Yes, I know Nirvana exploded in late '91 and had a #1 record only a few months later, but it wasn't until the end of '92 that Pearl Jam really started gaining momentum and Alice in Chains released their biggest album. Soundgarden didn't even have a hit until 1994, and the Smashing Pumpkins (which I know weren't grunge, but epitomized the alternative scene) reached their peak years later in 1996. Hair metal also didn't completely die out immediately, as Def Leppard and Bon Jovi still had platinum records as late as '93. But I know grunge changed the landscape drastically, so when did it get to the forefront?

Grunge is a late 1991-94 thing I'd say.

To add something, I don't believe in decadeology since it usually is never accurate. To get to the point Nirvana's Nevermind represented grunge's takeover of the mainstream, Kurt Cobain's death marked the end of the genre.

Yes, I know Nirvana exploded in late '91 and had a #1 record only a few months later, but it wasn't until the end of '92 that Pearl Jam really started gaining momentum and Alice in Chains released their biggest album. Soundgarden didn't even have a hit until 1994, and the Smashing Pumpkins (which I know weren't grunge, but epitomized the alternative scene) reached their peak years later in 1996. Hair metal also didn't completely die out immediately, as Def Leppard and Bon Jovi still had platinum records as late as '93. But I know grunge changed the landscape drastically, so when did it get to the forefront?
It never dominated popular music in the early to mid 90's. When grunge or alternative was popular there was R&B acts and Euro-Dance acts that were on top of the charts. I won;t doubt that grunge or alternative held a part in the music scene from late 1991-1996 but it never dominated like people think it did during that time.

BTW, Soundgarden I think were popular in late 91or at least 1992 because they released "Badmotorfinger" in 1991.

As far as the grunge trend itself it was probably started to became popular in late 91 that it started and died somewhere in 1996. I think with the Spice Girls debuting in 1997 in the US that put Grunge on its final death knoll.

As far as alternative itself there was Alternative Rock in the 80's but I think it died somewhere in between 2003-2005. You could say Alternative died in 2003 when rap music became popular with 50 Cent or the 2005 releases of Green Day "American Idiot" and "The Killers" "Hot Fuss" album.

It never dominated popular music in the early to mid 90's. When grunge or alternative was popular there was R&B acts and Euro-Dance acts that were on top of the charts. I won;t doubt that grunge or alternative held a part in the music scene from late 1991-1996 but it never dominated like people think it did during that time.

BTW, Soundgarden I think were popular in late 91or at least 1992 because they released "Badmotorfinger" in 1991.

As far as the grunge trend itself it was probably started to became popular in late 91 that it started and died somewhere in 1996. I think with the Spice Girls debuting in 1997 in the US that put Grunge on its final death knoll.

As far as alternative itself there was Alternative Rock in the 80's but I think it died somewhere in between 2003-2005. You could say Alternative died in 2003 when rap music became popular with 50 Cent or the 2005 releases of Green Day "American Idiot" and "The Killers" "Hot Fuss" album.


Yeah grunge I think dominated '90s rock but to say it dominated popular music is false acts like TLC and Boyz II Men did better on the singles charts and sold just as many albums as Nirvana. Of course post-grunge followed and made a much bigger impact on the pop singles charts than the actual grunge and you did have a lot of alternative/grunge influenced pop acts. However '90s rock yes = alternative/grunge, but pop music is a different story. '90s pop had a mix of influences and is not so easy to nail down.

Yeah, I think tv and Brian nailed it pretty well.

I'll also say even though alot of landmark grunge albums came out in 1991 (especially towards the end of the year), I think it was actually '93/94 before it really took over music and fashion. Some of that is based on my own memories of kids at school or people I knew. That was also when synthpop, hair metal and any other '80s holdover artists like Phil Collins were pretty much fading away.

^Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Grunge took off around late 1991/early 1992, but it was a bit later before it really became the dominant type of rock music. Hair metal was still a fairly big deal in 1992 (Motley Crue even had a video game come out that year), so I would say the period around 1993-1996 was when "true" grunge was at it's peak.

Grunge never dominated popular music.  It just existed with other genres of music.  I can't speak for America, but I know in Canada, even thogh Grunge was very popular, I remember dance music dominating the 90s more than anything else

"When exactly did grunge begin to dominate popular music?"

7am... on a Tuesday... in August.


A hardcore grunge fan will get that answer.

Ant

To add something, I don't believe in decadeology since it usually is never accurate. To get to the point Nirvana's Nevermind represented grunge's takeover of the mainstream, Kurt Cobain's death marked the end of the genre.


This isn't decadeology, it's cultural observance.

But yeah, 91' to 95', even if Hair/Glam was still around.

Don't take this too seriously from me, because I was born in October 1991 :-X. But believe me, I'm a huge fan of both grunge and history in general, so I believe I can say that I have a fair idea of "the times".

