The ‘Big 4’ Bands of Grunge + Post-Grunge

To give a better comparison between the two subgenres, we compiled a list of the “Big 4” bands of both grunge and post-grunge.

It should go without saying that grunge came before post-grunge, but many of the bands who are considered part of the latter group actually formed around the time that grunge was at its peak. There isn’t a clear-cut timeline of when either style started and ended, so everyone has different perspectives on which groups fall under which umbrella.

Our own parameters for grunge are that the bands had to have formed in the late ’80s or early ’90s, their debut albums came out before 1993 and they had to have met certain sonic characteristics (distortion, introspective songwriting, moody sound).

READ MORE: Where Did the Word ‘Grunge’ Come From?

Thus, post-grunge bands’ first albums came out in or after 1993, when grunge was at its height in terms of popularity. The music is somewhat similar to grunge sonically, but was more polished, had less distortion and was more radio-friendly — so no odd time signatures, intense fuzz and other impurities that grunge often had.

If those descriptions aren’t clear enough for you, then keep scrolling to see the bands we consider the Big 4 of grunge and the Big 4 of post-grunge so that you can get a better idea of which artists fit which label and why.

Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1990s

Check out Loudwire’s ’30 Years of Grunge’ playlist on YouTube!