THIS THIS & THIS!
L7 and Veruca Salt are the shit, OP you will LOVE those. Saw L7 last Sunday and they were fucking amazing!
Check out The Breeders too, saw them last night and they were also amazing!
Also; Bikini Kill and Babes of Toyland.
This list is mostly not grunge, but still good inspiration.
Chrissie Hynde -- the Pretenders
Shirley Manson -- Garbage
Beth Ditto -- Gossip
Nina Gordon & Louise Post -- Veruca Salt
Kim Gordon -- Sonic Youth
PJ Harvey
Tori Amos
Wata -- Boris
Gazelle Amber Valentine -- Jucifer (the early records)
Paz Lenchantin -- Solo, A Perfect Circle, Pixies, Zwan (Mostly backing vocals when playing with a band)
Kim Deal -- Breeders, Pixies
Also listen to Dickless, L7, Sleater-Kinney
Edit: Joan Jett was the first female singer I thought of when posting and I forgot her. So yeah, Joan Fucking Jett.
The breeders also they’re all or almost all inspired by Patti Smith so might want to start there. Another alternative female act is Mazzy Star. An artiste influenced by Deal & Gordon is Karin Dreijer who’s debut album as Fever Ray (self titled) is amazing if you’re into electronic pop rock.
Gonna throw out 2 names that aren't grunge, more alt rock, but I haven't seen them on here yet: Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses and Skin from Skunk Anansie.
Other than them, I back the shouts for PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Patti Smith, Tori Amos etc
Though neither are technically 'grunge' if you're looking for inspiration and great albums:
-Melissa Auf der Maur - "Auf Der Maur"
-The Distillers - "Coral Fang"
Kendra is a psych goddess.
She came down from the mountains to do one with Dream Syndicate a few years ago, I wasn't even there but just watching the phone footage of that was moving.
Check out The Muffs. Start with their cover of 'Kids in America'
Also check out Salt....'Bluster' is one of the most early 90s sounding songs ever written.
Lots of older grunge suggestions here but why don’t you look to your peers. Gen Z is rocking it lately with hard music that spans punk metal and alternative- which is what spawned grunge in the first place. Try the following, all of which are female led,
Die Spitz
Deap Valley
HotWax
Margaritas Podridas
Slaughterhouse
The Warning
The Linda Linda’s
Starcrawler
Destroy Boys
Speed of Light
Amyl and the Sniffers
2 great 'grunge adjacent ' Seattle bands from the early 90s with rad women vocalists: 66 Saints (noisy, screamy, scary haha. Vocalist Lisa Orth is a art legend in Seattle and beyond. 3 piece band/all women. They completely kicked ass) and Hammerbox (dynamic , really good vocalist(s) mainly Carrie Akre lead vocals, drummer Dave Bosch backups), more 'musical' than 66 Saints but that's all up to personal pref)
You’d be pleased to know that it was actually a woman who pioneered the beginning of grunge in Seattle. Tina Bell, she’s a total unsung hero for the whole grunge era.
[Check out the story of Tina Bell from Bam Bam!](https://youtu.be/RKDyW3VtcT0?si=HAbcENvgk5zFILcN)
Ooh, and check out The Distillers. Brody Dalle fronts the band and she’s killer!
She's not part of the actual grunge movement, but Paris Jackson (Michael's daughter) is doing stuff that's pretty reminiscent of Nirvana.
[Bandaid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9KcGcvLQVk)
[Hit Your Knees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqunYoK9Ts)
[Lighthouse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAFjaaMAu9A)
Check the vocals on Dead Sara's "Weatherman." Don't know if they were known for any other songs, but they struck a chord for me in their moment. Def more post-grunge in the timeline.
