As with most subgenres of rock music, grunge is somewhat ill-defined. Some regard it as a regional tag that is only applicable to bands from Washington. Indeed, it was certainly coined as a descriptor in Seattle, but then why do we call the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young the ‘Godfather of Grunge’? There must be a sonic thread that binds it all together.

Young, known for his emotional acoustic balladry and vocal harmonies with Crosby, Stills and Nash, earned his title thanks to a guitar sound he developed with his backing band, Crazy Horse. The heavily distorted electric guitar sound surfaced in the band’s 1975 album Zuma and became a popular aspect of the live show. Four years later, Neil Young and Crazy Horse released the live track ‘Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)’, often deemed the first grunge song, on Rust Never Sleeps.

Young’s work with Crazy Horse certainly had its impact on the post-punk movement, especially in the fuzzy enclaves of noise rock and hardcore. Following this evolutionary thread into the 1980s and early ’90s, we arrive at the sound of heavyweight grunge proponents like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Melvins.

Many of the so-called grunge artists in the Seattle scene were essentially neo-metal bands with hard rock influences dating back far beyond the punk movement. In Nirvana’s case, Kurt Cobain had his fingers in almost every conceivable pie, from The Stooges and Buzzcocks to R.E.M. and Sonic Youth.

Another band whom Cobain greatly admired was Pixies. When Nirvana finished recording their masterpiece, Nevermind, bassist Krist Novoselic remembered thinking: “This really sounds like the Pixies. People are really going to nail us for this.” Although the band got away with any derivative qualities, Black Francis called Nirvana out on it in a 2013 interview with Reuters: “I’ll admit it — if Kurt Cobain’ fessed up to it, fuck it, I’ll agree with it, you ripped us off.”

It is not difficult to hear the influence of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle on Nirvana’s sound. For whatever reason, be that distance from Seattle or a sonic nuance, Pixies are not widely regarded as a grunge band. Therefore, I am afraid they will not feature on the list of the five most essential masterpieces in the genre below.

Five essential grunge albums:

Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)

I imagine there would be a hefty bounty on my head if I didn’t include this classic from Nirvana. It was by no means the first grunge album in the Seattle scene, nor was the music entirely original, but I challenge you to find a more iconic and influential album from the 1990s. Inspired by the sound of contemporaries like Pixies, Melvins and The Smithereens, Cobain brought his vocal and lyrical A-game to this consummate product.

Nevermind benefitted from productional nuances that gave it the edge on the previous album, Bleach. For this, Nirvana had Butch Vig to thank. Besides the enduring singles ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Come As You Are’, the album is bolstered by variety, from the incendiary ‘Territorial Pissings’ to the slow, brooding ‘Something In The Way’.

Soundgarden – Badmotorfinger (1991)

As budding proponents of the Seattle grunge scene, Soundgarden ensured that 1991 was a year to remember. Though it’s perhaps not quite as commercially accessible as Nirvana’s Nevermind, Badmotorfinger is an absolute essential, considered by most fans as the band’s high watermark. Thanks to a more attacking pace and Chris Cornell’s enraged vocals, Soundgarden lands on the heavy metal side of the grunge spectrum with this one.

Badmotorfinger is the most consistent Soundgarden offering and a great starting point for newcomers to their catalogue. In highlight moments like ‘Outshined’, ‘Rusty Cage’ and ‘Jesus Christ Pose’, influences in classic metal such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin are immediately apparent. However, flavours of punk, hardcore, and neo-psychedelia make this a highly original and innovative record.

PJ Harvey – Rid of Me (1993)

Grunge is a loose term that often has us imagining Seattle stoners with long, greasy hair and garbed in calculated homeless chic. PJ Harvey, the beautiful phenomenon from Dorset, England, might not fit this image, but some of her early music certainly did. For over three decades, Harvey has maintained consistency through several highly acclaimed albums that explore different sonic approaches. Her second album, 1993’s Rid of Me, is perhaps her overall masterpiece and certainly the greatest from her grunge-adjacent era.

Often praised among the decade’s finest rock releases, the album benefitted from a collaboration with grunge architect Steve Albini. The iconic producer ensured an intense drum sound that helped to elevate the intensity of highlight songs like ‘Rid of Me’, ’50ft Queenie’ and ‘Missed’. “I was surprised at people’s positive reaction to Rid of Me,” Harvey once reflected. “I liked it, but I thought it was a very…difficult album. I thought people who had the first album wouldn’t like it.”

Alice in Chains – Dirt (1992)

Like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains brought the sound of heavy metal to the Seattle grunge scene in the early 1990s. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell and vocalist Layne Stanley co-founded the band in 1987 and began to create a sonic personality with dark, introspective, and often emotionally affecting songs. Stanley often addressed themes of pain, addiction, and existential instability, foreshadowing his tragic demise in 2002.

AIC struck a creative peak during the first half of the 1990s. This classic run for the band delivered several essentials, including Facelift, Sap and Jar of Flies. However, Dirt takes the top spot as the band’s most balanced and consistent album. Stanley’s heart-wrenching lyrics meet crashing soundscapes in an arresting harmony in prominent moments like ‘Them Bones’ and ‘Down in a Hole’.

Melvins – Houdini (1993)

As a school student, Kurt Cobain was a subversive misfit until he met fellow student Roger “Buzz” Osborne in electronics class. The frizzy-haired kid introduced Cobain to the wonders of hardcore punk and the music of bands like Black Flag and Steve Albini’s formative band Big Black. Cobain’s friend went on to found Melvins in 1983 and gained a cult following in Washington State through the remainder of the decade.

During his meteoric rise to fame with Bleach and Nevermind, Cobain was sure to list his most pivotal influences as a musician. These ranged from Leadbelly to R.E.M., but the frontman always saved a place for Melvins. Melvins initially teamed up with Cobain as their producer for 1993’s Houdini, but sadly, the Nirvana frontman was prematurely dismissed from the project due to his spiralling mental state. Despite Cobain’s limited contributions, the album has become the band’s most iconic of the grunge era and a fine slice of sludge metal.