7 Underrated Rock Bands From The 90s You Need To Listen To Today

Musical Treasures
The ’90s music had its highs and lows but we still think it had so much to offer when it came to rock. Sure, it’s peppered with cheesy bands and overrated songs (which are a bit tacky too) but the era also gave us some underrated musicians who deserve some attention and appreciation.
1. Blind Melon

What You Need To Listen To: โNo Rainโ
They will change your mind about the โ90s. You might even think the decade was pure magic. Blind Melon was formed with two members (the guitarist and bassist) who came from Mississippi and met their vocalist Shannon Hoon who hailed from Indiana. It was back in March 1990. Hoon was friends with Guns โn Roses frontman Axl Rose and he even provided backing vocals for some of the tracks of their Use Your Illusion I and II albums. Blind Melon also hit the road on a tour in support of Soundgarden. Their self-titled debut album was a commercial failure but thanks to the regular airplay โNo Rainโ received from MTV, it helped the band reach an international audience until the album was eventually awarded with the quadruple-platinum certification. Still, however, the group is unfairly overlooked most of the time. So if you havenโt listened to any of their songs yet, nowโs the chance to rediscover something from the โ90s.
2. Tonic

What You Need To Listen To: โIf You Could Only Seeโ
Does anyone else feel the need to turn back time now? โ90s isnโt exactly the best decade in rock but it sure had its moments. Take this gem for example. Tonic was an alternative rock, post-grunge band who earned two Grammy nominations. Is that even surprising? This group showed us how music should be made โ with soul. Founded by long-separated childhood friends, Emerson Hart and Jeff Russo suddenly crossed paths at a pool hall in Los Angeles, California. After agreeing to collaborate, they added bassist Dan Rothchild and drummer Kevin Shepard to their lineup. They played gigs around the area before landing a record contract in 1995. Music critic Shawn M. Haney wrote about Tonicโs debut album saying, โThe record as a whole is full of the heavy, distortion-laden Tonic sound, and guitars that make them who they are.โ They should easily be among the top bands in this era.
3. Temple of the Dog

What You Need To Listen To: โHunger Strikeโ
Weโre actually baffled why Temple of the Dog didnโt get the attention they so rightly deserved. This semi-supergroup consisted of members from other legendary bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. At one point, Eddie Vedder even had a special appearance by providing the lead and backing vocals. Now thatโs supposed to be something, right? Sadly though, theyโre underrated. Chris Cornell founded the band and the first recording materials he wrote were melodic and slow โ a bit far from the music he made with Soundgarden. He even said this about his duet with Vedder on โHunger Strikeโ: โHe sang half of that song not even knowing that I’d wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively.โ Also their album received some pretty favorable reviews, it wasnโt a huge success since it failed to chart. Rolling Stoneโs David Fricke even commented that it โdeserves immortality.โ Enough said.
4. Our Lady Peace

What You Need To Listen To: โStarseedโ
Sometimes, it boggles us why music videos like this only get a million hits while other trashy and vomit-inducing songs get more than 100M views. Why, just why? There are people who donโt like the group because they just donโt offer anything new or spectacular or stuff that makes you say โWow.โ We beg to disagree. They released timeless tunes like โSomewhere Out Thereโ which sound so amazing even until today. This is one of the tracks you wish you learned to appreciate back then โ you know, when music wasnโt all about booty, twerking and auto-tune. โStarseedโ in an absolute masterpiece, we always get chills listening to it. Their vocalist Raine Maida was once referred to as โtruly unrivaledโ in the vocal department. This alternative rock act had their hit singles and their debut album โNaveedโ sold over 480,000 copies in Canada by 1998.
5. Belly

What You Need To Listen To: โFeed the Treeโ
Their most successful single, โFeed the Tree,โ ranked at no. 24 on VH1โs list of โ40 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 90s.โ Thatโs not bad, right? Thanks to the heavy airplay from MTV, the band ended up with two Grammy nominations and also sold around 800,000 copies of their album in the US. But still, thatโs the only thing most people remember about them, if at all. And itโs unfortunate because theyโre a really good rock act. Their music isnโt as heavy as others but itโs catchy enough and the lead vocalistโs raspy voice is the perfect cherry on top. They only released two albums and the group split up after the release of the second one โ and yes, you need to listen to both. It was in 1993 when they hit the road on a joint headliner tour with English rock band Radiohead.
6. Candlebox

What You Need To Listen To: โFar Behindโ
There are so many things going on in their music but in a good way. They infused grunge, hard rock, alternative, metal and blues. Their self-titled debut album was a huge success and it sold four million copies. Some of their biggest hits include โFar Behindโ and โYou.โ Their second album received gold status but it was the start of their decline in popularity. Their not-so-popular songs that didnโt chart are still worth your time, however. Theyโve had several remarkable and outstanding performances. They sound the same live as they do on recording, if not, even better. The group just oozed with talent and while they rose to fame and enjoyed the limelight even for just a short while, weโre still mighty glad we were introduced into their music. Itโs no wonder why they earned a slot at Woodstock โ94. Listen to โCover Meโ and weโre sure youโll love them too.
7. Fastball

What You Need To Listen To: โThis Wayโ
Youโve probably already heard this but maybe you just didnโt know the title of the song and who sang it. Well, itโs Fastball who used to call their group โMagneto U.S.A.โ Okay, we are just so glad they decided to change it otherwise, weโd think theyโre a bubblegum pop band. Lol. They had so much to offer for all alternative and pop rock fans. Itโs relatively common for people to mistake them for singing โClosing Timeโ and even โCounting Blue Cars,โ but the thing is, their music didnโt sound like any of those. Fastball received two Grammy nominations and their second album, โAll The Pain Money Can Buyโ earned platinum status just six months after it was released. Although they scored several hits, the third wasnโt as successful since it sold only 85,000 copies. Then again, you can still find numerous musical gems in their catalog.