re: Grunge's best vocalist?

I don't know that I'd consider Soundgarden grunge (just an opinion don't get your feelings hurt people). I always figured them more alternative/hard rock. That being said, since this is an opinion thread, for me it's Frank Black (Pixies) maybe that's not grunge enough either but rather it's precursor. Great question.

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 for me it's Frank Black (Pixies) maybe that's not grunge enough either but rather it's precursor. 

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Pixies were certainly proto-grunge. Cobain admitted to ripping off the LOUDsoftLOUDsoft sound. Plus, I'd never consider Bkack Francis as much of a vocalist.

Helluva songwriter and the genius behind probably my favorite band of all time, though.

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much of a vocalist.

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Right on. I'm sure we could go on forever about the semantics of a vocalist vs a singer. I consider BF a vocalist and CC a singer but I probably have them backwards. To me, to be a singer takes vocal talent whereas a vocalist is more a stage prescience thing. Even those are wrong from an actual traditional definition sense.

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A singer is one who sings film songs or sometimes referred to as a playback singer. On the other hand, a vocalist is the one who sings classical music. This is the main difference between the two words. classical singer is called a vocalist, whereas a playback singer is simply called by the name singer.

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This question, and the answers given to it, really sum up the problem with the “grunge” label. True grunge is bands like Tad, Mudhoney, early Nirvana, etc. that focused on sludgy, quasi-metal riffs combined with intentionally weird, offputting vocals and played with an overall punk ethos. When Nirvana became the Next Big Thing, “grunge” became the word that every music label wanted to attach to their acts, and so many bands who had nothing to do with the movement got stuck with the label. I am a big fan of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots, but those bands have more in common with cock rock than they ever did with grunge. Hell, even Nirvana was no longer really a grunge band by the time they recorded Nevermind - they had sort of transmogrified into their own thing. No other band before or after has managed to effectively capture that same sound, but whatever it was, it wasn’t grunge anymore. It can be argued pretty effectively that there was never actually a “grunge era” in popular music at all. No band playing real, honest-to-goodness grunge rock ever even flirted with big time mainstream success.

Now, if the question is who was the best early-90’s alternative vocalist, then I’ll go with Cornell. I don’t always like his work, but his talent cannot be denied.

All are great choices as well as Cobain, but I think Vedder needs to be in this conversation. Great vocalist of a great band.

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One of the best vocalist of any genre

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Nah no way dude...there are some SICK deathcore vocalists out there. You haven't heard pipes until you've heard:

Tom Barber - Currently> Chelsea Grin
Alex Terrible - Currently> Slaughter To Prevail
Ben Watson - Currently> Enterprise Earth
Ben Deur - Currently > Shadows of Intent

This is to name a few.

1. Layne Staley

2. Eddie Vedder (Distant Second)

3. Chris Cornell

4. Kevin Martin

5. Kurt Cobain

Cobain’s vocal abilities, or lack thereof, are due in part to the punk aesthetic of his music. Punks rebelled against virtuosity and precision. The attitude and message behind the music was more essential.

In Utero was originally produced as a much more polished record, comparable to the prior release. However, Cobain seemed to desire a rawer sound that would be perceived as less commercial-sounding. In other words, it was often a conscious decision by Cobain to sound unpolished and aggressive.

While his vocals are by no means as polished as others and his range is paltry when juxtaposed to other rock frontmen, his vocal quality is much more emotive and iconic.

Vedder’s yarling vocals have been copied and mimicked to the point of parody, but many singers desperately sought to emulate Cobain’s pain and anguish.

The final notes of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” off of Unplugged are some of the most powerful and gut-wrenching vocals ever put to record. His broken, raspy, and wailing voice personifies the spirit of Leadbelly’s blues and fuses it with the frustrations and melancholy of grunge.

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Cornell will forever be the gold standard of rock vocals.

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I love Cornell but that is a step too far.

Mercury, Bowie, and Plant are certainly his equals and that is just off the top of my head.

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Mercury, Bowie, and Plant are certainly his equals and that is just off the top of my head

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Mercury, yes.

But it’s laughable to compare Bowie and Plant to the siren vocals of Cornell. Both are excellent singers, but neither can hold a candle to hIs work on “Jesus Christ Pose”.