10 Rock Bands EVERYONE Tried To Copy

By the start of 1990, the '80s had been going on for about 3 years too long. Sure, there wasn't anything wrong with the party-centric sounds of hair metal, but by the time we reached the new decade, it was breathing its dying breath. No one knew what was on the horizon, but one riot in a gymnasium pointed the way forward for rock.

Bursting out of the rainy city of Seattle, Nirvana became one of the forefathers for alternative rock, with songs that dealt with more introspective topics and a whole lot of angst. The riffs may not have been all that complicated, but that was never the point.

With the release of Nevermind and In Utero, Kurt Cobain became the most reluctant rock god in the world, who was as infatuated with the spotlight as he was uncomfortable with it.

Though Nirvana saw a premature end in 1994 after Cobain's suicide, every rock band going forward has taken a bit from their recordings. With peers like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden notwithstanding, everyone from Linkin Park to Stone Temple Pilots have spoken at length about how much of a game-changer Nirvana was in the music world. To this day, labels are still on the lookout for "the next Nirvana," but that kind of magic only comes when you let music naturally run its course.