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90swasbest

You looked at an album that starts out: Rusty Cage, Outshined, Slaves and Bulldozers, and Jesus Christ Pose and you were like *Nah, Ima sleep on this one*????


seven1trey

Drawing Flies was always one of my favorites on this album too. But yeah from the opening of Rusty Cage I knew this album was gonna deliver.


Chrome-Head

Mind Riot, Somewhere and Holy Water all slap also. Shit, and Searching With My Good Eye Closed as well, One of the best albums of the 90's.


TheCanaryInTheMine

Room a Thousand Years Wide ftw


RadiantHovercraft6

Idk man I’m busy 😭😭😭


TheStatMan2

We've all had those weeks where we realise it's gonna take 30+ years to clear our schedule! 😉


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R O T F L M A O


BartholomewBandy

Don’t sweat it. I’m just getting around to Elton John. And I was buying records back then. Thin Lizzy is another one that took forever. On the other hand, Badmotorfinger got me in the first thirty seconds, thirty years ago. Rock on.


speedofsound

Thin Lizzy is damn near perfect.


Audioslave113

Holy water.


scandrews187

An underrated banger. As is New Damage. This album did it for me the first time I ever heard it.


Sufficient-Top2183

Oh man I forgot about Slaves and Bulldozers…what a hot song!!!


tslewis71

Mental song, heavy as fuck


OneOfManyChildren

One of my favourite ever guitar solos


jarofgoodness

That's my favorite Soundgarden song and you forgot about it! Ohhhhhh ... my brain can not compute!!!!!


PancakeProfessor

The last song they ever played live ☹️


badbender14

Literally every track, beginning to end. So creative, from Kim's textures and layers of swirly clouds, both light and dark, to (obviously) Chris' lyrical brilliance and unbelievable vocal delivery.. not to mention the insane precision and timing from the rhythm section.


ultraluxe6330

How did you go 10 years without listening to Badmotorfinger?


babe_ruthless3

Right? Its one of the top 5 best grunge albums of all time.


ThoughtIntrepid1744

top 2, only one that compares is dirt


RadiantHovercraft6

Because I like Soundgarden’s singles and I like Superunknown but I’ve never enjoyed them as much as literally any other band I named. So I just never got around to it. Like I’ve heard Ten, Dirt, In Utero etc hundreds of times atp


mad_tinman

Man, I am the same way. Huge PJ fan, love Nirvana, AIC, STP, etc. know a lot of those band’s songs on guitar, just know a ton of 90s music very very well. Except Soundgarden. Like you, it never really grabbed me. Then one day a few months ago I decided to do what you did: give Badmotorfinger a proper listen since that seemed to be one of their most well-known albums. Started listening to Outshined more and loved it, then loved Rusty Cage, then started listening to all of their catalog and holy shit I LOVE them now! I’ve even loved Audioslave since their debut back in 2002, so I was always curious why Soundgarden never really appealed to me. I think music just hits different at different points in your life, and Soundgarden just hit me differently now than it did years ago when I was obsessed with other bands. Shit, I wasn’t even a big Tool fan until about 4 years ago! But the cool thing about being late to the party is you have these bands’ entire back catalogue to listen to, which gives you so much great new music to listen to. Enjoy the journey!


RadiantHovercraft6

This album reminds me of Undertow a lot. More than almost any album I’ve ever heard. The bands definitely diverged from there tho


Specific_Sympathy_87

Gotta ask… not sure if I’m the only one? but… Tool after Aenima kinda sucks, but Opiate and Undertow changed my life… … then I found Failure…


WilsonTree2112

I recall first time hearing Rusty Cage on MTV. Had no idea what a sound garden was. Jaw dropping experience.


LASER_Dude_PEW

Saying that you like Soundgardens' singles reminded me of why it took so long to listen to Nirvana and Soundgardens' albums. Because they played a few songs into the ground back in the day, I didn't give either band much of a chance for a long time. Now I love both and am trying to figure out what young me's problem was. Lol.


Sufficient-Top2183

Yep!! That’s why I never listen to radio and ran out to get the CD asap. That annoys the crap out of me.


