The Top 100 Grunge & Post-Grunge Singles of 1995 Countdown

At the end of the year, around the holidays, it’s natural to reflect on life and music—but this time, we’re going back a little further than the start of 2025. We’re heading to 1995. It was an unbelievable year for alternative rock, grunge, and post‑grunge, and we couldn’t let the 30th anniversary pass without celebrating a memorable wave of singles, both on and off the radio. It was a great time to be young and a rock fan...or to be young or old now and peek at a peak in alternative rock.

Alternative rock—especially post‑grunge—ruled the airwaves on radio and MTV. Grunge was still alive and well: Nirvana, though no longer active, received heavy rotation thanks to MTV Unplugged in New York. Pearl Jam was everywhere with Vitalogy singles while simultaneously battling Ticketmaster. Alice in Chains released theTripod album as Layne Staley also appeared with Mad Season. Soundgarden continued issuing Superunknown singles, and Stone Temple Pilots wrapped up their Purple era. Other grunge staples—Tad, Melvins, Mudhoney, and L7—remained active and influential.

But it was the so‑called “post‑grunge” acts that dominated the charts with genuinely strong material. Bush, Live, Collective Soul, the pre‑pop Goo Goo Dolls, Sponge, and Silverchair all delivered music that could stand alongside the best of the original grunge movement.

It took years for many of these artists to be re‑evaluated positively. The mid‑’90s press was notoriously harsh; if you weren’t one of the “big four” grunge bands, you were dismissed as derivative. But don’t be fooled by 1995 media narratives—every genre has stylistic overlap. That doesn’t make artists inauthentic or talentless. Many of these alternative rock songs remain well‑known across generations.

Some artists not typically labeled post‑grunge also released songs with clear grunge elements—like Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” or Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” They rarely sounded grunge otherwise, but these tracks fit the sonic profile. A couple barely tie to even post-grunge but they were defined that way historically like K's Choice's "Not an Addict".  Let’s countdown to the New Year with part 1 of a 3-part countdown covering tracks 100-66.

100. Sharp Nine – Neverchange

This Swedish band’s sound weighs a few tons under Jesper Starander’s excellent dramatic vocal – with him singing it feels like his life is on the line.

99. Paw – Hope I Die Tonight

Desperate pleas by Mark Hennessey over a striking musical arrangement that integrates subtle keyboards to drive home the drama.

98. Seaweed – Free Drug Zone

A piledriving riff-based lethal dose of grunge, with a guitar motif that is one of the best of 1995.  Aaron Stauffer’s intense vocal sounds like a madman striking.

97. Candlebox – “Simple Lessons” (#5 Rock, #12 Mod)

Kevin Martin leans into an ’80s‑style scream‑sung delivery on this lead single from Lucy, a track centered on life’s hard‑earned lessons.

96. The Presidents of the United States of America – “Kitty” (#13 Mod)

A quirky alt‑rock standout: gritty, raw, playful, and unmistakably weird, complete with meowing vocals and scratchy strings.

95. Blind Melon – “Toes Across the Floor”

Balancing dreamy, neo‑psych verses with crashing grunge choruses, this became the band’s final single released during Shannon Hoon’s lifetime.

94. Magic Dirt – “Redhead”

The Australian group delivers a brisk, wah‑wah‑soaked rocker, with Adalita Srsen offering one of her best slacker‑style vocal performances.

93. Neil Young – “Downtown” (#6 Rock)

A rare burst of bouncy grunge fun from the Godfather of Grunge himself, featuring one of his strongest collaborations with Pearl Jam.

92. Live – “White, Discussion” (#12 Rock, #15 Mod)

A six‑minute, mostly moody, subdued philosophical track that still became a hit despite its length during Live’s unstoppable mid‑’90s run. It’s multiple hard rock upheavals following the long soft moments are its peaks.

91. Stone Temple Pilots – “Pretty Penny” (#12 Rock)

STP showed their full range in 1995.  and this acoustic, tender‑toned single highlighted their softer, more introspective side.  It’s not quite made to be a single, more an excellent album track hence the lower position than its true value.

90. Veruca Salt – “Victrola”

A catchy, energetic, brief tribute to the phonograph from American Thighs—a fan favorite despite not charting.

89. Meat Puppets – “Scum” (#20 Rock, #23 Mod)

A melodic alt‑rock gem with tight vocal harmonies and a joyous squealing‑feedback intro that sets the tone perfectly.

88. Alcohol Funnycar – “Objects”

A criminally overlooked single. Its off‑kilter lyrics, feedback bursts, and delayed “yeah” make it instantly memorable.

87. Dinosaur Jr. – “I Don’t Think So”

One of alt‑rock’s most influential bands, Dinosaur Jr. blend noise, grunge, pop, and pure hard rock—anchored by J Mascis’s unmistakable voice and guitar work.

86. Hazel – “Quick Jerk”

Dark, moody, and built on mixed male/female harmonies, this track rewards repeat listens as its atmosphere slowly sinks in.

85. Seaweed – “Start With” (#38 Mod)

The opening track of Spanaway showcases Seaweed’s sharp fusion of punk and grunge—a sound that deserved far more radio attention-it was the only single they charted.  

