10 Greatest Hard Rock Anthems Ever

While the rock anthem had become a mainstay throughout the '80s, some of the feel good choruses couldn't even get arrested once the alternative boom started sweeping the nation.

There were amazing songs for sure, but the allure of something like Smells Like Teen Spirit seemed much more down to earth than the typical gargantuan sounds of something like arena rock. The sounds of Seattle may have been more downtrodden, but Pearl Jam aimed higher than most on Alive.

Centered around Stone Gossard's legendary lick, this song puts you right back in the era of flannel, as Eddie Vedder tells the dark tale of a son being told that his father he has known all his life is not really his father. Something like that doesn't seem like it would translate to a mainstream audience, but the chorus line of I'M STILL ALIVE is so cut and dry that pretty much anyone could relate to it.

Whether you're at your job, trying to make ends meet, or hanging on by a thread, the thought of staying afloat is enough to keep any of us above water. As opposed to Kurt Cobain's tortured soul, this was alternative rock as interpreted by the classic rock stylings of days gone by. Even with the morbid subject matter, Vedder has gone at length about how the song's meaning has changed for him thanks to the comfort it has brought .