SOUNDGARDEN Guitarist Picks His Favorite Grunge Albums

SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil was asked by Rolling Stone to name his favorite albums from the so-called "grunge" music scene that originated in Seattle in the mid-1980s and catapulted acts like NIRVANA, PEARL JAM, ALICE IN CHAINS and SOUNDGARDEN itself to commercial success and critical acclaim.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Rolling Stone recently compiled its own list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums," with one EP and four LPs from SOUNDGARDEN making the cut. The band's third studio effort, 1991's "Badmotorfinger", was second only to NIRVANA's "Nevermind" on the list.

Asked for his thoughts on the "grunge" genre, Thayil said: "I think for a number of years, most of the Seattle bands avoided the term 'grunge.' It's kind of hard to recall what might be considered grunge or what might have been referred to as metal or pop or punk. I think the easy way to define it would probably be: Seattle-area music of a particular community and genre during a particular period of time from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s."

Thayil told The Pulse Of Radio a while back what he missed from those days. "I think I miss that sort of camaraderie that was shared with other bands in the music community," he said. "I mean, that kind of started disappearing when all the bands started getting bigger and hitting the road. Of course, it is easier now with e-mail and cell phones, but sometime in the '90s, that really changed, and I kind of miss that sense of community that we had in Seattle back then with a dozen or so bands."

Here are Kim Thayil's favorite "grunge" albums:

* NIRVANA - "Bleach" (1989)
* GREEN RIVER - "Dry As A Bone" (1987)
* MELVINS - "Gluey Porch Treatments" (1987)
* U-MEN - "U-Men" EP (1984)
* MALFUNKSHUN - various tracks
* SKIN YARD - "Hallowed Ground" (1988)
* MUDHONEY - "Superfuzz Bigmuff" (1988)
* TAD - "God's Balls" (1989)
* SCREAMING TREES - "Clairvoyance" (1986)
* ALICE IN CHAINS - "Facelift" (1990)
* PEARL JAM - "Ten" (1991)