Grunge

Grunge on vinyl: the sound of Seattle

In short: Grunge emerged from the mid-eighties in the American Northwest, with Seattle at its centre, and combined the energy of punk with heavy, distorted guitars and raw vocals; the Sub Pop label made many of the city’s bands known. With Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, grunge reached charts around the world in 1991. The Vinyl Room currently has 14 grunge records.

What is grunge?

Seattle at the centre: Nirvana are represented with the 30th anniversary edition of “Nevermind”, plus “In Utero”, the album “Nirvana” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; Soundgarden with “Superunknown” and Hole with “Live Through This”.

Alongside them come Stone Temple Pilots with “Core”, the soundtrack to the film “Singles”, which is set in Seattle, and Foo Fighters – the band of former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl – with “There Is Nothing Left To Lose”. Under this style tag we also have Dizzy Mizz Lizzy from Denmark.

What to look for

Many grunge albums were later reissued on vinyl, for example for anniversaries; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

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→ Nirvana · Alternative rock · Sub Pop · Rock on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

Where does grunge come from? From the American Northwest, above all Seattle, from the mid-eighties; the worldwide breakthrough came in 1991.

Which label shaped grunge? Above all Sub Pop from Seattle.

Which album made grunge famous worldwide? Nirvana’s “Nevermind” from 1991.

Which grunge records do you have? Here, for example, Nirvana’s “In Utero” and Soundgarden’s “Superunknown”.