Pearl Jam

Their debut album Ten (1991) was a slow-burning phenomenon, initially overshadowed by Nirvana's Nevermind but eventually outselling it to become one of the best-selling albums of the decade with over 13 million copies sold in the United States alone. Driven by singles Alive, Even Flow, and Black, Ten established Pearl Jam's template of muscular, melodic hard rock anchored by Vedder's confessional songwriting and the band's remarkable chemistry. Vs. (1993) debuted with the highest first-week sales in history at the time, selling nearly a million copies in its first week, and Vitalogy (1994) demonstrated the band's willingness to push beyond commercial expectations into darker and more experimental territory.

Pearl Jam spent much of the mid-1990s in a principled and costly battle against Ticketmaster over service fees, refusing to tour major venues for two years rather than subject fans to what they considered exploitative pricing — a stance that cost them significant commercial momentum but cemented their reputation for integrity. The band has continued recording and touring for over three decades, releasing consistent and critically respected work including Yield (1998), Binaural (2000), Riot Act (2002), and Gigaton (2020), while maintaining one of the most devoted fanbases in rock. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.