Basically, from movies, TV, media in general, I've always viewed it this way: Nirvana, as we all know, broke in late 91, and for the rest of that year, they were really the only well known grunge band. Though Pearl Jam and Soundgarden (Ten and Badmotorfinger, respectively) around the same time, the others weren't really given the MTV and radio treatment Nirvana was. Then throughout 92, those bands (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc.) all began to slowly get known thanks in part to movies like Singles, though there was still a lot of 80s influence. By 93 and 94, they were all known and it had reflected culture in general, like the way people dressed. I always thought that even though Kurt died in early 94, the whole grunge/alternative thing didn't really go away until maybe early 96? Though I understand that his death marked the end of the "high" grunge era (making a stupid Renaissance reference), bands like Candlebox, Seven Mary Three, Bush, Stone Temple Pilots, Silverchair, Sponge, and even Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins continued to enjoy tons of success. A lot of people say the whole grunge culture and dress (flannel, Doc Martins, etc) went out around Cobain's suicide, but just look at that one early scene in Clueless where the three of them are walking on the way to school. Pay attention to the people in the background. A lot of them have that grungey/alternative look to them. I know that that's a strange movie to compare it too, but it does show the impact it had on our culture. From 96-97 it kind of started to die slowly, and by mid 97 with the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys it was gone.

So basically, what I always thought: 91 -> just Nirvana. 92 -> others started to get exposure. 93-94 -> peak. 95-> still in existance but in decline. mid-96-> end

It's pretty obvious 1991 is the starting point, and I think it's still around now. Turn on any rock station, it's not that different from how it was in 1991, only it's less good.

Don't take this too seriously from me, because I was born in October 1991 :-X. But believe me, I'm a huge fan of both grunge and history in general, so I believe I can say that I have a fair idea of "the times".

Basically, from movies, TV, media in general, I've always viewed it this way: Nirvana, as we all know, broke in late 91, and for the rest of that year, they were really the only well known grunge band. Though Pearl Jam and Soundgarden (Ten and Badmotorfinger, respectively) around the same time, the others weren't really given the MTV and radio treatment Nirvana was. Then throughout 92, those bands (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc.) all began to slowly get known thanks in part to movies like Singles, though there was still a lot of 80s influence. By 93 and 94, they were all known and it had reflected culture in general, like the way people dressed. I always thought that even though Kurt died in early 94, the whole grunge/alternative thing didn't really go away until maybe early 96? Though I understand that his death marked the end of the "high" grunge era (making a stupid Renaissance reference), bands like Candlebox, Seven Mary Three, Bush, Stone Temple Pilots, Silverchair, Sponge, and even Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins continued to enjoy tons of success. A lot of people say the whole grunge culture and dress (flannel, Doc Martins, etc) went out around Cobain's suicide, but just look at that one early scene in Clueless where the three of them are walking on the way to school. Pay attention to the people in the background. A lot of them have that grungey/alternative look to them. I know that that's a strange movie to compare it too, but it does show the impact it had on our culture. From 96-97 it kind of started to die slowly, and by mid 97 with the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys it was gone.

So basically, what I always thought: 91 -> just Nirvana. 92 -> others started to get exposure. 93-94 -> peak. 95-> still in existance but in decline. mid-96-> end
Yeah I grew up on grunge(well the 1995-1996 period of it, I was 15 and 16 in 1995)and yeah Grunge did die somehere in 1996. True, with the Spice Girls coming out in the US in early 1997 that sealed Grunge's fate right there. I also credit Puff Daddy and Will Smith with those 2 being big in 1997 with sealing grunge's fate also.

Bands like "Collective Soul" and "Better Than Ezra" had succcess from 1994-1996 too.

^ Yeah I agree. I think I heard that about the Spice Girls once too, about them making grunge less popular (even if it was already kinda fading).


I think Mike is right on in what he said too. :) That's how I remember it, and from what I've observed or read later on. I think looking at songs on the charts (or watching tv and movies) is always a good indication.

Don't take this too seriously from me, because I was born in October 1991 :-X. But believe me, I'm a huge fan of both grunge and history in general, so I believe I can say that I have a fair idea of "the times".

Basically, from movies, TV, media in general, I've always viewed it this way: Nirvana, as we all know, broke in late 91, and for the rest of that year, they were really the only well known grunge band. Though Pearl Jam and Soundgarden (Ten and Badmotorfinger, respectively) around the same time, the others weren't really given the MTV and radio treatment Nirvana was. Then throughout 92, those bands (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc.) all began to slowly get known thanks in part to movies like Singles, though there was still a lot of 80s influence. By 93 and 94, they were all known and it had reflected culture in general, like the way people dressed. I always thought that even though Kurt died in early 94, the whole grunge/alternative thing didn't really go away until maybe early 96? Though I understand that his death marked the end of the "high" grunge era (making a stupid Renaissance reference), bands like Candlebox, Seven Mary Three, Bush, Stone Temple Pilots, Silverchair, Sponge, and even Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins continued to enjoy tons of success. A lot of people say the whole grunge culture and dress (flannel, Doc Martins, etc) went out around Cobain's suicide, but just look at that one early scene in Clueless where the three of them are walking on the way to school. Pay attention to the people in the background. A lot of them have that grungey/alternative look to them. I know that that's a strange movie to compare it too, but it does show the impact it had on our culture. From 96-97 it kind of started to die slowly, and by mid 97 with the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys it was gone.

So basically, what I always thought: 91 -> just Nirvana. 92 -> others started to get exposure. 93-94 -> peak. 95-> still in existance but in decline. mid-96-> end



Yeah, that's pretty much how I see it too.

The very beginnings of grunge could be traced to around 1989 or 1990, with early Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog and Nirvana themselves, but alot of those bands along with early alternative rock groups like RHCP/Spin Doctors/etc. really got almost no exposure until "Nevermind" broke the genre wide open in the fall of 1991.

As far as when it died off, I would also say around 1996. It was already starting to drop in popularity and most people agree that it was essentially finished by the time Soundgarden broke up in 1997.