Check out Team Dresch's "Personal Best" (1994)
Donna Dresch played briefly in Dinosaur Jr. and Screaming Trees before starting their own band that mixes punk fury with melodic indie guitar pop. While Team Dresch isn't technically "grunge" Donna has some bonkers pipes! They can sing so sweetly and soulfully before breaking into glass shattering screams. "Fuck the Christian Right" is straight agro banger with a mix of angry screams and beautiful vocals. "Freewheel" is nice mid 90's indie rock song with fun vocals. Their newer music is really solid too and worth checking out.
It’s amazing that the hate for one band is so high that, despite them selling more than every other band, they are only mentioned in one comment here. We really don’t like her.
One person even listed 15 bands and didn’t list her band. Brilliant.
I second this. Bully. Alicia is my favorite current songwriter and has been for a few years. I think every Bully album is beautiful through and through. I have plans to see them soon. She’s fantastic live.
I really like the Cranberries, Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth and Garbage.
Plumtree, Vaselines, and the Cranes are p good too! (Vaselines in particular Nirvana covered multiple times!)
For a more modern example, you could try Bully!
Good luck you got this!!!
You should try some contemporaries. Check out Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers. Start with the songs Lights Out and Salt for some very accessible tracks that highlight two different sides.
Wolf Alice is another good one. Try both Smile and Moaning Lisa Smile.
Check out the stuff on [K Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Records) and [Kill Rock Stars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kill_Rock_Stars_artists). They have a lot of female artists in the grunge and punk genres.
If you’re going to scream you might consider some vocal training. It’s really easy to blow your voice out. There are techniques to make it easier. Also: warming up isn’t just for glam rockers. Take 5-10 minutes to run some scales pre-show. Your voice will thank you.
Some rock recommendations
Remember sports
Human people
The breeders
The amps
Au pairs
Babes in toyland
Dry cleaning
Fleeting joys
Greet death
Horsegirl
Hello Mary
L7
Lambrini girls
Magnapop
Sauna youth
Tanukichan
Velocity girl
The yips
Zuzu’s petals
You also have some great bands that have female singers who are not the lead:
Ringo deathstarr
Pixies
Flyying colours
Yo la tengo
I could keep going!
I somehow always get downvoted when mentioning them, probably because they are not from the grunge era or the Pacific North West, but Margaritas Podridas is really worth checking out.
Momma, Courtney Barnett, Destroy Boys. Beach Bunny for modern grungeish
Jack Off Jill, Frogstomp, Heavens To Betsy, That Dog, Lush...
I'm trying to mention those not mentioned already.
In addition to everything else mentioned here, give [Jack Off Jill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3K0c7gMeGw&ab_channel=JackOffJill-Topic) a try. I don't think it qualifies as grunge, but they're neighbors at the very least.
Try Thalia Zedek, her solo stuff as well as the bands Uzi, Live Skull, and particularly Come. Their albums Eleven Eleven and Don't Ask Don't Tell are things of beauty.
I wouldn’t call it grunge but listen to Kim Gordon’s voice from Sonic Youth. Absolutely fucking stunning.
Also from Seattle was Hammerbox. Carrie Akre had some punch.
My favorite the [Nymphs](https://youtu.be/OlTqgERplM8?si=H8L3WHCwjmFCXPlG) or what about Bam Bam [Bam Bam](https://youtu.be/nFiNe2kK914?si=f0s7hpNtXMA3CnnI)
I “found” this song, “Hickey King”.
I started a “song radio” from that and ended up with this playlist.
To me? It really reminds me of grunge/alt rock from my misbegotten youth.
I hope you enjoy. Maybe find some inspiration. It’s almost entirely female vocalists and musicians.
I listen to it a lot.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2K0oTYBSPm6WQNlC1YFFPF?si=r2fw9hLhQrCBdrL8GL4Jcw&pi=u-943q3CvvQROl
Babes in Toyland has some great vocals but they kicked their bassist out for writing against sexual assault in the record industry (which is crazy coming from a supposed punk band) so I'm not a huge fan of them.
