The 'Big 4' Bands of '90s Rock

Jeff Kravitz, Getty Images / Ethan Miller, Getty Images / Reprise

We've already shared our picks for the "Big 4" bands of '90s metal, so now it's time to pick the Big 4 bands of '90s rock.

The 1990s went through a couple of different phases musically. Hair metal was starting to fade out as people started to yearn for something less manufactured and more relatable. That's about when grunge came in — the last few months of '91 and the first few of '92 were a pivotal time where the Seattle scene became a worldwide scene.

Alternative rock bands were also making a splash and were headlining festivals and large concert venues by the middle of the decade. Punk had a resurgence around this time as well. Grunge's reign started to wane during the second half of the decade as it became more and more oversaturated, similar to how hair metal did just a few years prior.

With the slowdown of grunge came the rise of its predecessor, post-grunge, though those bands grew much more prominent during the first few years of the 2000s.

When determining our Big 4 '90s rock bands, we looked at their musical and cultural impact, how long their influence has lasted and how big they were during the decade. We also tried to pick bands from different subgenres of '90s rock to depict how diverse the music that came out then really was.

Keep reading to see our picks for the Big 4 of '90s rock and why they're deserving of the spot.