The Top 10 Songs by Alice in Chains

One of the Most Appreciated and Successful Bands of the Grunge Music Scene

It all began back in the late 1980s, Seattle, Washington, grunge was born.  As a youngster from this period, I grew up with and loved the music of the grunge era, and Alice in Chains was not just one of my favorite bands, but everyone else's, it seemed.  This ubiquitous group was more metal than punk, unlike Soundgarden, Nirvana, and some of the other grunge bands.  But with their Seattle roots, and their dark lyrics, they helped define the sound of the Seattle grunge scene.

The group formed in 1987 shortly after Layne Staley met guitarist and song writer, Jerry Cantrell at a party.  They began gigging and performing their original material in Seattle clubs under the name Alice in Chains, "The name derived from one of Layne Staley's former bands, Alice N' Chainz. According to Staley, Alice N' Chains would dress in drag at concerts, and he noted that he felt the name would fit a band that "dressed in drag and played speed metal." (wikipedia)

So many incredible albums like Dirt (which went Platinum, and still remains the album to crown their success), Jar of Flies, Facelift, Sap, and others tell the story of an incredible career.  The snarling vocals and slower guitar riffs came along when the "hair bands" were going out.  I have heard many people compare the sound of AIC to Sabbath and even Van Halen, which AIC opened for in the early '90s.

Although I did not list the single Brother on my top 10, I feel it merits being mentioned because of all the incredible voices lent to its background vocals such as Anne Wilson of Heart, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. it was also the favorite song of a good friend of mine who died in a car accident a few years ago, so this song always stirs up his memory when I hear it.

I'll get down to my list, saving the best for last.  I'm sure once again, my list will differ dramatically from the ones of my friends, but, that's good.  Let me add that it was difficult listing a "top 10."  Many songs I like very much are not even listed here since AIC had so many great songs.