100 Best Rock Bands of the '90s
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'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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20. The Offspring
#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.
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.
© 2019 Ansel Pereira
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.