10 Best Grunge Guitarists

Whenever you’re talking about the many tremendous musicians of the ‘90s, Neil Young is near the very bottom of the list. His style of rootsy rock was something much more in line with the revolutionary ‘60s with Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills and Nash...so how is he involved with grunge? Yes, Young isn’t really grunge, but context matters.

Ever since he first picked up a guitar, Neil Young was always looking for something that was a bit against the grain compared to the other music he was hearing. Using everything from harmonics to a wall of sound, you could really feel him emoting through every lead break he performed. As he went from rustic acoustic rock to stadium rock barnburners, Young also kept a venomous attitude towards any of his critics. Right when you thought he was an eccentric guitar wizard, he would pull out a completely different sound, which is a move ripped straight out of the punk playbook. Many forget that one of his biggest rockers, “Cinnamon Girl,” has a solo with only one note in it.

As Young made his way into the ‘90s, his attitude towards his work made him one of the progenitors to grunge, with his album Mirror Ball featuring Pearl Jam as his backing band. Neil Young may not have grown up in the grunge scene, but his soul is straight out of Seattle.