100 Best Rock Bands of the '90s

Author:
Ansel Pereira
Updated date:
Mar 17, 2022

I have been an online writer for over six years. I am passionate about books, philosophy, music, and the music industry.

Learn the best bands of the 1990s!
Stas Knop

'90s Bands

The '90s witnessed a new awakening in rock music. The glam metal scene, which dominated the '80s music industry, faded away as the grunge revolution came to prominence. New alternative genres grew in prominence. The epic sound often associated with mainstream rock bands was now prevalent in non-mainstream acts.

While hard rock and heavy metal continued to enjoy mainstream success, it was alternative rock that became the defining musical movement of the '90s. The alternative scene became hugely popular and spawned a new era in music.

Top 10 Best Rock Bands of the '90s

Nirvana
Alice In Chains
Soundgarden
Green Day
Radiohead
Pearl Jam
R.E.M
Foo Fighters
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Pantera

Best Rock Bands of the '90s #11–20

11. Metallica

12. Guns N' Roses

13. Blink-182

14. Oasis

15. U2

16. Nine Inch Nails

17. Queen

18. Weezer

19. No Doubt

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#21–40

21. The Wallflowers

22. Rage Against The Machine

23. The Cranberries

24. Slayer

25. My Bloody Valentine

26. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

27. Stone Temple Pilots

28. Korn

29. Pavement

30. Anthrax

31. Blur

32. The Smashing Pumpkins

33. The Verve

34. Pixies

35. Bush

36. Jane's Addiction

37. The Lemonheads

38. The Flaming Lips

39. Goo Goo Dolls

40. Sonic Youth

#41–60

41. Dream Theater

42. Blind Melon

43. Garbage

44. Megadeth

45. Pulp

46. Aerosmith

47. Faith No More

48. Dave Matthews Band

49. Live

50. Tool

51. Silverchair

52. Counting Crows

53. Emperor

54. Creed

55. Hootie & The Blowfish

56. Bon Jovi

57. Incubus

58. Testament

59. Collective Soul

60. Helmet

#61–80

61. Sublime

52. Third Eye Blind

63. AC/DC

64. Our Lady Peace

65. Primus

66. Bad Religion

67. Extreme

68. Scorpions

69. Blues Traveller

70. Van Halen

71. Sepultura

72. The Black Crowes

73. Def Leppard

74. Soul Asylum

75. Candlebox

76. Matchbox 20

77. Skid Row

78. The Cardigans

79. White Zombie

80. Spin Doctors

#81–100

81. Meshuggah

82. 311

83. Mudhoney

84. Fear Factory

85. Barenaked Ladies

86. Sleater-Kinney

87. Mr. Big

88. Limp Bizkit

89. Death

90. Firehouse

91. Ministry

92. Semisonic

93. Motorhead

94. Guided By Voices

95. Napalm Death

96. Opeth

97. Warrant

98. Marylin Manson

99. Everclear

100. Crash Test Dummies

Other Notable Rock Bands of the '90s

The Breeders
Portishead
Deftones
Blind Guardian
Cake
The Stone Roses
Gin Blossoms
Filter
Smash Mouth
Better Than Ezra
KMFDM
Tonic
Hole
4 Non Blondes
Yo La Tengo
Ben Folds Five
Carcass
Rollins Band
The Jesus Lizard
In Flames
Soul Coughing
Judas Priest
Sugar Ray
Godsmack
Queensryche
Dokken
Built To Spill
Unleashed
Sebadoh
The President of United States of America
Fastball
Poison
Superchunk
Iron Maiden
Ugly Kid Joe
Cannibal Corpse
Dismember
Ammonia
Steelheart
Danzig
Rush
Slaughter
Rancid
Marcy Playground
Suffocation
BoDeans
Iced Earth
New Radicals
Wilco
Failure
Screaming Trees

