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Superunknown

Soundgarden

1994

Superunknown

Album Summary

Superunknown is the fourth studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994, through A&M Records. It is the band's second album with bassist Ben Shepherd, and features new producer Michael Beinhorn. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger (1991). Superunknown captured the heaviness of the band's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences. Superunknown was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 310,000 copies in its opening week. The album also topped the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand charts. Five singles were released from the album: "The Day I Tried to Live", "My Wave", "Fell on Black Days", "Spoonman", and "Black Hole Sun", the latter two of which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity. In 1995, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The album has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA in the United States. In April 2019, Superunknown was ranked No. 9 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" list.

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Rating

3.66

Votes

19709

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Reviews

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Sort by: Top Date
Dec 09 2021
2

This is what straight men listen to, huh?

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Mar 31 2021
5

Some albums are great because they meant a lot at a specific point in your life. Some albums are just great. This one is both.

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Nov 08 2021
5

Disclaimer: Can't be objective about this one. This is literally the first record I ever purchased. I just finished the new Chris Cornell biography Total Fucking Godhead... I'm a bit of a fan of this band. What a classic album! Love the sort of dark, evil psychadelia of this record. Huge riffs, Matt "Fucking" Cameron on drums with bizarre time signatures, and one of the all-time greatest rock voices... it just doesn't get much better. On my all time favorites.

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Jan 15 2021
5

Chris Cornell is one of the greatest rock singers ever. This album has some of the best riffs of all time (Spoonman, Fell on Black Days). It's filled with metaphors about loneliness and depression (Black Hole Sun, Day I Tried to Live, Like Suicide). The album is filled with great, memorable choruses that have the staying power and melody of pop, without sacrificing the heaviness of the subject matter and genre of grunge. In my opinion, it's a top 4 grunge album with Nevermind, Dirt, and Ten.

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Dec 14 2023
3

I went into this thinking I liked Soundgarden more than I actually do. Quite boring to be honest. 3.33 average per track,

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Dec 20 2022
2

Lol, I don't know why everybody likes this album so much

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Oct 30 2021
5

Absolutely essential grunge album. It will rock the fuck out of your soul from the first track to the last. Chris Cornell was an unparalleled talent and killer vocalist, a tremendous credit to the genre. This album is a stone cold masterpiece.

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May 10 2024
2

I love Spoonman and Black Hole Sun, but otherwise this album is another example of mostly bland 90's mainstream rock. I just hate the 90's aesthetic, the chugga chugga guitars, the stereotypical singing style. That isn't to say it is bad, it just isn't something I want to listen to.

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Aug 04 2021
5

Psych and prog infused grunge; this album was so formative to my musical tastes when I first discovered it back in freshman year of high school. I may not go back to Soundgarden as often as I did back in those days, and there is definitely some valid criticism here (particularly about it being a long and exhausting listen for one sitting) but this album could never be anything but a 5 for me.

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May 13 2024
2

After Chris Cornell passed, my mom bought every Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog cd and it was the only music she would listen to, in the car and at home, for like two years. I moved out during that time

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Mar 31 2021
5

Soundgarden was my favorite of the grunge bands because of Chris Cornell (RIP) and his ridiculous vocals. Hits hard all around. Love it.

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Jul 19 2023
3

Knew the band name, couldn't have named a song they had made which is how I learnt they made Blackhole Sun. Otherwise, my standard complaint of this being way too fucking long. Could have cut 30 minutes from this and made a solid album since it gets really boring after a while.

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Jul 01 2021
5

Okay, this is badass. Grimy and heavy and with a distinctive feel. This is great workout or writing music.

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Jun 13 2021
5

This album is full of jams. Sometimes I think I like Badmotorfinger better, but goddamn, this album fucking rules

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Apr 24 2021
5

Just phenomenal. Still so very good. R.I.P. Chris Cornell.

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Jan 30 2024
3

Some good tunes on this album. However, I think a lot of the songs sound the same.

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Jan 14 2021
5

Initial Critique - Chris Cornell is a vocal god. A masterclass in 90's rock. Despite listening to many of the songs on the album as singles, had never listened to it as an album.

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Feb 01 2021
5

Nothing but bangers, a lot of distortion, reminding me of the roots of what rock is today.

