Grunge pioneers who took the heavy sludge of '70s metal and infused it with the raw aesthetic of '80s punk to become an important band of the '90s. Collection includes: 'Louder Than Love' (1989); 'Badmotorfinger' (1991); 'Superunknown' (1994); 'Down On The Upside' (1996).

Deluxe Edition 2 CD set features 35 tracks including b-sides and previously unreleased versions. Sonic Youth's second major-label album, produced and mixed by Butch Vig and Andy Wallace (a team that had helped turn Nirvana's NEVERMIND multi-platinum) was not the barefaced bid for mainstream acceptance that surly underground souls grumbled about in the pages of fanzines. While Vig and Wallace give guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, bassist Kim Gordon, and phenomenal drummer Steve Shelley a wide-screen panorama for their bizarrely-tuned assaults, DIRTY is probably Sonic Youth's most uncompromising album since 1985's BAD MOON RISING–particularly in the lyrical department. Dropping the deliberate obscurantism, Philip K. Dick references, and smart-alecky snottiness, Sonic Youth brackets a slew of pointed political attacks ("Youth Against Fascism," "Swimsuit Issue," and the Jesse Helms-bashing "Chapel Hill") with two passionate tributes to the band members' murdered friend, Joe Cole ("100%" and "JC"). That DIRTY is Sonic Youth's most commercial-sounding album makes it that much more subversive.

Featuring three albums from Melvins' time at Atlantic Records. When the grunge sound of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam broke alternative rock into the mainstream at the start of the 1990s, there was a sudden rush by the major labels to sign a slew of previously underground bands with a similar sound. Although a lot of those musicians only saw their underdog status and relative geography in common - many of them came from in and around Seattle, Washington - it was enough to wipe away the hair metal and glam rock that had ruled the 1980s. Many bands from the Pacific North West, including Screaming Trees, Tad, Alice In Chains and Mudhoney, would benefit from this windfall of major label contracts, but one of the more surprising signings were The Melvins. Atlantic signed Melvins for their 5th album, 1993's 'Houdini' (CD1). Sporting a cover design by famed poster artist Frank Kozik, 'Houdini' was in part co-produced by Kurt Cobain, and their most commercially successful release was recorded mainly by Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover. A cover of KISS' 'Goin' Blind' shouldn't have surprised any of their long term fans, and the songs 'Hooch' and 'Lizzy' were issued as singles, with 'Honey Bucket' even receiving airplay on MTV.

Velvet Revolver's debut album, Contraband, originally released in 2004, is mixed elements of hard rock, grunge, and alternative metal to create a sound that was truly groundbreaking. The collaboration between iconic musicians—Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses fame, alongside Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots and Dave Kushner—brings a fusion of unparalleled talent and experience. Featuring hits "Fall To Pieces," "Slither," and "Dirty Little Thing," the 20th anniversary edition of the album will also include an acoustic version of "Fall To Pieces" along with five covers.

Guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt made his name with the eclectic pop-metal outfit Extreme during the height of the guitar-shredder era, and embarked on a solo career after the band's breakup. As a soloist, Bettencourt's most immediately recognizable influence was Eddie Van Halen, but as a songwriter, he might draw from Queen, the Beatles, Prince, and anything in between. The youngest of ten children in a musical family, Bettencourt was born Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt in the town of Praia da Vitoria, on the island of Terceira in the Azores (an archipelago governed by Portugal) on September 20, 1966.

Pearl Jam live at Passeio Marítimo de Algés, Lisbon, Portugal, 13 July 2024.

Pearl Jam live at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain, 8 July, 2024.

Pearl Jam live at Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain, 6 July, 2024.

