10 Most Hated Grunge Albums Of All Time
Losing Goodwill One Riff at a Time.
The arrival of grunge could not have come at a better time for the rock mainstream. After the long and slow decay of the hair metal scene, the era of flannel shirts, no real gimmicks, and letting the music do the talking was something that was sorely needed in the music world at the time. Even though the stars aligned for bands from Seattle to get famous, there was also a fair bit of scorn thrown at some of these records.
As opposed to something like Nevermind by Nirvana or Dirt by Alice in Chains, these albums were treated with absolute hatred from the moment it came across fans' eardrums. But what really makes these all that bad? Well, some of it might come down to the fact that some of the grunge acts' lack of talent, with cuts that feel like they're almost intentionally kneecapping themselves. On the other side of the spectrum, there was also the faint whiff of the older generation of rock, whose attempt at grunge made for some of the most cringey riffs of all time.
That doesn't necessarily exclude the post grunge either, with many acts at the turn of the century making a mockery of what made the original scene from Seattle so great. From misunderstood gems to all out flops, these are the records left fans angry, confused, and all kinds of frustrated throughout their duration.
10. Speedin Bullet To Heaven - Kid Cudi
It feels strange even putting an album like this on a list of grunge albums. Given the pedigree he has as a space-centric figure in the world of hip hop and R&B, there's not really too many connections between Kid Cudi and the world of '90s rock. However, he does have one grunge album to his name...and those who have listened to it still have the scars to prove it.
Looking to reinvent himself as a rockstar after his series of projects in the Man on the Moon series, Cudi decided to go into the studio and crank out some down and dirty rock and roll. Though there had be a little bit of rock on his albums from a production standpoint, this is some of the most hollow grunge rock you can find. You can tell that Cudi has clearly been an admirer of groups like Nirvana in the past, and yet the execution of these styles make him sound like he's doing the base level job of what he thinks a rock star is supposed to do.
That's before even getting to the inner workings of this record, which feature some of Cudi's most off-kilter singing in an attempt to be "authentic" and even a few appearances from Mike Judge doing Beavis and Butterhead color commentary to what's happening in the track listing. There's no problem with reaching for new influences all the time...just make sure that you at least have a handle on them before you release it though.