84. Tad – “Red Eye Angel”

From Infrared Riding Hood, this heavy hitter didn’t break through commercially, but Tad remained one of 1995’s strongest grunge forces.

83. K’s Choice – “Not an Addict”(#5 Mod)

Belgium’s K’s Choice scored their signature hit with this emotional, piercing song about denial and addiction—Sarah Bettens at her most powerful.  It actually wound up charting in 1997.

82. Local H – “Mayonnaise and Malaise”

Despite the jokey title, this two‑piece band delivers a punchy, hook‑laden track that hits hard while staying catchy.

81. Dandelion – “Weird-Out” (#36 Rock, #14 Mod)

For many listeners, this was the last notable moment from one of the earliest post‑grunge bands to earn radio play.

80. Candlebox – “Best Friend”

Though it broke their streak of charting singles, this frantic, high‑energy track may be the strongest cut on Lucy.

79. Mudhoney – “Generation Spokesmodel”

Long-running rock stalwarts Mudhoney feed their fans another gritty grunge workout, this time tinged with their trademark humor: “I’m the spokesmodel of a generation, baby, I’ll leave my shirt for your revelation.”

78. Brother Cane – “And Fools Shine On” (#1 Rock – 6 weeks)

A terrific hard‑rock single and a six‑week #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, this track has often been lumped into post‑grunge. It’s close, but not quite—hence its lower placement on a grunge‑centric list.

77. Catherine Wheel – “Judy Staring at the Sun” (#22 Mod)

One of the few British bands to approach the U.S. post‑grunge sound, Catherine Wheel blend grunge and shoegaze effortlessly. Here, they add a summery pop chorus with help from Tanya Donnelly, then of Belly.

76. Babes in Toyland – “We Are Family”

The usually anti‑commercial, unconventional Babes in Toyland take a rare detour with a cover of the 1979 disco classic. Rolling piano, light crunch, full‑band chorus vocals, and drummer Lori Barbero on lead give it a strange, charming edge.

75. Tripping Daisy – “I Got a Girl” (#33 Rock, #6 Mod)

Tripping Daisy’s biggest hit is a profile song Tim DeLaughter wrote about his partner at the time, Julie. Built around list‑style lyrics—each line beginning with the title—it moves from slow, quirky verses into a mid‑tempo, hooky chorus.

74. L7 – “Can I Run”

L7 tap into that universal nightmare of trying—and failing—to outrun a pursuer. A paranoid lyric rides atop a chugging rhythm section, steadily tightening the tension.

73. Catherine Wheel – “Waydown”

A straightforward post‑grunge track about emotional collapse, “Waydown” doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it delivers a strong chorus hook and the band’s signature dour atmosphere.

72. Hum – “I’d Like Your Hair Long”

Hum’s second album, You’d Prefer an Astronaut, marked their transition away from their earlier grunge roots. The punchy “I’d Like Your Hair Long” showcases the band’s stellar guitar tones and sharpened melodic sensibility.

71. Self – “Cannon”

Matt Mahaffey wrote this track about people constantly giving advice to Self’s manager, Richard Williams, founder of Spongebath Records. The song paints him as a “loose cannon… remember all those that you destroy,” drifting through hazy verses before snapping into a crisp, rocking chorus.

70. Dog’s Eye View – “Everything Falls Apart” (#18 Rock, #19 Mod)

A sound Matchbox Twenty would later echo, this track could easily be mistaken for them if it came out after 1998. While it’s hard to label any band a one‑hit wonder, this was their only charting single—a total earworm with only a loose connection to post‑grunge.

69. Ednaswap – “Torn”

Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley deserve full credit for writing a song that later became a global smash for Natalie Imbruglia. Imbruglia’s version mirrors Preven’s original vocal delivery almost exactly. It’s a reminder that promotion often outweighs pure song quality—Ednaswap didn’t have the push, but they created one of the ’90s’ most enduring tracks.

68. Ammonia – “Drugs” (#29 Mod)

This Australian band benefited from provocative subject matter and a simple structure built on repeated lyrics over soft‑loud dynamics with "Drugs". Produced by Kevin Shirley—who also worked with Silverchair—Ammonia were one of the few Australian acts to break through in the U.S. post‑grunge scene.

67. Sponge – “Rainin’” (#18 Rock, #34 Mod)

Following the massive success of “Plowed” and “Molly,” Sponge issued a third single from Rotting Piñata. “Rainin’” contrasts slow, depressive verses with thunderous choruses, highlighted by lines like: “Life in a blackout’s like life in a storm / when you finally come out, you see that you are all alone.”

66. Alanis Morissette – “All I Really Want” (#14 Mod)

Though released as the sixth and final single from Jagged Little Pill, the album was already a juggernaut. Modern rock DJs gravitated toward this track early on because it felt more alternative than “Hand in My Pocket,” which mainstream radio and VH1 embraced. Alanis’s vocal delivery here remains one of the most distinctive—and delightfully odd—performances of the ’90s alt‑rock era.

Check in again to countdown the remainder of tracks as we head to the new year.