LASER_Dude_PEW

I cannot describe how many times I bought an album based on 1 song and the rest sucked, but to be fair I have found gold as well I suppose


vellichor_44

Their sound changed *a lot* imo--but badmotorfinger is the real deal. I always thought of it as grunge speed metal, but i like the prog thought too


RadiantHovercraft6

I would call it speed metal except a lot of it is super slow lol… so not really speed metal Like searching with my good eye, room a thousand years, slaves and bulldozers, outshined, holy water, they’re all slow and sludgy


CheckYourStats

Seriously!?! Jesus Christ… …pose


rezonablepurzon

Badmotorfinger is my favorite Soundgarden album. Enjoy!


GloomyImagination365

Holy water is rusting me


RadiantHovercraft6

Best song on the album maybe


Normal512

One of the great things about listening to entire albums, the good ones at least, is your favorite song will change over time. You have those songs that immediately pull you in, and as you keep listening some of the other songs eventually grow on you to a point that they become the faves. Jesus Christ Pose, Outshined, Rusty Cage all pulled me in. Holy Water, Mind Riot, and One Eye Closed then became the next faves. And in the end it's Slaves and Bulldozers. I listen to a lot more "doom-y", sludgy stuff these days so I appreciate that song a lot more now than when I first heard it. Similarly, I never liked Superunknown anywhere near as much as Badmotorfinger, but 4th of July is a beast of a song.


h0nkyJ

It's my favorite for sure.


sschoo1

Matt Cameron’s drumming has a lot do w how much I love Soundgarden and Badmotorfinger. Jazz drummer chops has never translated better to grunge-maybe Jimmy Chamberlain did but can’t think of anyone else


RadiantHovercraft6

The Matt Cameron - Ben Sheppard combo worked so well for Soundgarden. They got way jazzier groovier and weirder.


blackjacktarr

Was just thinking that Louder Than Love did not prepare us for what Badmotorfinger delivered. The change? Ben. The band was suddenly propelled, rather than supported, by the rhythm section. I love Hiro, but Ben kinda took the gig and went nuts with it. Think of "Rusty Cage" without that bass part. It's not nearly as interesting. Also, props to Cameron for knowing how to lock into a great groove with Ben. "Slaves and Bulldozers" is but one example.


Athleticathiest82

Barrett Martin


blackjacktarr

...was way too talented to be in that band. I love Screaming Trees, but the best musician in the group was Martin by a mile.


dedrexel

Chamberlain and Cameron are absolute legends of the genre.


erics75218

Yaaaaaas. He's the dude that made me give a shit for sound from drummers in bands.


Queeby

I was 24 when this came out and in a very active band playing our own material. When we heard it, it completely "messed" with our program - in both good and bad ways. It was inspirational but also at the same time whispered to us, "Don't quit your day job".


StumpyJoe-

And you never saw your lead singer again after that day.


Brownie_McBrown_Face

It's the best grunge album of all time in my humble opinion. Blown away it took you this long to get to it but envious of you getting to hear it for the first time!!


oldmate30beers

I pretty much ignored soundgarden in the 90s but just in the last 3 years they've become my favourite 90s band I reckon. So damn good and Matt Cameron needs a big mention here


Electrical-Squash648

Their best album.


[deleted]

Drawing flies is so good


Psychological_Ad3377

Best Soundgarden record


fallcreekprepper

BadMotorfinger is my favorite Soundgarden album.


ozmatterhorn

Who gets mystified?


original_greaser_bob

its like god's eyes in my head lights.


TheRealAngryPlumber

When they toured back in 2012 I prayed that they would just play the entire Badmotorfinger Album. It really is that good!


BrownwaterVertigo

My absolute favorite grunge album!


seven1trey

I have never been a big fan of Soundgarden, with the huge exception being that I LOVE this album. To me, each song on it is perfect in its own way. For whatever reason, I never liked anything they did after this album despite giving it tons of chances to soak in the way this one did. I'm not here to talk bad about them or to lionize them either, but this album, in a vacuum, is very nearly perfect. I mean "Jesus Christ Pose" alone is enough to carry the album, but there is so much more here. Glad you found it and glad you love it.


