Every 'Big 4' Grunge Album, Ranked Worst to Best

See our ranking of every “Big 4” grunge album from worst to best.

Thrash may have their “Big 4,” but so does grunge — Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden — and they all were responsible for putting the Seattle sound on the scene in the early ’90s and dominating the music world for a little over half the decade.

The four groups all enjoyed their biggest successes in the ’90s, though three of the four groups continued to put out records in the 21st century. Alice In Chains recruited William DuVall a few years after the death of Layne Staley and have released three albums with him, Soundgarden regrouped in the 2010s and shared King Animal (2012), whereas Pearl Jam never stopped releasing new material.

The collective works of all four bands helped pave the way for a rawer and often darker sound that permeated the early to mid ’90s, influencing a wealth of acts and flipping the music world on its ear.

So join us as we take a closer look at the works of Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and how they stack up against each other below. The records are ranked from worst to best, though we would argue that there really are no bad apples of the bunch.