 1996.

The sludgy, punk-infused style of rock we call “grunge” didn’t make it to the mainstream until the early ’90s, but the scene it derived from initially became active in the mid-’80s. Bands such as Melvins, Green River, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees and Skin Yard all formed between 1983 and ’85 and started playing in venues in the Seattle area.

Check out our documentary video, “Who Invented Grunge?,” on our YouTube channel to learn more about the beginnings of the scene from those who lived it.

Because there were so few official releases from any of these bands at the time, we’re calling the period between 1987 and 1996 as the true grunge era. Obviously, several of the bands associated with the grunge label kept making albums long after the year 1996, but we wanted to focus on the rise, peak and eventual downfall of the scene for the sake of this list.

READ MORE: 12 Bands Considered Pioneers of Grunge

Only a handful of bands from the scene had a great deal of success that lasted more than a few years, but there is so much music from that era that’s still out there for fans to discover.

We did our best to create a fair representation of the scene with our selections, but some of the artists became so popular for a reason — and one in particular had three albums we chose for this list.

Scroll through the album covers below to see which album we picked as the best grunge release for each year from 1987 to 1996.