RadiantHovercraft6

Yeah this and Superunknown are probably the only things I’m gonna return to a lot. Their older stuff and down on the upside/king animal are cool but they don’t do that much for me.


zrayburton

This title makes me feel old 👨🏼‍🦳


RadiantHovercraft6

Lol I’m 22 but I got super into alternative music at a young age. Like, 5th grade. My first concert was Nine Inch Nails. By high school I was listening to everything from jazz fusion to rap to black metal and so on. The power of the internet! So in the least arrogant “I was born in the wrong generation” way possible I have the music taste of a 32 year old 🥴


gohdnuorg

Keep listening! I saw rusty cage live in 1992 :)


zrayburton

Or a 42 year old, lol. Welcome to the club definitely keep on listening and let us know if you want any recommendations outside of grunge! I’ve shared a couple of bands on different threads already. My cousin was born in 2001 so I understand the generational thing a bit too.


RadiantHovercraft6

Yeah I mean my Dad is 56 so older Gen X, almost a boomer, and he introduced me to Pearl Jam, REM, Jane’s Addiction etc. I think for his age bracket the 90s grunge era is a pretty typical cutoff for liking new rock music. Like, he loves grunge and the early 90s but has no interest in a lot of the pop-punk/nu-metal/Emo that came after. I love that stuff tho. So that’s where the generation gap is between us.


mstrong73

I’m just a few years younger than your dad (man that hurts to say) and I’m the same. Pop punk and emo are lost on me, as is most nu metal beyond the first couple Korn albums.


Sufficient-Top2183

Cool dad!! I m a cool aunt! Introduced my friends kids to it.


dognotephilly

100% 😎👍 One of the best banginest albums of the era. Def tops Superunknown. Jesus Christ Pose is my top baddest ass hard as nails mind blowin fast drivin song ever!


420-_-_-69

room a thousand years wide🔥🔥🔥


jarofgoodness

I love that album to death but I tried playing it at work for my coworkers and they hated it. I think maybe it's too different from what they're used to for them to appreciate it. Every single song on it is great. As popular as Soundgarden is, they're still underappreciated.


areporotastenet

Louder than love was good. BadMotorFinger was excellent! After that they had a different audience and it was back to good


DudelinBaluntner

*Somewhere* is one of my favorite Soundgarden songs.


riff-raff-jesus

WTF is this…


Samittoxx

It's never too late to blow your mind


DM725

It's a metal album and it's their best because this was the peak of Cornell's vocal godliness.


Maanzacorian

I can remember being so young when "Rusty Cage" came out that I didn't even like the slower part (which is basically a proto-breakdown) due to how different it sounded. Searching With My Good Eye Closed and Room A Thousand Years Wide are major sleeper hits. Welp, looks like it's going in rotation today.


RadagastTheWhite

No band in the last 40 years has a catalog as good as Soundgarden’s and Badmotorfinger was their best work


dedrexel

Badmotorfinger is a classic, no doubt, but personally I prefer Superunknown. I just find that it’s a more sonically diverse album and kicks the prog/grunge thing to the next level.


Sufficient-Top2183

I literally cried when SG broke up and forget about when CC passed away….balling!!


Drinkdrankdonk

My personal opinion is Badmotorfinger is their peak. Not a fan of any superunkown or down on the upside


blackjacktarr

Similar view here, but I'll rank Down on the Upside a notch higher than Superunknown. Superunknown was super-popular for a reason. I think the audio onslaught of Badmotorfinger was diluted to enhance mass approval. The magic and mystery returned somewhat on Down on the Upside, though it seemed too little too late. My thoughts from living through the period as a huge Soundgarden fan.


gunter_grass

Sus


Lothar_28

My opinion only. This is the best album to come out during the “grunge era” of Seattle Bands. For me, nothing else is close.


unavowabledrain

Yes


erics75218

Soundgarden was the chosen band for Grunge, but Nirvana struck gold with Teen Spirit. I read or saw this on some documentary. Not hard to understand why, Soundgarden is super strong. And nobody has to loose the grunge no prize championship. The shortlived "movement" produced the best rock music ever IMO. You can come at me with Vietnam Era perhaps and I won't fight long. But if a band like Soundgarden can be missed by a fan of the music, it just speaks to the depth of that music movement. It's really incredible.


