The Best Deep Cuts From the Biggest Selling 1990s Rock Albums Ranked

The 1990s gave us some of the biggest selling albums in rock history and while the hits may have done the heavy lifting for album sales, here we’re giving some acknowledgment to the best deep cuts that made listeners stick around beyond what they were hearing on the radio.

We’ve taken a closer look at the 30 biggest selling rock albums of the decade, pulled out the best album deep cut and then ranked the quality of those deep cuts and what they brought to the albums.

READ MORE: The 10 Best God-Tier Rock Songs of the 1990s

We should clarify that in naming a song a “deep cut,” it was not issued as a commercial single nor was it picked up by radio for airplay or ended up charting. These are all songs that ended up getting passed over for promotion, but some of these tracks have still managed to find their audiences through streaming the band’s live shows. We also excluded from this list “greatest hits” albums or special “unplugged” concert recordings that sold well in the ’90s.

This list also exemplifies the broad showcase of what rock provided in the ’90s. There are grunge favorites such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, classic carryovers in Pink Floyd, Queen and Aerosmith, punk representation from Green Day and Blink-182 and giant crossover bands such as U2 and R.E.M.

So which albums ruled the sales roost in the ’90s? Which deep cuts made our cut and where did they end up in our ranking? Let’s dig in and find out.

Below, check out the most streamed deep cuts on Spotify by 50 big rock bands.