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Apr 02 2024
4

Before listening: If anyone asked me whether I like Soundgarden I would say yes. If they asked me how many songs I actually know, I would say, "Um, Blackhole Sun?". I think out of all the big 90s alt bands, I know Soundgarden and Alice in Chains the least. I was much more of an Audioslave fan in the early 00s than I ever was of Soundgarden. I'm looking forward to this album, although I must say that at the time of writing, I'm not really in a 90s mood. Nevertheless, here we go! After listening: I liked it, there was a lot of good songs here. But oh my God, so much filler. Songs were too long and there were too many of them. Chris Cornell's voice though ... There's a reason people rank him as one of the best vocalists of the era. Overall, still very good.

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May 27 2025
5

What a heavy hitter. For me, this is the peak album of the early 90s grunge era. It's got the heavy guitars. It's got the dark lyrics. Soundgarden really was at their peak right here. Matt kills the drum parts. Ben nails the driving bass lines. Kim lays down some real slick guitar riffs. Chris just gives it all on the vocals and holds down the rhythm.

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Feb 25 2025
5

A record I still own and I'm so not going to approach this objectively, haha. How could I, as I had scribbled a part of the "Fell On Black Days" lyrics on my bedroom wall? This was the shit then, it's still an equally important blip in music history now. I may not enjoy all 70 minutes of it, today, in one sitting but I can't bring myself to let this detract any .points from 5 stars.

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Aug 06 2024
5

The album in which the Grunge took so much of a presence that some consider this to not even be Alt-Metal & Grunge but only Grunge even when a huge majority of the songs show to be some sort of Alt-Metal. Still, Grunge is the main genre of the album and should therefore be the main focus point. Soundgarden had easily the best studio Grunge album. Sadly, or luckily (depending on how you view it), Nirvana had their legendary MTV Unplugged album released the same year. But the achievements that this album brought to the table make this an essential album even 30 years later. The album opens on 'Let Me Drown', a perfect example of the heavy and Stoner Rock inspired metal sound the band is so good at creating. It starts with loud and catchy layered guitar riffs and an incredible vocal delivery. The song just makes you want to headbang. It's an energetic and sonically perfect intro into the album. The next song 'My Wave' is much less Metal, even if it's still a very heavy song. Interestingly is this a much more psychedelic sound and I think the guitar pedal effects that is sometimes sprinkled throughout makes this really interesting. The chorus also works really well, it's just that I think that the song streches a bit too much near the end. It should've been cut to 4 minutes max as the last minute doesn't really add more to the song. 'Fell on Black Days' is one of the best known songs here and it most resembles the Grunge sound most people are familiar with through Nirvana. It's a really good songs but it doesn't really reach the edge that I loved so much with the opener. Compared to most of the album, this seems much more conventional and basic and I personally am not greatly interested with most of what the song does. With 'Mailman' they get back to the heavier sound and there is a lot of heavy and "sludgey" guitar on here. In return the song comes out much more interesting and formed than its predecessor but unlike that, this is feels a little stretched towards the end of it and there isn't much of a catchy "something" that makes the song stick. The title track 'Superunknown' follows with a very Hard Rock and Blues Rock inspired instrumentation that really drives the song and works much better as a point of focus. The vocals are killer and the chorus is simply epic. I absolutely see why this was chosen as the song to name the album after as it does summarize the album pretty neatly. 'Head Down' removes a lot of the heaviness and replaces it with a more psychedelic approach that works within the context of the time. The dreamy vocals and the washy guitars make this a noisy and dense but lovely and dreamy song that flows within itself. Even if I mainly prefer the more metal sounding songs on the album, this is easily one of the best they ever put out. The song that everyone knows, 'Black Hole Sun', shows an even more Neo-Psychdelia rooted sound than before and like before it works perfectly. It starts with the legendary and dreamy guitars and the melodic and surprisingly clear vocals that seamlessly blend into the chorus that is even better. Even if it's a basic opinion, this is the best song on the album or at least in the Top 3. The whole song works and feels much less streched than most songs here. I absolutely adore every second from the guitar solo, the slightly changed chorus in the second half, the background vocals and the general structure. The albums second half starts with 'Spoonman', a song that is much more complex in comparison to most of stuff you find on here. It has multiple, seemingly random, additions thrown in that make this together with the abstract lyrics a very weird but great listen. 'Limo Wreck' sounds like a very early Doom Metal song with the thick, slow and atmospheric guitar riff that goes the whole way through the song. It's dark, unsetteling and really feels like something Black Sabbath could've cooked up if they had Grunge back then. But the song suffers a little bit from a lack of focus near the end. With 'The Day I Tried to Live' was the albums lead single and is therefore another pretty well known song. And although I prefer it over 'Fell on Black Days', I have similar criticisms towards it. It doesn't interest me for the most part and feels too basic and average. Of course it has some great moments but they are not worthy. It's a good song but just nothing more. The short and not even 2 minute long 'Kickstand' is one of the few instances of a Punk sound that gets through. And although Punk isn't what they are used to do, it is a very solid song and is actually really interesting and does not feel like an Interlude at all. 'Fresh Tendrils' keeps a small amount of the Punk energy from before but turns it into a more Metal sounding track again. And unlike before, this doesn't work really well. It is still a good song but it feels very unfocused and unsure about itself. To my ears the song is either uninteresting or a little bit annoying. A really underrated song is '4th of July'. It is easily the most Doom Metal the album gets. It is heavy and dark and the slight hints of Psychedelia make this an even more atmospheric and anxious listen. A perfect blend of all genres they are capable of using. The short 'Half' that is another left-turn with the introduction of Raga-Rock (Indian Classical music inspired Rock) and hints of experimental parts. And although that might sound like it would derail the whole album, I think it works pretty good right before closing the album. And the album closes with the dark and depressive 'Like Suicide'. The title pretty much says what the song is about and it gets the anxious and suicidal feeling very intensely across and closes the album with another perfect song even if it is the longest one but this time it definitely needed that length. favourites: Black Hole Sun, Head Down, Like Suicide, Let Me Drown, Superunknown, 4th of July least favourites: Fresh Tendrils, Mailman, Fell on Black Days, The Day I Tried to Live Rating: light 9 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