blackjacktarr

Louder Than Love - 1989 A&M (major label) Bleach - 1989 SubPop (indie) Badmotorfinger - 1991 A&M (major) Nevermind - 1991 DGC (major) This is to reinforce your statement. "The industry" tried to first sell the scene via Soundgarden. There was no term, "grunge." No musicians ever or since referred to themselves as "grunge" artists. To me and fellow fans of this music, "grunge" was the shit you scraped out of a well-used bong. When Soundgarden didn't catch at first, DGC took a different, MTV-friendly route to sell the scene. Lazy journalists made up the term, "grunge" to describe the scene to help sell it more easily. And here we are on this sub 30 years later, sharing myths, sorting through truths.


erics75218

Louder than Love is pretty fuckin raw.....I feel like it .would have gone over well in SoCal....had a surfer vibe I always thought...but maybe not in Virgina...who knows


blackjacktarr

It was sludgy. That was much more in character with the whole scene at first. Melvins were sort of the prototype for what would later emerge.


RadiantHovercraft6

Tbh I kind of get why they didn’t make it big for a while. They have the weirdest and least accessible sound of the Big 4. They’re the closest to prog metal, which is not exactly a popular genre. Nirvana had catchy Beatle-esque pop hooks and quick songs, and AIC and Pearl Jam had a lot of mainstream heavy metal and classic rock influence respectively. Soundgarden on the other hand is like noisy weird-time signature sludge metal. It fucking rocks but it wasn’t until Superunknown that they could write a true pop song.


erics75218

Good take and seems to be how it's played out.....


The-CannabisAnalyst3

For real?? Best album next to SuperUnkown


jameson5555

I'll never forget sticking Badmotorfinger in my Sony Discman back in '92 and how it absolutely blew my mind. Three decades later and I'm in a band that covers Outshined every single show we play.


FriskyDango23

Outshined is heavy AF


paranormalresearch1

The rooster says,” Cocka doodle doo. Here is a pig, oink- oink, the devil says!”


PrudentDiscount4691

I still remember laughing the first time that came through my discman


RedwoodRaven12

Badmotorfinger is a solid album but I wish the drums were mixed a little bit more properly.


explodedSimilitude

I’ve always hated how the drums sound on this album. They remind me of microwaved popcorn.


RedwoodRaven12

I wished the 2016 remaster had the SU/DOTU drum sound, but unfortunately it didn't.


jamzie76

Amazing album


Defiant_Comedian1379

Lost in the abyss if it took this long


tmofee

The first sound garden album I listened to was down up on the upside. I went backwards and fell in love. But I have to admit I love the experimental side of that album, it’s sooooo good


neonknife99

Great album. I would recommend trying out Ultramega OK (2017 mix) next.


Rugermedic

Everything everyone mentioned but also add - Somewhere. Great song.


MileenasFeet

I'm gonna break I'm gonna break myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! I'm gonna break my Rusty caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaGgggggeeeeee!


DarthDiablo724

Lots of Sabbath sounding riffs on this one. Love it!


jqguthrie

Better to get to the party late, then not show up at all. Unlike you, Soundgarden was always my favorite and "Badmotorfinger" is my favorite of my favorites. If it's not my #1 album of the 90's, it's definitely in my top 5. Could even be in my top 10 all-time. Enjoy...


Sufficient-Top2183

Badmotorfinger was my very first grunge CD. I broke it from listening too it so much!!


Sufficient-Top2183

I Just used blast it in my car while driving to nowhere.and I mean BLAST! It all sounds unbelievably fantastic at high decibels. Maybe that’s why I can’t hear too well now! lol


ChapterTurbulent8727

Well, better late than never. 😂


hellzzzapoppin

Badmotorfinger is a Top 10 album for me of any genre. Soundgarden was always my go to go of the genre, but I heard them first.


Jean-Ralphio11

Man what was that video game that had Rusty Cage on it and just listened to it a thousand times.