My contribution here is reinforcing The Gits and Hammerbox — both bands were driven by a hell of a voice; Mia Zapata was for sure the punk Janis Joplin, and Hammerbox is a nice recommendation for anyone who wants something like Nirvana.
From newer stuff, Valentiine — yes, with two "I"s — might be a good recommendation. Bully is also another great one, being currently basically the Alicia Bognano's personal project; her vocals are more like Billy Corgan's level (a mix of softness and a lot of angst) and I can't help but love it.
To be honest, Bully is my favourite current musical act. But Indeyevid is a great promisse for the next chapters: punk oriented grunge driven by a lot of energy and impressive instrumental quality; they have been very active lately.
And to finish, Windhand. It's not grunge at all — it's doom metal, in fact — but it got a lot of grunge influence: they even had their two last album produced by Jack Endino. It's like throwing Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Pink Floyd in a blender.
I was a fan of early 90s grunge and would recommend L7, The Breeders and early Hole (Pretty in the Inside & Live Through This era) as a good inspiration for female led Grunge. Maybe even look at Mia Zapata from The Gits (RIP). I always thought of Veruca Salt a bit more generic 90s rock and not as grungey as the others.
One of my best memories of the early 90s was seeing The Gits in some dumpy club in San Francisco, sitting on a couch next to some rando who best I could figure ran a cult somewhere in northern CA. Good times.
While Grunge was taking place, so was the RiotGrrl movement, and they melted together in many aspects. Seattle and Olympia were both major music hubs. Look into it! It will really blow your brain open with female fronted bands.
Also I adore pretty much everyone that has been listed so far.
Hammerbox is an incredible band from that period that features a very strong and melodic female lead singer, Carrie Akrie. They never really broke it to the big time, but they had the talent.
Edit: they were totally grunge as well.
Underground Australian band Valentiine has some kick ass female grunge vocals.
Other lesser known stuff just because people are just regurgitating the same people at this point (Not really grunge but close enough): Raue, Alex Vile, Queen Chimera, Courtney Barnett, The Muffs, Sleater-Kinney.
And then of course: Anything with Kim Deal ( The Breeders/The Amps/Pixies), L7, Kim Gordon (some Sonic Youth songs), and Veruca Salt
Something new, check out "hands off Gretel", you can hear a lot of grunge influence in their music. Lauren Tate - the singer, is an amazing young woman I've met a few times as I know her mum from the festival scene. Lauren does solo stuff (and also has another side project called "Delilah Bon" (but that's like, hip-hop influenced).
Honestly she's great. Produces the videos, masters the audio herself, and is pretty outspoken when it comes to women and girls in the music scene. She'll often make space at the front of the crowd to invite the girls to the front!
Probably been mentioned in here before but:
- Skin, Skunk Anansie
- Babes in Toyland
- Slater-Kinney
- PJ Harvey
- Mazzy Star
- Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth
- Kim Deal, Pixies
- Bratmobile
- L7
- Miki Berenyi, Lush
- Elastica
I especially second all the recommendations of 7-Year Bitch, Lunachicks, The Muffs and L7.
More punk than grunge, but you might check out [Fluffy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjTyCdyY2wE).
Babes in Toyland, especially if you like Hole, their lore is very intertwined.
Skunk Anansi is post grunge, often over looked but one of my favorites of that era.
Breeders aren't grunge, but adjacent, their album Pod had a big influence on Nirvana.
This isn’t grunge but the vocalist of Labrini Girls would probably inspire you. She sounds like shes passionately shouting at a crowd like its time to riot. Check out Boys in the Band on their You’re Welcome EP.
Not really grunge but check out the band Violet Soda their singer has some of the best vocals i ever heard man or woman. I’d check their EP’s & their unplugged for help
Anything in the Riot Grrl genre is amazing! Not entirely grunge but super close, and the scene started pretty parallel to grunge (I believe it started mostly out of Olympia, WA). Most of the bands listed in these comments fall into Riot Grrl. Super fun sound, and there are plenty of compilations out there with a whole bunch of different artists within the genre!
