No. 11: Alice in Chains, ‘Facelift’ – Best Debut Hard Rock Albums

Though many credited Nirvana with powering the grunge movement, Alice in Chains' 'Facelift' was a pre-cursor to the 'Nevermind' album and the dark and moody harmonizing of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell provided a signature sound for the group.

In 1990, the band arrived with modest airplay behind 'We Die Young' before 'Man in the Box' took hold at radio and gave the band the foothold they were looking for. Songs like 'Bleed the Freak,' 'Sea of Sorrow,' 'It Ain't Like That' and 'Sunshine' didn't find as much airplay, but did help serve as the building blocks to a strong follow-up effort, 'Dirt,' a couple of years later.

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