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Jun 14 2023
5

Chris Cornell = Automatic 5. It's fair to say that seeing Temple of the Dog play at the kickoff show November 4th, 2016 in Phila. not many months before his tragic and untimely death was probably the best show I've ever seen-- and I've seen some good f******g shows. What a damned legend. This album rocks. Watch the Phila. show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OJAhB5Cark

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Jun 14 2023
5

My review of Grace by Jeff Buckley referenced how 1994 was the most incredible year for music (Portishead, Weezer, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Beastie Boys, Green Day, Live, Tori Amos, Cranberries, the list goes on) and Superunknown is part of what made 1994 incredible. Chris Cornell is one of the best male rock vocalists of all time, his range is ridiculous, and his voice is just raw power. Soundgarden may not be my favorite of the projects of Chris Cornell since I prefer Audioslave to the more heavy metal sound of Soundgarden, but his voice is nothing short of 5 stars every time.

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Sep 23 2022
5

Not sure how to describe this album and ive known it for most of my life. Very human of an album. Its a perfect mix of the grunge sound, hard rock ballads, psych sludge sound, heavy stoner riffs, and really catchy choruses. Chris Cornells voice is unreal with how talented it is.

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Jun 17 2022
5

Is it perfect? Nah. Does it have Black Hole Sun and Spoonman on it? Yesh. Five stars. SPOOOOONMAAAANNNN

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Feb 05 2022
5

Easy, easy 5. Up there with some of my most listened to albums of all time and a shining example of top tier grunge. Love it

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Jan 31 2022
5

Chris Cornell is probably my favorite rock singer after Freddie Mercury, so talented and so much range. I just happened to listen to his collection this weekend, not knowing this album was upcoming (I was behind and stuck trying to decide on Sonic Youth so turned to Cornell). I know most call this album their magnum opus but I always wondered if it was really that good...despite the fact that Spoonman, My Wave, and The Day I Tried to Live are some of my all-time favorite alternative songs (the chords & guitar progressions & drumwork on all three...brilliant). I really got into music in college, mostly listened to radio and didn't own many albums in high school so I didn't own this. Even now I don't own it, even though I profess to be a late Soundgarden fan. I saw Jeremy's review and I feel the exact same way about Black Hole Sun. Maybe that's why I have these hesitations, like some of it is overplayed and overhyped. Nah. I have listened to it a fair number of times since college, but finally listening to it really intently here, it's awesome. Like my favorites, the other songs have awesome guitar work, humming basslines, solid percussion, Cornell's vocals (of course), and profound lyrics. Even the non-hits are great (e.g., Let Me Drown, Mailman, Fresh Tendrils, 4th of July). Shame on me for ever thinking this was less than amazing.

