Chris Cornell: Ranking Every Album From Worst To Best
3. Superunknown
As sprawling and crisp as anything lumped under the broad category of grunge, Superunknown came to represent that heavier, psychedelic side of the movement. It was proof that the fringes of alternative music could find a place on commercial radio, so long as they kept most of their punk influences out of it.
Because that's really the biggest difference between Superunknown and the band's earlier work: an abundance of winding epics without the slightest inclinations of punk rock. Even considering that, however, it would be wrong to suggest this is the act of a band "selling out."
No, they simply switched gears to focus even more on the power metal that had worked so well on Batmotorfinger. And this allowed Soundgarden to showcase some of their subtler stylistic flourishes.
Working through the track list, it would be difficult to argue that this wasn't a wise decision. "Fell On Black Days" and "The Day I Tried To Live" are the album's finest singles, though even in spite of over-saturation, "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun" remain songs worth venturing back to.