1994 Rock Hit Named Among Greatest Grunge Songs of All Time

Grunge music sadly died with Kurt Cobain, and that's why the bands who came after the Nirvana vocalist's death in 1994 who sounded like grunge were labeled post-grunge. We're looking at you Seether and Puddle of Mudd.

But, 1994 still had some great grunge music from the classics, amid the tragic loss of Cobain. When the year started out, grunge was peaking, and people couldn't get enough of that lo-fi, messy Seattle sound.

Now, one rock hit from 1994 has been named one of the greatest grunge songs of all time. The track comes from a seminal grunge band.

A 1994 Rock Song Has Been Ranked the No. 4 Greatest of All Time

The song is Soundgarden with "Superunknown." Appearing on the band's fourth studio album by the same name, this song is iconic, even though it's not one of Soundgarden's biggest hits.

In a list for Paste Magazine by Michael Danaher, "Superunknown" ranks the No. 4 best grunge song of all time. I'm a musician and music journalist who has even written a book about the history of grunge, and I completely agree with this pick.

"For a brief moment in early 1994, grunge hit its absolute apex," Danaher states in the piece. "Part of that was thanks to Soundgarden's release of Superunknown, which went straight to number one. The album had a slew of songs (many of which were long-listed for this feature), but it was the album's title track that would be its shining moment, showcasing Kim Thayil's spiraling guitars set to Cornell's off-the-charts vocal register."

"Superunknown" came at an interesting time for grunge, right before Cobain's death and when the movement was fully mainstream. Soundgarden was peaking, along with bands such as Pearl Jam and Nirvana, and seemed like they could only get bigger. Soundgarden and "Superunknown" are really a snapshot of the grunge movement in 1994, and it deserves to be recognized.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 4:04 PM.