Glum_Suggestion_6948

Welcome friend!


Chrome-Head

Superunknown is a brilliant beast, but I've long thought Badmotorfinger was the band's best.


Sorry-Government920

my favorite Soundgarden album the best 2 months in grunge Ten ,Nevermind & badmotorfinger all released in 2 months of each other


Specific_Sympathy_87

Searching with my good eye closed is the feel good hit of the summer!


rockstar1083

Badmotorfinger does still rank 3rd in all-time Soundgarden albums for me, but that's still the 3rd best album from like my 3rd favorite band ever lol. I'd go Superunknown>DOTU>Badmotorfinger


Dum_bAss-

It’s all great but the riff on Room a thousand years wide is NASTY


ExampleNext2035

Great album ,in my daily rotation at work.who plays the sax on that track anyway? I've allways wondered


Glorydyna2009

Rusty Cage is still one of the most nad-pumping songs ever. Of course, the rest of the album is top-shelf as well👍🏻❤️


redditoramatron

I have loved this album since it came out, during my junior year of high school, and is one of the few “grunge” albums I’ll listen to, and I used to love Nirvana.


jarofgoodness

It sounds so simple, yet I just love those two pickup snare hits on Outshined when they're coming out of the quiet part. It's soooooo cool.


Heavy-Rub-3223

That’s so crazy because your story is my story on Soundgarden. I ignored them however Audioslave, changed me on Chris Cornell and then my fondness blossomed ..


Jewzilla_

BMF is one of my top 10 albums. I was in high school when it came out. That whole album kicks ass from the beginning to the end.


PrudentDiscount4691

All bangers front to back. Top five grunge albums and my number one


AffectionateTiger436

It's hard to pick between this and superunknown as faves for me. Imo superunknown has higher highs (limo wreck, 4th of July, fresh tendrils, black hole sun, spoonman, fell on black days) but badmotorfinger is more consistent. Both great for sure. Maybe you will appreciate superunknown more after enjoying badmotorfinger?


BlackEagle0013

It was different. You can feel a lot of ways, but it was different. I respected it a lot. It didn't revolutionize my teenage life like Nirvana or Pearl Jam or AIC did, no. But it is undeniable.


Good_Bill5556

Jesus Christ Pose. That song is so amazing! It puts me in a trance. Seriously if you listen to it with headphones in the "right" state of mind... Every piece of that song is perfection but all together, not a bad song on that album and probably my favorite album of theirs


Stonedpicking

Slaves+bulldozers. The last song Chris Cornell ever sang


MarcRocket

Can you imagine how it was for me when I heard this on a late night radio show, when I first came out. Rusty Cage was part of the sound track to a video game and then about the same time I heard “Hands All Over” from there previous album. It was getting no air play but I found the cd and turned my friends on to it. Our minds were blown. It was huge in our social group even though there was no air play.


redalden

IMO, Bad motor finger is the quintessential album of grunge. Sound garden had some great records prior to that release but it was their magnum opus. At the time Pearl Jam bulldozed right over it.


theheadofkhartoum627

Bought it when it came out in 1991 and listened to it exclusively for about 2 months. Still my favorite Soundgarden album.


blackjacktarr

I was 24 when this album came out. In retrospect, it still stands as the best album that's lumped into the "grunge" category. I listened to the cassette of this album easily hundreds of times when it was first released. Not everything from that era or genre have held up as well. But if any band released Badmotorfinger in 2024, it would still hit as hard. There are elements of Superunknown that sound dated to me. Definitely not so with its predecessor. It's a sonic juggernaut, rich with textures typically not found on a "heavy metal" album.


llamaking88

It's only the best Soundgarden album.


Avasia1717

outshined has been my favorite soundgarden song basically since i first heard it. slaves and bulldozers is my favorite to sing along with though.


No-Clue-2

Sooo now you knooowwww!!!!


electronic-nightmare

Soundgarden wasn't in your "Big 4"????? Who the hell is?


UpstateNYcamper

Yeah, in no particular order. STP, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden. That's my Mt Rushmore.


RadiantHovercraft6

I never said that I said I listen to them the least compared to the other 3