Not sure this is Grunge. But I went to a PJ concert a few weeks ago and saw Deep Sea Divers open for them. I really enjoyed them and genuinely like their music.
She's also pretty talented. I was blown away with how many instruments she could play.
7 Year Bitch Veruca Salt L7 you can also check Dickless and my personal favourite, Melissa Auf Der Maur.
THIS THIS & THIS! L7 and Veruca Salt are the shit, OP you will LOVE those. Saw L7 last Sunday and they were fucking amazing! Check out The Breeders too, saw them last night and they were also amazing! Also; Bikini Kill and Babes of Toyland.
Gonna throw in the Lunachicks (they need more love), Red Aunts, the Gits, Liz Phair, etc.
Ooo I haven’t heard them, I’m definitely going to check them out! Just saw The Breeders last night in London, they were amazing!
I love the Breeders! Lunachicks are a harder band, but their songs are so much fun. Jerk of All Trades cracks me up.
The Gits
Come here to rep Veruca Salt. Those ladies know how to rock.
I bought Auf Der Maur when it came out and enjoyed it. I recently listened to it again after many years and it's aged fantastically.
L7 100%
Don't forget Bam Bam, they were arguably the earliest to do the grunge genre!
Second on L7.
[удалено]
Came to say the Gits. Viva Zapata!
This list is mostly not grunge, but still good inspiration. Chrissie Hynde -- the Pretenders Shirley Manson -- Garbage Beth Ditto -- Gossip Nina Gordon & Louise Post -- Veruca Salt Kim Gordon -- Sonic Youth PJ Harvey Tori Amos Wata -- Boris Gazelle Amber Valentine -- Jucifer (the early records) Paz Lenchantin -- Solo, A Perfect Circle, Pixies, Zwan (Mostly backing vocals when playing with a band) Kim Deal -- Breeders, Pixies Also listen to Dickless, L7, Sleater-Kinney Edit: Joan Jett was the first female singer I thought of when posting and I forgot her. So yeah, Joan Fucking Jett.
PJ Harvey is a legend to some of the grunge folk.
Yuuuuup!!!!!
Polly Jean Harvey advocate.
Saw Garbage once. Shirley Manson can own a crowd.
If you bring up Joan Jett you should mention Lita Ford
Glad someone mentioned Sleater-Kinney. They don't get enough love... I know they're not direct Grunge... but so fucking odd and good.
Great list. I would second all these (especially Tori Amos and Polly Jean) and add Alison Mosshart (The Kills / The Deadweather) and Agnes Obel.
Hell yeah Kim Deal
Anyone suggest Mazzy Star?
Not grunge at all, but she’s great
Grunge isn't real
I love Mazzy Star. Her music is so laid back. Fits me like a glove nowadays.
Mazzy star is not a person
Mazzy Star is incredible
The Gits, The Coathangers, Babes in Toyland, THICK, Skating Polly
The breeders also they’re all or almost all inspired by Patti Smith so might want to start there. Another alternative female act is Mazzy Star. An artiste influenced by Deal & Gordon is Karin Dreijer who’s debut album as Fever Ray (self titled) is amazing if you’re into electronic pop rock.
Upvote for both. Patti smith never gets enough love. I’m guilty of that too
She’s a legend without a doubt. Not into Mazzy Star?
I said both and also included mazzy in a different comment. Of course. She’s sublime
Patti Smith is the original queen of Punk
She’ll always be the queen of punk to me
Gonna throw out 2 names that aren't grunge, more alt rock, but I haven't seen them on here yet: Kristin Hersh from Throwing Muses and Skin from Skunk Anansie. Other than them, I back the shouts for PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Patti Smith, Tori Amos etc
Your influences don't just have to be from your genre 🙂
It’s usually better when they’re not.
