VH1 Classic Albums - Nirvana Nevermind (1991)

In 1991, a little unknown band from Seattle stormed on the music scene with an album that set the tone for industry. This album took an aggressive, punk attitude, tempered it a raw sound borrowed from heavy metal, and combined it all with catchy, pop-friendly hooks. This unlikely combination melded influences like Black Flag, with a sonic palette reminiscent of early Black Sabbath, and simple, but very effective rhythmic hooks and melodies that would fit right in on an early Beatles record. Somehow, the talents of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl, under the guidance of producer Butch Vig brought all these divergent ideas together into something new that captured the imagination and the zeitgeist of an entire generation.

That album was Nevermind.

4th of July - Soundgarden (1994)

Grunge is a very hard to define sub-genre- simply because it encompassed a wide range of styles. Nirvana had a clear punk/hardcore influence, Pearl Jam a strong classic rock influence- almost complete opposites. Soundgarden, one of the other major names in the Grunge scene, had a sound that was strongly influenced by heavy metal - particularly the doom/sludge sub-genres and a healthy dose of psychedelic rock. So, just considering three of the biggest Grunge bands, we have three wildly varying styles of music under one banner.

The key to Grunge, I think, is found in the attitude and the lyrical content rather than in the  sound and style of the music itself. Grunge, I think, distinguishes itself by having the point of view of disillusioned youth. Topics such as depression, broken families, frustration with authority, and youthful angst are the hallmark and the unifying factor. Soundgarden clearly demonstrates this idea with the song "4th of July" from their 1994 album "Superunknown."

Nirvana - Nevermind 20th Anniversary Edition coming in September 2011

Nirvana released the original Nevermind album in September of 1991, and turned the entire music industry on it's head. The album has become the iconic grunge album, and, in the minds of many, it gave a voice to an entire generation that, until then had almost no voice whatsoever. It's overnight rise also laid the groundwork for the band's equally rapid, and tragic demise. Kurt Cobain, the band's singer and primary songwriter, had a great deal of personal demons associated with the band's sudden fame, and those demons are believed to be one of the main motivations of his 1994 suicide.

Now, 20 years after Nevermind's landmark release, the album that heralded the downfall of the hair bands, and the rise of an underground scene, has clearly left an indelible mark on the music industry, and on our musical culture in general. To celebrate the incredible impact this album had, a 20th Anniversary edition will be released in September of 2011.

Ten - Pearl Jam (1991)

The band that would become Pearl Jam started out with two former members of Mother Love Bone, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, and bassist Jeff Ament, along with former Shadows lead guitarist Mike McCready. The trio recorded a demo as instrumental tracks, and distributed it, in hopes of finding a singer who could put lyrics to them. This demo ended up in the hands of a gas station attendant from San Diego named Eddie Vedder, who recorded vocal tracks for three songs which would become "Alive," "Once," and "Footsteps," and sent his tape back up to Seattle. He got the job.

With the addition of drummer Dave Krusen (who would later be replaced by Matt Chamberlain, then finally Dave Abbruzzese), the band "Mookie Blaylock" was born, and began to record their first album.