10 Perfect Grunge Rock Albums Of The 90s

5. Purple - Stone Temple Pilots

With years of hindsight, it still feels like the rock community doesn't know what to do with Stone Temple Pilots. Though it's easy to put them into the grunge category when you first hear them, the fact that they were late bloomers and came from San Diego made them look like they were riding a trend instead of being authentically alternative. One thing that most can agree on though is that they did manage to have one classic on their hands.

Which is strange when you even try to call something like Purple a grunge album. While there are a ton of grunge songs on here like Meatplow and Vasoline, this record takes a lot of twists and turns that most of the alternative scene wasn't prepared for. After something like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Interstate Love Song might be the most radio friendly grunge song ever made, almost sounding like if the Eagles had written a song with the Pixies.

These guys could also really play, with Dean and Robert DeLeo trading licks back and forth on bass and guitar to give the whole album a feeling of a band jamming in a rehearsal space. Even though grunge is known for being written by a bunch of loners who jam in their basement, this is what happens when the genre was ready for the stadiums of the world.