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Nov 11 2021
5

Having relistened to this album after having last listened to it over 20 years ago, it's incredible how current it still sounds. I remembered how heavy it felt back then, and I was afraid it would lose its magic in the current landscape of today's music. This is not the case.

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Sep 24 2021
5

RIP Chris Cornell - in his softer moments sounds a lot like Josh Homme, whose voice I adore. "Mailman" could be QOTSA song. Soundgarden have such a distinctive sound, different from what was going on in the 90s, it's not metal it's not grunge, it's not stoner rock. Really enjoy "Head Down" - sweet singing Obvs "Black Hold Sun" is an absolute classic. "Spoonman" driving rhythm is so great High 4 / 5

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Aug 31 2021
5

What a bomb album. Chris Cornell is the main star here with his incredible vocal performances, but the rest of the band does a commendable job creating that heavy, grunge-y sound throughout. Everyone knows 'Black Hole Sun' and 'Spoonman', but there's so much here to enjoy - 'Head Down', 'Superunknown', 'Fell on Black Days', 'Let Me Drown'. Yeah, really terrific. I would give it 4.5, but I'll round up to 5.

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Aug 12 2021
5

Well, I’m guessing there’s no way now we’re getting Loud Love or (still my personal fave) Badmotorfinger, but I fuckin’ love this band. Great voice over an even better rhythm section. I could probably listen to an entire record of just Kim farting around with a wah wah pedal and be a happy camper. So I’m a little biased over here. This album though has always felt like a bit of a weird mix of tunes, (even when you just compare the singles) but I think it was the first thing I ever bought on CD and I really, really love the production. This shit sings through headphones. Soundgarden was at their best, imo, when they were trudging through the chugs and then just randomly would shift into some weird tinkly melody that somehow made the whole tune come together. This record has a bunch of those moments: β€œMailman,” β€œHead Down,” β€œ4th of July,” etc. But yeah… at the end of the day, it’s the β€œBlack Hole Sun” record. There are worse legacies.

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Apr 29 2021
5

I really dig this. I like how it was heavy, but also clear what they wanted to get across and not overcrowded. Great songs, black hole sun is a classic obvi

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Jan 13 2021
5

Several solid songs. RIP Chris Cornell

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Feb 13 2021
5

Like the Pumpkins' album I saw earlier, this one was a staple for anyone in school when I was. It's a classic, and the songs are amazing. Kim Thayil's guitar sound is unique, and Chris Cornell's voice is unmistakable.

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Jun 07 2021
5

There's been a weird influx of latinx music in the past week after not getting any previous to that. Overall it was pretty cool, though I really hated the parade song (perhaps because I don't really enjoy actual parades either). Some of the other songs were a bit cloying as well. This works really good as a kids album, but I don't think that's how it was intended. It's fine, but I don't ever see myself coming back to it 3/5

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Sep 23 2020
5

love this album, have listened to it countless times

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Feb 26 2025
4

One of the best grunge albums, full of emotions and big riffs. Chris Cornell is as impressive as ever, showing of his vocal abilities. The riffs are grand and range from punk/rock to doom/sludge. Lyrical themes are powerful, dark and perfectly convey the emotions of the 90s.

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Feb 21 2025
4

The angst was there, the guitar solos were so there, I just couldn’t quite give it a 5.

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Jan 21 2025
4

This was a terrific time. I love Chris Cornell's voice and the entire fabric of this album is woven through with his singing like gold thread through a tapestry. The whole thing is a touch long, which is why I was ready to move onto different sounds once it wrapped up.

