SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil was asked by Rolling Stone to name

his favorite albums from the so-called "grunge" music scene that originated in
Seattle in the mid-1980s and catapulted acts like NIRVANA, PEARL
JAM, ALICE IN CHAINS and SOUNDGARDEN itself to commercial success
and critical acclaim.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Rolling Stone recently compiled its own list
of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums," with one EP and four LPs
from SOUNDGARDEN making the cut. The band's third studio effort,
1991's "Badmotorfinger", was second only to NIRVANA's "Nevermind" on
the list.

Asked for his thoughts on the "grunge" genre, Thayil said: "I think for a number
of years, most of the Seattle bands avoided the term 'grunge.' It's kind of hard to
recall what might be considered grunge or what might have been referred to as
metal or pop or punk. I think the easy way to define it would probably be:
Seattle-area music of a particular community and genre during a particular period
of time from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s."

Thayil told The Pulse Of Radio a while back what he missed from those days.
"I think I miss that sort of camaraderie that was shared with other bands in the
music community," he said. "I mean, that kind of started disappearing when all
the bands started getting bigger and hitting the road. Of course, it is easier now
with e-mail and cell phones, but sometime in the '90s, that really changed, and I
kind of miss that sense of community that we had in Seattle back then with a
dozen or so bands."

Here are Kim Thayil's favorite "grunge" albums:

* NIRVANA - "Bleach" (1989)