One of my esteemed colleagues likes to maintain that Grunge
was the Death of Music. Whilst i was never a real partisan, &
i regret that it should have become so oppressively prevalent
a paradigm, i do think as a movement in Rock it has had some
validity. He challenged me to name 10 good songs that Grunge
has produced. So here, after a bit of research, is my list:

1. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991)
2. Live, "Lightning Crashes" (1994)
3. Live, "I Alone" (1994)
4. The Toadies, "Possum Kingdom" (1994)
5. Cracker, "Low" (1993)
6. Tool, "Sober" (1993)
7. 3 Doors Down, "Kryptonite" (2000)
8. Alice in Chains, "Rooster" (1992)
9. Stabbing Westward, "Save Yourself" (1998)
10. Bush, "Everything Zen" (1998)

There is a great monotony of tone, & a lack of feminine
presence, that must be accounted Grunge's greatest weakness.
This comes, i think, from their origin, not in Black Sabbath
so much as Robin Trower--if one goes by actual resemblances
& not what the bands say--& would have made the period
intolerable, if i hadn't also had music by Tori Amos, Bjork,
& a number of one- or two-hit girl-led bands (Alanis Morissette,
Veruca Salt, Belly, Garbage), to balance the spectrum.
But all in all, Grunge created a mood that can rarely be found in,
say, Fifties or Sixties music (& only in Seventies
or Eighties among the underground).