12 '90s Hard Rock Albums Everyone Should Own

Soundgarden had been releasing albums for six years by the time Superunknown came out, but with hunger for alternative music at an all time high, they knew with a slight tweak to their aggressive sound, this could be the big one. Soundgarden took a punt at the mainstream here, but rather than diluting their qualities, it yielded their best album to date.

Superunknown is a colossal album in every way. It’s a lengthy one, but the sheer variety and scope of its songwriting means that it never drags. The likes of “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun” were sizeable hits, perfectly of their time, as anthemic as any classic rock you could care to name but with none of the bluff or posturing.

There’s a lot of hopelessness in the lyrics but there’s room for beauty, too, like highlight “4th Of July”, delivering a thick, eastern influenced sound that you can get lost in.

As a band, they were one of the most gifted of their day, and it goes without saying that the vocal talents of Chris Cornell are a huge loss to music. As much as anything else, the quality and success of this record are a monument to him.