Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the ’90s
The below list of the Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the '90s reflects a decade of transition and evolution in music. Several of the groups feature are holdovers - bands that hit commercial heights in the ‘80s and continued to ride that wave of success into the following decade. Still, many more are newcomers, groups that formed in the ‘90s and quickly reached the national stage.
Following the hair-metal spandex extravagance of the previous decade, the ‘90s ushered in a new brand of rock: grunge. Fusing elements of punk and metal with a counterculture perspective, the genre brought a rush of new bands to the forefront of music, including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Grunge turned Seattle into the nation’s rock hotbed and influenced all avenues of pop culture.
Still, grunge wasn’t the only sound of the era. Many other subgenres emerged in the ‘90s, including industrial, pop-punk and nu-metal. Technological achievements brought music into the digital age, with computers becoming an instrument in their own right. Meanwhile, hip-hop’s ascent to the mainstream caused a ripple effect throughout music, with many rock bands fusing rap elements into their own distinctive style.
Our list focuses on only American bands, so artists from the Britpop invasion - such as Radiohead, Oasis and Blur - won’t be included. Solo artists were also excluded, leaving acts like Bruce Springsteen and Beck out in the cold. Even with these rules in place, whittling it down to just 30 bands proved to be quite a tall task, as you'll see in the below list of the Top 30 American Classic Rock Bands of the '90s.