Ultimate Rock: 72 of the biggest rock anthems and harder to find rarities across 4 CDs, all housed in a fold out cardboard digi-pack sleeve. Alice Cooper, Argent, Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Judas Priest, Mott The Hoople, David Bowie, Primal Scream, Meat Loaf, The Stranglers, Santana, Manic Street Preachers, Jeff Buckley, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, Al Stewart, Cheap Trick, Spirit, Johnny Winter, The Guess Who, Fleetwood Mac and more, and more…

On its one and only major-label release, Year of the Rat, NY Loose delivers powerful performances of a punk-pop musical blend that have nothing whatsoever to do with other '90s platinum purveyors of radio punk. Instead of simply being snide or just plain goofy rock stars like Green Day or the Offspring, NY Loose emits a refreshingly punk attitude of contrariness, if not actual rebellion, on this 1996 release. Founding members Brijitte West (guitars and vocals) and Danny Nordahl (bass) are joined on Year of the Rat by drummer Pete Lloyd and guitarist Marc Diamond. Each member seems versed well enough in the standard instrumental punk vocabulary, but West's saucy delivery and upfront lyrics make NY Loose special.

Once considered a remote backwater, Seattle, Washington, and its underground music scene, existed in a state of seclusion. It was a city isolated both geographically from the rest of the country and commercially from the entertainment industry machinations of the major cultural hubs. With technological advancements making the world a smaller place, a huge influx of corporate money changing the demographics of the city itself, and staggering population growth – not to mention the sudden explosion of worldwide interest in Seattle’s musical exports in the early 1990s – the place is not quite the distant territory it once was. Yet, the Emerald City’s subterranean musical petri dish has remained largely a scene unto itself, comprised of devoted DIY practitioners building their community and creating their noise in obscurity.

Recorded Live In 1991 During The "Nevermind" European Tour. his show ROCKS!!! GET IT!!! It's a great show and contains two rare songs, "Talk to Me" and "Oh, the Guilt." The band sounds like they were having a good time, and there's a lot of energy… which is probably why they played these two rare songs at the end. Kurt teases the crowd that is singing along on "Sliver," changing the lyrics to "nya nya nya nya…" you get the picture. Mostly because of the two rarities and the decent sound quality of the show, I would recommend this disc. Be warned that this is an audience recording, and gets a little muddy at the end…. Audience recordings aren't for everyone.

Vs. is the second studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on October 19, 1993 through Epic Records. After a relentless touring schedule in support of their 1991 debut album Ten, Pearl Jam headed into the studio in early 1993 facing the challenge of following up the commercial success of its debut. The resulting album, Vs., featured a rawer and more aggressive sound compared with the band's previous release. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Brendan O'Brien, and their first album with drummer Dave Abbruzzese. Vs. occupied the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart for five weeks, the longest duration for a Pearl Jam album. The album has been certified seven times platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

Ten is the debut studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. In 2003, the album was ranked number 209 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. On March 24, 2009, Ten was reissued in four editions (Legacy, Deluxe, Vinyl, and Super Deluxe). It was the first reissue in a planned re-release of Pearl Jam's entire catalogue that led up to the band's 20th anniversary in 2011. The extras on the four editions include a remastering and remix of the entire album by producer Brendan O'Brien, re-designed packaging, six bonus tracks ("Brother", "Just a Girl", "Breath and a Scream", "State of Love and Trust", "2,000 Mile Blues", and "Evil Little Goat"), a DVD of the band's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged (including a bonus performance of "Oceans", which along with "Rockin' in the Free World" was originally excluded from the broadcast version).

Nirvana's Nevermind may have been the album that broke grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream, but there's no underestimating the role that Pearl Jam's Ten played in keeping them there. Nirvana's appeal may have been huge, but it wasn't universal; rock radio still viewed them as too raw and punky, and some hard rock fans dismissed them as weird misfits. In retrospect, it's easy to see why Pearl Jam clicked with a mass audience – they weren't as metallic as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, and of Seattle's Big Four, their sound owed the greatest debt to classic rock. With its intricately arranged guitar textures and expansive harmonic vocabulary, Ten especially recalled Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. But those touchstones might not have been immediately apparent, since – aside from Mike McCready's Clapton/Hendrix-style leads – every trace of blues influence has been completely stripped from the band's sound. Though they rock hard, Pearl Jam is too anti-star to swagger, too self-aware to puncture the album's air of gravity.