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May 16 2024
4

I wasnt into it at first but from Head Down and onwards it was amazing. It made me think of how well this album would go together with the joining together of hands, not in marriage, but solely for the purpose of sating the fleshly desires of the soul. Indulging in lustful hedonism for no purpose other than to drown in pleasure for but a few moments, together. tldr: I want to fuck to this album

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Oct 01 2022
4

☝️☝️☝️ ⚠️Whiteboy on the mic⚠️ Exciting rethinking of rock ideas of both their past and present with inspired playing (particularly the drumming). Could’ve been shorter though

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Jul 20 2024
3

I would say I definitely liked this more than anything else I have heard labelled as grunge by this list. Either the genre is growing on me, I'm getting more of an ear for it, or this album is just better. I'm still not in love with the sound though. Certain songs will strike me (in this case "Let me Drown", "Fell on Black Days", "Black Hole Sun", and "Spoonman") but I seem to not like whole albums so far. I would even say I would prefer to not listen to all the songs I really liked in a row. Part of a bigger playlist with other styles on it put on shuffle, I think each of those would be a refreshing change of pace. However as a whole this definitely felt like a 3* to me.

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Jul 08 2024
3

No. 213/1001 Let Me Drown 3/5 My Wave 4/5 Fell On Black Days 4/5 Mailman 2/5 Superunknown 3/5 Head Down 3/5 Black Hole Sun 4/5 Spoonman 3/5 Limo Wreck 3/5 The Day I Tried To Live 3/5 Kickstand 3/5 Fresh Tendrils 3/5 4th Of July 3/5 Half 3/5 Like Suicide 4/5 Average: 3,27 Pretty good grunge record.

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Feb 20 2024
3

A couple solid tracks and overall I like this group but after a while I'm like "when will it end?"

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Feb 17 2024
3

The production feels kind of compressed. The influence of Led Zeppelin is here, which in turn goes back to some delta blues sound. Black Hole Sun stands out from the rest of the songs. The album as a whole feels a bit underwhelming. The potential was there, just needed better producing.

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Feb 05 2024
3

It's taken me a while to revisit all this 90's grunge and give it a proper listen, because growing up in the 90's these songs were all over the radio and I was so sick of hearing Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, etc. that I actively avoided them for two decades. I'm glad to finally spend time with this Soundgarden record. I liked a lot about it, from Chris Cornell's vocals to Kim Thayil's guitar work. This album is considered a cornerstone of the grunge movement for obvious reasons. Two main complaints: 1) It's way too long of an album. With so little variety in the tracklist until towards the end, it feels bloated and a few of the songs blend together. There's no reason this thing should be over an hour long. 2) (And this is a deep dark secret I've harbored since I was a kid hearing this band all over the radio in the 90s) "Black Hole Sun" is such a boring ass song. It's tedious, it's repetitive, it's plodding...I think "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has more lyrics. I hated hearing it on the radio when I was 10 and I hated hearing it as an adult. That being said, good album, worth a listen.

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Jan 30 2024
3

There are things I enjoy about this record. But it became a monotonous chore to get through. At 30 minutes, I would probably like it quite a bit more.

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Jan 19 2024
3

Right, here we go, day 1! Solid start to the journey, avoiding some of the more controversial albums on the list that will go down better once I’m settled into the routine. Having heard a few individual songs from this record before, I was relieved when I saw it as album 1 and dived in with a fair amount of anticipation. And for the most part was not disappointed. The highs here are high, β€œBlack Hole Sun” and β€œLet Me Drown” being in my top 2. I just feel that it went on a bit too long with a run time of 70 minutes, maybe cutting a few of the tracks would have been beneficial. That being said, I can see why it’s regarded as one of the defining albums of its genre and would be one I’d like to return to in the future. Overall, I’ll go with 3.5, but that might increase over time. Looking forward to what the next 3 and a bit years will bring!

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Jan 02 2024
3

The best song on this album is definitely β€œBlack Hole Sun” and they knew it while recording this. 5/10

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Dec 30 2023
3

Overlong and mediocre. The style wasn’t terrible, but it got repetitive and a little grating. Not something I’d listen to in its entirety again. 2.5 rounded up.

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Nov 30 2023
3

HEY DUDES, DO YOU LIKE HARD MUSIC THAT ALSO MAKES YOU GET HARD Wikipedia lists this as Grunge but this is 100% Butt Rock for me. I only know "Black Hole Sun" which was everywhere at the time and still has a lasting legacy but... overall this is the music of my middle/high school days. Feels like I'm way past this. But, it's competent at what it's doing and I don't begrudge anyone who likes it. I think it's mostly down the vocals, just too monotone.

