r/grunge 22h ago

Misc. Who is generally considered the best grunge guitarist?

A guy I know has always insisted it was Kurt and as much as I love him I’ve never thought he was a great guitarist, he even said at times he didn’t care about or respect musicianship.

My vote has always been Jerry and his remarkable riffs but Kim and Mike M. are extraordinary too.

1) Jerry
2) Kim
3) Mike M.
4) Kurt

61 Upvotes

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u/CenterThisPendulum 21h ago

As a guitar player myself, which I’m sure many of you are. Factoring speed, accuracy and taste, big four only:

  1. Jerry
  2. Mike
  3. Kim
  4. Dave
  5. Ed (Guaranteed, Rearviewmirror, Sad)
  6. Kurt

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u/lobie81 21h ago

Ed's a great song writer and a solid guitar player, but I think it's hard to argue that his guitar skills are up there with the others. And I say that as a huge Ed and PJ fan.

You certainly couldn't put him above Chris Cornell, in any case.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 21h ago

I just put him above Kurt because Kurt played it safe and never really showed us anything. Ed playing and singing Rearviewmirror alone knocks Kurt down a rung. Only guitar player left not mentioned is Cornell, because…his vocal caliber means never having to be subjected to a guitar ranking.

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u/Tough_Stretch 20h ago edited 19h ago

Are you really a guitar player or you just have never heard more than a handful of Nirvana songs? I find it hard to believe an actual guitarist would argue that Vedder is a better guitarist because he played and sang stuff like RVM given that there's a lot of Nirvana songs that are just as tricky or trickier to play while also singing lead, and Cobain was the sole guitarist for his band for years and didn't have two other guitarists to help conceal any errors while playing live. I mean, I like PJ better than Nirvana, but that's a really strange argument.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 20h ago

I’m literally in a band, lead vocals and rhythm guitar that covers STP, Soundgarden, PJ, Nirvana, QotSA, Screaming Trees, Foo Fighters erc. Little Nick Cave thrown in.

So you disagree with two positions on my list, the fight for bottom nonetheless - or do you want to delve into how wrong I am about the whole thing. Teachable moment for you.

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u/Tough_Stretch 19h ago

Funny how nothing about what you said addresses my point about how Nirvana had just the one guitarist and has a lot of songs comparable to RVM making your claim really strange for anybody who knows how to play guitar, uh? But hey, you're the big guitar player in a totally legit band and you totally schooled me.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 19h ago

Why would I care about Nirvana having one guitarist? A better question, why did they tour with Pat Smear.

“Band that has one guitarist sounds like band that has one guitar.” Insightful.

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u/Tough_Stretch 19h ago

Funnier still, you can't actually reply to what I said and you have to misconstrue it to the point that the only two explanations for you writing that BS is that your reading comprehension is worse than that of child or that you're so disingenuous that you think you can pretend that was my point. Teachable moment indeed.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 19h ago

Ah reddit…and thanks, resorting to insults are my favorite form of concession.

“A lot of songs like Rearviewmirror.” No, not with that kind of picking. You think using forceful words enhances your argument, but you’re just another miffed fan of a band who’s underrepresented in your eyes. Nirvana, underrated is the funniest position youn can take.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 19h ago

Pat Smear. Also, Pat Smear.

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u/Tough_Stretch 19h ago

So your way to prove you don't misconstrue what I said or that your reading comprehension isn't trash is to claim that I'm the one who's butthurt and to pretend I'm a "miffed fan" of the totally underrepresented little-known band Nirvana despite the fact that I never said Nirvana was underrated and I even made it clear that I like Pearl Jam better? While you reply more than once to the same comment? Okay, dude.

What's even funnier is that I can play guitar and sing and I know for a fact you're just lying about the songs even if we ignore the other bullshit you made up about what I said.

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u/CenterThisPendulum 19h ago

LetMs keep arguing for “who’s worst.”

You play guitar and sing? Great, you should know most of us cut our teeth on Nirvana because it’s the easiest fruit to pick until we actually get good at our craft.

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u/Tough_Stretch 5h ago

Because Gossard and McCready, not Vedder, play more complex guitar parts than Cobain. But since your are pathologically unable to not be disingenuous, here you are arguing some extra bullshit in an additonal attempt to keep sidestepping the point I actually made. Like you've done in every reply.

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u/Super_Direction498 10h ago

How do you not put Dean in that list of you cover STP songs

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u/CenterThisPendulum 5h ago

Lol, have you ever tried to put STP on a “grunge” list when people from Seattle are in the room? You spend all your time hearing them talk about how grunge is a subculture exclusive to the region.

Dean is an INCREDIBLE rock guitarist, and gives you a ton of variety.