10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 90s

The sounds coming from Seattle in the wake of Nirvana's ascent was completely new for the time. It felt like each band was taking bits and pieces from the classic rock of later years and taking that one next step in musical evolution. While no band particularly shown above the rest, Pearl Jam's approach to their craft produced some of the most earnest rock music the decade had ever seen.

Sure, there were plenty of great riffs to go around, but the band's mentality towards their performances felt less like jamming and more like a spiritual exorcising of demons. When you listen to "Alive," it's almost as if the band is making the music because they feel that it's something they have to do. Though the band has been known to indulge in more downtempo moments, their punk tendencies on songs like "Blood" and "Why Go" can still set the crowd on fire whenever they are played.

Perhaps most importantly, Pearl Jam helped show the music community that hard rock didn't always have to be about any sort of macho mentality. After you heard Pearl Jam, it felt like rock could mean so much more than just a bunch of gnarly guitar riffs.