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Apr 18 2025
2

The foundation of grunge, though you can hear the other influences so clearly. I’m not a big fan of grunge and all these songs sound the same to me β€” muscle and testosterone. Good hooks, but they’re all hook, with no space to reflect and contemplate between the riffs. Still, Soundgarden influenced pop rock for a decade, which is impressive and probably led to something interesting. As an album, it’s just too 2-dimensional. It’s a 2.

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Dec 10 2024
2

This sounds like what some dude would blast at full volume in his Impala after he just gay bashed a kid outside a bar in the mid 90s.

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Feb 09 2023
2

There were some songs that I didn't hate.

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Jun 25 2025
1

My cat - when she hasn't been fed for five minutes!

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Jan 20 2025
1

Not for me, but I bet Nickelback loved this record.

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Apr 24 2024
1

This sounds like a garbage nickleback

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Apr 17 2024
1

Won’t waste a second listening to this again. Despised it and everything it stood for back in the 90s. Snap out of it! Oh me oh my…whoas me πŸ˜–

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Jan 23 2024
1

Hated this from the get-go. Plodding grunge with few melodies, I can see how this might be intriguing live in a big arena, but listening to it was painful. Even β€œBlack Hole Sun” which I always turn up and sing along to when it comes on in the car wasn’t as fun in the context of the whole album. I hate Pearl Jam as well, except for β€œJeremy”.

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Oct 03 2022
1

Awful, awful music. I only persisted with this for Black Hole Sun - hardly the cheeriest of tunes. I'm proud of my musical prejudices. Ultimately I know I am right. You always need some Roll with your Rock. No soul, no ta.

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Jul 26 2025
5

Liking Soundgarden is the 90s version of liking Nickleback. But here we are.

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Jul 25 2025
5

Absolutely killer & essential grunge record. RIP Chris Cornell you beautiful bastard, you had one hell of a voice.

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Jul 23 2025
5

I don't even need to listen to this album. I've listened to it hundreds of times. Classic! 9/10

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Jul 22 2025
5

I recall purchasing this album when I was 14 years old and absolutely loving it. I did think the album was a bit long and a few songs could have been trimmed. I still feel this way. As anyone who reads album reviews knows, I tend to prefer albums that cut out fat and don't overstay their welcome, even if the songs are all pretty good. Just because you are a good shot doesn't mean you need to shoot all of your bullets. It's hard to complain too much about having too much material to listen to on an album, yet it does make it very difficult for me to sit down and listen to this entire album in one sitting. There are just so many great songs on here though, so this is an absolute must-listen album in my opinion. Even if you don't like Black Hole Sun (which everyone has heard 1001 times), there are plenty of other songs that you can enjoy. A loaded album that could potentially be more impactful if 3-4 of the tracks were trimmed. Still, that's why God made CDs in the Year of Our Lord 1994 when this album was released. So many bands have tried to ape this sound and Chris Cornell's voice. Only the original can do though, no matter how many times The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go" is played on the radio.

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Jul 22 2025
5

Chris Cornell power vocals-need I say more!

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Jul 19 2025
5

Obvious five stars for this one. That said, Badmotorfinger will have to get a 5+ if if comes up on this list. Potentially the best album of 1994 with strong nods to AIC and Nirvana. This album is dark and brooding, and sometimes heavy (almost Melvins level on 4th of July) as one would expect from Soundgarden. It is also experimental, poppy, and polished in a new way, that shows the signs of growth from band with time and space to execute their vision. The layered vocals are superb and I am not sure anyone in the era did it as well as Cornell. I feel this album picks up steam as it goes on dropping the gloss and pop for dig into some darker weirder content ala BMF, which I love.

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Jul 15 2025
5

This album was pretty fantastic. I consider this album to be like, the crown jewel of dad rock albums. They are easily the most powerful and tasteful of all the dad rock bands. Cornell is an absolute vocal powerhouse. There's a lot of Buckley influence too, and it makes sense after learning they were incredibly close. Like listening to this album at times I was just like, "oh hey, Jeff". Blues-rock actually describes this album pretty good when the instrumentation is more nuanced. When it explodes, as it often does, I find that there's a shoegaze element to the bass and distortion on the guitars that adds to the heaviness of the riffs. It certainly gets pretty damn sludgy at times, particularly the longer it goes on towards it seems, like near the end of the album. 4th of July is fuckin SLUDGY. I do think this is the gold standard for many, many dad rock bands, and Chris's vocals are just mind blowing. And come on man Black Hole Sun is peak 90s alt.