Matthew Good Band
Thunder
Obituary
Social Distortion
Danger Danger
The Charlatans
Belly
Deep Blue Something
Winger
Amorphis
Overkill
Dio
At The Gates
Cinderella
Entombed
Skunk Anansie
Kiss
Whitesnake
Exodus
Manowar
Cracker
Buffalo Tom
Vertical Horizon
Len
Stryper
Britny Fox
Kula Shaker
Grave
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
Kix
Pariah
Kreator
L.A. Guns
Bolt Thrower
Suicidal Tendencies
Destruction
Quiet Riot
Heloween
Corrosion of Conformity
The Tea Party
Edge of Sanity
Sponge
Reel Big Fish
Paradise Lost
Eels
Superdrag
Dark Tranquility
White Lion
Motley Crue
Therion
Saigon Kick
Toad the Wet Sprocket

Behemoth
L7
The Folk Implosion
Dangerous Toys
Nuclear Assault
Type O Negative
Incantation
Shudder To Think
Gun
Citizen King
Trixter
Ratt
Machine Head
Vio-Lence
Love/Hate
Symphony X
Butthole Surfers
Archers of Loaf
Sense Field
W.A.S.P.
Rammstein
Nine Days
Children of Bodom
Gamma Ray
BulletBoys
Divinyls
Sacred Reich
Carbon Leaf
Suede
Three Fish
Voivod
Heart
Vixen
Jars of Clay
Vader
Forbidden
The Afghan Whigs
Lit
Blessed Union of Souls
Great White
Living Colour
Tankard
World Party
Muse
Deicide
Annihilator
Night Ranger
Travis
Enuff Z’Nuff
Primitive Radio Gods

Punk-Rock Bands of the '90s

Punk-rock arrangements evolved significantly in the '90s. With the emergence of independent record labels, a number of bands associated with the punk genre were able to release albums and find a cult following.

"Skate punk" subculture gained prominence in the mid-'90s. Suddenly, the subculture broke into the mainstream, defying all norms associated with music. Major record companies started taking a keen interest in skate punk and pop-punk bands. Punk rock witnessed a phenomenal resurgence, which paved the way for a slick-new commercial pop-punk sound.

Rock music in the '90s was a diverse amalgamation of musical influences that helped frontier the modern rock sound. The decade is long gone, but you can still see its influence on today's culture.

Heavy Metal Bands of the '90s

A number of metal subgenres that had developed through the '80s garnered a cult following in the '90s. Thrash metal bands and speed metal bands had considerable success in the '90s. The riff structures and technical sophistication employed by thrash bands and speed metal bands are often regarded as the inspiration for death metal and black metal.

The decade witnessed certain metal bands achieve critical acclaim and mainstream success. In the mid-90s, industrial metal came alive with stinging venom. A number of American industrial metal bands had commercial success throughout the decade.

Indie Rock Bands of the '90s

The term "indie rock" was assigned to bands and genres that remained underground. Although not many indie rock bands were able to achieve mainstream success in the '90s, the underground scene catapulted the indie rock sound to a new level, helping stem one of the biggest musical movements in history.

Indie rock bands of the '90s played a major role in helping shape the modern indie rock sound. A number of present-day indie bands cite the '90s indie scene as path-breaking. These complex songs inspired new musicians to innovate the genre even more.

Post-Grunge Rock Bands of the '90s

As the popularity of grunge started fading away, its influence was still present in the highly distorted guitar parts of late '90s rock. This new wave of bands started being associated with the term "post-grunge," often used as an umbrella term to describe their music. The post-grunge bands of the '90s helped pioneer a new sound, which became the signature sound of bands associated with the genre post-2000.

Hard Rock Bands of the '90s

Although the decline of glam metal came with the arrival of alternative rock and grunge in the '90s, few bands associated with hard rock and glam metal in the '80s continued their success stories into the early '90s. A number of hard rock bands reinvented themselves, bringing new sounds to the public's attention while staying true to the roots of metal.

