10 More Perfect Grunge Albums With No Bad Songs

In the north western corner of Washington State, U.S.A. rests the sprawling metropolis of Seattle. Far removed from sunny California, it's an area inundated with cold winters and wet summers. During the '80s there was little to do in the surrounding area for young adolescents. With major acts often skipping out this dreary part of the country, the music hungry youth set about developing a music scene of their own.

The Seattle Sound, otherwise known as grunge, was born out of a desire for musical identify. Hair metal groups cavorting about on the Sunset Strip were the furthest thing from relatable. Instead, hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and sludge metal pioneers like the Melvins were the sources of inspiration.

Grunge combined the anti-authoritarian aggression of punk with the relentless drive of metal. The late '80s and early '90s saw the genre move from the underground into the mainstream, with the defining moment coming when Nirvana's Nevermind dethroned the King of Pop from the 1991 Billboard 200.

But grunge has much more to offer than just Nirvana and Pearl Jam. These albums represent grunge from its early conception, to its modern day evolution.

By the 1980s Black Flag were the biggest group on the underground hardcore scene. When Henry Rollins joined in '81 they began releasing studio albums. Their debut was hailed as the holy grail of hardcore, nothing came close to the speed or aggression it exhibited.

But the group's follow up saw them adopt a heavier, sludgier tone, less inline with their signature sound. Although it divided fans - many of whom saw it as a betrayal of the hardcore ethos - My War went onto be one of the most influential rock albums of the '80s. Most notably due to its influence on grunge.

The title track remained fairly well rooted in the hardcore sound, but tracks like I Can't Decide and Nothing Left Inside played with styles reminiscent of Black Sabbath. It was the sound of punk morphing into grunge in real time.

A young Kurt Cobain was turned onto Black Flag by Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne. During a live concert Rollins' wild energy and the group's ominous, almost oppressive sound made a marked impression on the future Nirvana frontman. It was the catalysts needed for Cobain to form his own group. Listen to Nirvana's Bleach immediately after My War and it's not hard to fill in the gaps.