Nirvana

Nirvana formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987, built around singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. After a string of drummers, Chad Channing among them, Dave Grohl joined in 1990. Their sound set quiet verses against loud, heavy choruses, folding pop melodies into noise with a punk edge, and their songs dwelt on alienation and unease.

Bleach arrived on Sub Pop in 1989, rooting them in the Seattle grunge scene. Then came Nevermind in 1991, led by "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which sold thirteen-times platinum in the US and is credited with ending hair metal's reign. In Utero followed in 1993 and topped the charts in both the US and UK. The band ended in April 1994 after Cobain's death, though MTV Unplugged in New York, released that year, won a Grammy.