10 ’90s Grunge Bands That Should Have Been Bigger

Grunge may have dominated the early '90s, but there are certain grunge bands that definitely should have had bigger careers.

Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden are all Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and with any justice, Alice in Chains will eventually join them. But there's so much more to grunge than just the "Flannel 4."

Some of the acts that have made this list actually achieved some commercial success, but it proved to be fleeting. Others achieved critical plaudits over their '90s run but never the financial returns that you would hope would come with it.

While Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were all crucial to building the "Seattle scene," Mudhoney often gets lost in that discussion but were right in the trenches doling out great albums for years.

And what of nearby Seattle rockers Screaming Trees who sat aside Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden's members on the Singles soundtrack and even scored a radio hit from it? Where were the bigger returns expected?

READ MORE: The 5 Best Grunge Album Openers of All-Time

It should also be noted that grunge wasn't Seattle-exclusive either as The Afghan Whigs lead a group of acts on this list hailing from other parts of the globe that showed promise but not the big commercials returns.

Simply put, commercial stardom for grunge acts was more an anomaly than the norm. In some cases, you can see exactly why certain bands didn't achieve bigger things while others remain somewhat of a mystery.

Check out 10 1990s Grunge Bands That Should Have Been Bigger below.

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