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Jul 15 2025
5

This was a banger. Chris Cornell had such a fantastic voice and the songs let his voice and the music mesh wonderfully. Not sure why I haven't listened to this in it's entirety before, but I'll definitely revisit this one. 5/5

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Jul 11 2025
5

Overall not the strongest album, but still a great listen. Great instrumentals and vocal work. 'Black Hole Sun' takes the cake for my fave, but 'Spoonman' is a very close 2nd.

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Jul 09 2025
5

Grunge is such a bullshit title for any band. This one especially. This rocks. It's different and fucking awesome. It's a little long, but I'm not sure what they could have cut.

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Jul 08 2025
5

Anything with Chris Cornell's voice in it is 5 stars.

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Jun 30 2025
5

Amazing, timeless, classic, brilliant and every other adjective that means great belongs to this album. Every song is just beautifully made and the album contains not a single miss. One of if not the greatest vocalist of the grunge era. "Heaven send Hell away No one sings like you anymore" Rest easy Chris Cornell.

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Jun 30 2025
5

Perfect album. De vocals die door merg en been gaan, de drumpartijen die tientallen vellen en stokken moeten hebben gekost, gruizige gitaren die klinken alsof het signaal door een cementmixer is geleid en toffe maatsoorten. Kan hier oneindig naar blijven luisteren. Enige negatieve gevoel dat ik hierbij heb is dat ik van mezelf baal dat ik ze te laat heb leren waarderen om live te kunnen zien :'(

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Jun 25 2025
5

My God, Chris Cornell couldn't half belt out a vocal could he!? What a voice! One of the greats of rock music, for sure. He's absolutely the MVP of the record. Another great thing about this album is that it has the hooks, melodies and catchiness of a pop album without having to sacrifice any of the heaviness. That guitar sound is really fantastic and pretty heavy which I obviously love. Honestly, pick any track and you'll be able to pick out a riff or vocal line that'll get stuck in your head for ages. It's honestly Black Sabbath-esque at times. It can get so heavy and sludgy (see '4th Of July) and it can also get psychedelic and dreamy ('Black Hole Sun' is still fantastic). It's like this really cool mixture as if Soundgarden are their own genre. A really solid and surprisingly consistent album with plenty to love and not a lot to dislike. I preferred this over 'Dirt' and 'In Utero' by Alice In Chains and Nirvana respectively. Over to you, Pearl Jam.

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Jun 21 2025
5

Hell yeah, still one of my favourites.

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Jun 16 2025
5

I’ve loved this album since it came out in 1994. It is very heavy and full of energy. The production is great and the lyrics touch on multiple subjects. I like all the songs and wish I still had my original 1994 clear vinyl LP that I sold off at some point around 2009.

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Jun 15 2025
5

Grungy, really strong record with great songs and amazing vocal delivery. I am impressed

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Jun 14 2025
5

Phenomenal vocals and guitar tones on this one. Very sludgy vibe that fits alt rock really nicely. A bit bloated but really fantastic

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Jun 11 2025
5

Great riffs, songs, vocals. Somehow an underrated album. One of my favorites

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Jun 05 2025
5

RIP Chris Cornell, this album is a masterpiece.

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Jun 05 2025
5

Definitely deserving of the list. Soundgarden is full of talented musicians, but Chris Cornell was a generational talent. Unmistakable greatness.

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Jun 02 2025
5

love this album and always have. the biggest hits are not the songs that move me though

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Jun 02 2025
5

One of my favourite albums of all time! Fav: Fell on black days

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May 28 2025
5

Shows up the weaknesses in everything but the best of audio setups.

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May 27 2025
5

One of my favorite albums of all time but I’ve come to realize over the years that β€œBlack Hole Sun” isn’t actually a good song.

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May 26 2025
5

Again, no notes. Just solid stuff from Chris and crew.

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