Summary of The Best 90s Bands You Totally Forgot About
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AI Overview
Major 90s bands defined a diverse era of music, spanning grunge, Britpop, and alternative rock. Key icons included Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains (grunge), along with Oasis, Blur, and Radiohead (Britpop/alt-rock). Other major 1990s groups included The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and Weezer.
Iconic 90s Rock and Alternative Bands
Nirvana: Led the grunge movement with hits like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Pearl Jam: Seattle grunge pioneers famous for Ten.
Soundgarden: Known for complex, heavy sound and vocals by Chris Cornell.
The Smashing Pumpkins: Blended alternative with gothic rock.
Oasis: Leaders of the Britpop movement, known for “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”.
Radiohead: Shifted from alternative to experimental rock with OK Computer.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Funk-rock fusion that exploded in the 90s.
Green Day: Revitalized pop-punk with 1994’s Dookie.
Nine Inch Nails: Defined 90s industrial rock.
Weezer: Known for power-pop anthems and the Blue Album.
This video provides a ranking of some of the most iconic 90s rock bands:
57s
Jerry Bees
YouTube • Dec 10, 2025
Other Notable 90s Bands & Genres
Britpop: Blur, Pulp, The Verve.
Grunge/Alt-Rock: Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Garbage, Rage Against The Machine.
Pop-Punk/Skate Punk: Blink-182, The Offspring, NOFX.
Shoegaze/Indie: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Pavement.
Nu-Metal/Metal: Korn, Tool, Pantera, Sepultura.
Hip Hop Groups: Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest.
90s Bands by Type
Grunge: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney.
Britpop: Oasis, Blur, Pulp, The Verve.
Alt-Rock/Other: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Weezer, No Doubt.
Watch this video to discover some of the 90s rock bands that deserve more appreciation:
00:59
Bryson Andrew Davis
YouTube • Jan 22, 2026
These bands, often featured on MTV and radio during the decade, shaped the musical landscape of the 1990s and continue to influence modern music.
What are your top 15 favourite bands of the 1990s? : r/musicsuggestions
* Radiohead. * Weezer. * Oasis. * my bloody valentine. * Neutral Milk Hotel. * Slowdive. * Nirvana. * The Smashing Pumpkins. * Blu…
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The 25 Greatest ‘90s Bands And Artists – Forbes
Top Bands And Artists Of The 1990s * The Red Hot Chili Peppers. * Jeff Buckley. * Alanis Morissette. * Korn. * Pearl Jam. * The Sm…
Forbes
Who are your Top 12 Favorite 90s Rock Bands? : r/Music – Reddit
* Soundgarden. * Nine Inch Nails. * The Offspring. * Alice In Chains. * Stone Temple Pilots. * Pearl Jam. * Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Reddit
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The Best 90s Bands You Totally Forgot About
How blessed am I to have grown up during such a beautiful, innovative and important time in rock n’ roll: the 90s.
Sure, the boomers LOVED to bitch about grunge, electronic, alternative and industrial, but time has proven them wrong. Still, some bands we truly loved in the 90s sort of fell by the wayside in our minds in favor of the truly big guys — the Nirvanas, the Pearl Jams, etc.
I asked a few friends for their favorite largely forgotten 90s bands, and here’s just a small sampling of their answers. It’s crazy for me to remember that I had the ancient artifact, a CD, of all of these bands at one point.
Porno for Pyros
Jane’s Addiction was a hugely important 90s band, but we shouldn’t forget Perry Farrell’s next band, Porno for Pyros, a CD that I wore the hell out as a kid. While “Pets” was the single, “Tahitian Moon” holds up way better.
The Refreshments
The Refreshments deserve so much better than just being remembered as the King of the Hill theme song band. “Banditos” was a huge hit, and after hearing about 10 seconds of it, you’ll remember to remember all of the words.
Space Hog
I discovered this glam-nouveau band when they opened for Pearl Jam in Albuquerque. That was actually a 94.5 FMX giveaway trip that involved led to listeners getting s**t-housed and puking on the bus. Y’all thought I’d forget because I was a young teen. Nope, it’s seared into my memory for all time. “In the Meantime” is still a hopeful, beautiful song.
Sponge
I saw Sponge with my mom and dad (lol) at the Depot Warehouse, a venue that should have never been torn down. I said what I said. FMX still occasionally plays “Plowed,” because it still really, really rocks.
Prong
Prong was heavy but still managed to be fun. They really deserved to be much bigger than they ever got and I am puzzled as to why that didn’t happen. This video did make Beavis & Butthead, so they will always have that honor.
Placebo
Lead Brian Molko has that hauntingly beautiful androgynous look and vocals that made Placebo such a unique band. It somehow sounds perfectly 90s and current. That’s magic. Be forewarned: the crowd footage in this video will give you 90s fashion flashbacks.
Our Lady Peace
I learned from a friend that grew up in Canada that the radio up there is required to play a certain percentage of Canadian bands, so up there Our Lady Peace was HUGE. It probably didn’t hurt that front man Raine Maida is one of the most conventionally attractive rock stars ever. Here in the states, they had several hits that ranged from the very mall-pop “Clumsy” to the complex, rockin’ and lovely “Starseed.”
Veruca Salt
I have to end on my favorite forgotten band, Veruca Salt. I adored them very much as a kid and I still do. I spun circles in my room until I was dizzy singing along to their songs. That might explain some things.
Some runners-up, as I couldn’t include everything forgotton 90s: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soul Asylum, L7, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, Meat Puppets, Screaming Trees, Helmet, Sister Hazel, Union Underground, Tripping Daisy, Matthew Sweet, Better Than Ezra, Dinosaur Jr, Mazzy Star, and Local H.
Take a dive back into one of the very best decades of music.
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