Greatest Bands from Washington State - Not Just Seattle, Not Just Grunge

Washington state has produced a wealth of amazing bands over the years, and this is a list of some of the best ones. It's by no means a comprehensive list, but highlights some of the most important ones, in my opinion. You definitely should do some exploring on your own to discover all of the countless other great bands from Washington that I'm sure I've left out.

The Grunge Bands

Nirvana - Everyone's probably pretty familiar with Nirvana, the band out of Seattle fronted by Kurt Cobain which introduced the world to grunge music in the '90s. Nirvana's single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became the anthem of a generation.

Sound Garden - Soundgarden was a Seattle band fronted by Chris Cornell signed to the famous Seattle indie label Sub Pop. According to Wikipedia, they were the first grunge band to sign to a major label.

Pearl Jam - Another key band of the grunge movement of the '90s, Pearl Jam, fronted by Eddie Vedder, was criticized early on by Kurt Cobain for being corporate sell-outs, according to Wikipedia. Also according to Wikipedia, though, the band has, throughout their career, defied traditional music industry standards by, for example, refusing to produce music videos and boycotting Ticketmaster.

Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains is another member of the '90s grunge movement, formed in Seattle by Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley.

Heart - Heart isn't really a grunge band, but I wanted to group them here since they're an older band than the bands I list in the remainder of this article. Heart was more of a hard rock band that originally formed in Seattle in the 1970s.

More Recent Bands

Death Cab for Cutie - Death Cab for Cutie formed at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. Death Cab has been popular in the indie music scene for years, but recently has garnered a lot of mainstream attention, especially after the release of their album, "Plans."

Modest Mouse - Modest Mouse formed in Issaquah, Washington, by members Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, and Eric Judy. They gained mainstream popularity with the release of their album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" and their hit single "Float On."

MxPx - MxPx formed in Bremerton, Washington in 1992. They are pioneers in the genre of pop-punk and are also notable for the fact that they are, to some degree, considered a Christian rock band. While religion doesn't play a role in all of their songs, it does influence their songwriting to a degree.

Kane Hodder - Like MxPx, Kane Hodder hails from Bremerton and in fact is probably the biggest thing to hail from the naval city since MxPx. They have a kind of poppy hardcore sound, with lead singer Andrew Moore able to switch from screaming to melody effortlessly.