While many hard rock bands adopted a heavier sound, influenced by the grunge scene of the '90s, certain bands continued writing melodic albums. Few hard rock bands had considerable success with rock ballads early in the decade. A new wave of hard rock bands came to the forefront of the public's attention, wowing fans with a blend of traditional metal elements combined with non-mainstream influences.

100-best-rock-bands-of-the-90s — Sub Pop Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Alternative Rock Bands and Grunge Bands of the '90s

The introduction of alternative rock music genres made pathways for bands that previously had no category. Indeed, alternative rock reigned supreme in this decade. The alternative movement had a global impact that helped a number of acts achieve mainstream success.

A number of bands started experimenting by fusing elements of heavy metal and alternative rock, thereby giving birth to alternative metal. A number of alternative songs made their way onto the mainstream rock charts. A large number of radio stations in the U.S. had a dedicated time slot for alternative music. MTV promoted alt-rock in a big way through various music segments. Alt-rock had arrived. It only grew bigger in the days to come.

Grunge, a subgenre of alternative rock, became exceedingly popular in the '90s. The grunge blueprint spread its wings globally and helped a number of bands come to the forefront of the public's attention. The early grunge movement, also referred to as the "Seattle sound," started with the underground music scene in Seattle. Sub Pop, an independent record label started in 1986, helped popularize the grunge movement by signing a number of emerging Seattle bands.

Throughout the '90s, grunge spread its roots globally, building a strong following among fans. A number of grunge bands achieved commercial success with their albums. Some of the highest-selling albums of the '90s were by grunge bands. Although the grunge movement faded into oblivion towards the late '90s, the subgenre has had a profound influence on modern rock music, post-grunge, and nu-metal in particular.

Comments

Josh on August 25, 2020:

Imagine not having sublime in the top 20. Must be moronic

Jam on August 25, 2020:

Rage against the machines 22? lol

RJ on August 09, 2020:

What about Jackyl? I was surprised it wasn't even listed

R on July 31, 2020:

What about Weezer?

T on July 22, 2020:

What about Nomeansno, Nofx, Bad Religion Rancid?? Nirvana is tired! Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam are better bands. Crash Test Dummies, Spin Doctors and Everclear are garbage bands!

Avid Mr. Big fan on July 17, 2020:

Mr. Big is the best!!!

Jason Peters on July 04, 2020:

Toadies

Hum

Self

God Lives Underwater

JC on June 20, 2020:

Tool at 50?! This list, no good

Joe Hatch on June 15, 2020:

Didn't see Days of the New

steve on May 10, 2020:

how is smashing pumpkins 32. they were easily the biggest band of the 90s

Lolol on May 04, 2020:

Linkin Park!? You didn't even mention!

BJK on May 03, 2020:

What about Fuel? Shimmer was a great tune...

JohnnyJLow on April 26, 2020:

Some omissions that should be on here to varying degrees:

- Beck

- Jimmies Chicken Shack

- Seven Mary Three

- Local H

- Brother Cane

Whats with all the Scandinavian metal and 70’s/80’s bands?

Jeff on April 23, 2020:

I'm glad you at least got down a lot of the significant bands but you're ranking system is so poor. Pantera over bands like U2 or oasis shows a real lack of understanding of the impact, significance and success of such groups

anonymous on February 20, 2020:

Nirvana and Alice and Chains are two of my favorites, but I am really surprised that another one of my favorites, Stone Temple Pilots is missing from this list.

Scott Cooney on January 03, 2020:

How can Spacehog not even be mentioned???? thats a crime

Pablo Fernandez on December 03, 2019:

Blink-182 is the best band out of this list.

Digger on November 23, 2019:

Van Halen

Ken on November 15, 2019:

Smashmouth??

Christopher Nowak on October 26, 2019:

I am more of a jazz fan but when I used to run competitively, I listened to TOTO (AFRICA), HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS (DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE?), FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE (STACY'S MOM) and FROZEN GHOST(DREAM COME TRUE).

Consequently, these are my favourite groups.

Unfortunately, all of these groups were more popular in other time periods.