15 Things Only Pearl Jam Fans Will Understand

14. Mike McCready Is An Underrated Guitarist

The solo on Alive is just one of many that Mike McCready has owned over the years. He's an immensely important part of the band and his guitar work is always on-point. Strangely, however, he doesn't get a lot of love when it comes to the mainstream who have routinely failed to recognise his talent.

Rolling Stone excluded both McCready and Stone Gossard in their 2003 list of the '100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time'. Subsequent lists have included them, but McCready remains somewhat underrated outside of the Pearl Jam fan community, so much so that Rolling Stone named him No.6 on their list of underrated guitarists in 2007.

How does that happen? Have these people never seen a Pearl Jam live show? Have they not listened to his sterling contributions to Immortality and Better Man? The mainstream music press might not be breaking their necks to lavish praise on him, but Pearl Jam fans know that, without him, the band wouldn't be what it is.