10 Best Soft Rock Albums Of All Time

Granted, most of the entries on this list are showing the bits and pieces of soft rock from the grandparent generation of rock and roll. That's fair, especially considering the amount of mellowness going on during the '70s and beyond. Even when the dark cloud of grunge started to take over the rock scene, there was still room for some rootsier material as well.

Around the same time that we got bands like Stone Temple Pilots and Live, Counting Crows' first record is one of the most inviting listening experiences that you will hear coming out of the '90s. While the voice of Adam Duritz definitely had that same slacker attitude as the rest of the alternative scene at the time, there was still a glimmer of hope in these songs, like the character of Mr. Jones dreaming of being a rock star and eventually going into a dream state by the time you hit the last track A Murder of One.

Don't let the soft side of the band fool you though. There is still a lot of darker material thrown together on this record, almost hitting you over the head on songs like Round Here and Raining in Baltimore. It may have been a change of pace from grunge, but August and Everything After never lost its emotional streak for a second. This was just the more optimistic side of things.