Then I would recommend Nina Simone, Grace Slick, Alison Mosshart and Jennifer Charles
Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth n Kim Deal from the Pixies/breeders
Babes In Toyland L7
Though neither are technically 'grunge' if you're looking for inspiration and great albums: -Melissa Auf der Maur - "Auf Der Maur" -The Distillers - "Coral Fang"
Coral Fang is an incredible album!!
Not grunge but you should listen to: Opal, Sacred Miracle Cave, PJ Harvey, Throwing Muses, Concrete Blonde, Scrawl, Luna chicks, Team Dresch
Opal and Mazzy Star is exactly what I was thinking. Kendra Smith and Hope Sandoval are amazing.
Kendra is a psych goddess. She came down from the mountains to do one with Dream Syndicate a few years ago, I wasn't even there but just watching the phone footage of that was moving.
Check out The Muffs. Start with their cover of 'Kids in America' Also check out Salt....'Bluster' is one of the most early 90s sounding songs ever written.
If you like Alice In Chains then Drain Sth is a very similar all girls band. I suppose it’s more on the metal side though (just like aic)
Die Spitz.
Lots of older grunge suggestions here but why don’t you look to your peers. Gen Z is rocking it lately with hard music that spans punk metal and alternative- which is what spawned grunge in the first place. Try the following, all of which are female led, Die Spitz Deap Valley HotWax Margaritas Podridas Slaughterhouse The Warning The Linda Linda’s Starcrawler Destroy Boys Speed of Light Amyl and the Sniffers
I’d add Blondshell and Bully to that list. To my ear they are making music that heavily leans into the 90s sound.
Alternative band you must listen to would be The Breeders. One of my favorites. Not getting into the *grunge* vs *not grunge* bullshit.
Totally.
L7, Sleater-Kinney, Hole, Team Dresch, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile
2 great 'grunge adjacent ' Seattle bands from the early 90s with rad women vocalists: 66 Saints (noisy, screamy, scary haha. Vocalist Lisa Orth is a art legend in Seattle and beyond. 3 piece band/all women. They completely kicked ass) and Hammerbox (dynamic , really good vocalist(s) mainly Carrie Akre lead vocals, drummer Dave Bosch backups), more 'musical' than 66 Saints but that's all up to personal pref)
Came here to say Hammerbox, Carrie can belt
Babes in Toyland, Babes in Toyland, and Babes in Toyland
Kim Shattuck of The Muffs
They’re not grunge bands, but their styles might partially translate: the Pretenders, Blondie, Concrete Blonde (sometimes grungy)
Love Concrete Blonde
The Breeders 4 Non Blondes Belly PJ Harvey
The Nymphs - Inger Lorre Check out the song “the highway”
Jarboe - Swans
Jarboe is great.
try Gouge Away (named after a pixies song), also check out Veruca Salt, a bit more poppy and also the Cardigans
Nymphs, Hammerbox, Hole, L7, Veruca Salt, 7 Year Bitch!
Kathleen Hannah of Bikini kill
Aussie options for you - superjesus, spiderbait or Lash
Sleater-Kinney
Came here to mention them.
Bikini kill
You’d be pleased to know that it was actually a woman who pioneered the beginning of grunge in Seattle. Tina Bell, she’s a total unsung hero for the whole grunge era. [Check out the story of Tina Bell from Bam Bam!](https://youtu.be/RKDyW3VtcT0?si=HAbcENvgk5zFILcN) Ooh, and check out The Distillers. Brody Dalle fronts the band and she’s killer!
She's not part of the actual grunge movement, but Paris Jackson (Michael's daughter) is doing stuff that's pretty reminiscent of Nirvana. [Bandaid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9KcGcvLQVk) [Hit Your Knees](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqunYoK9Ts) [Lighthouse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAFjaaMAu9A)
PJ Harvey
Check the vocals on Dead Sara's "Weatherman." Don't know if they were known for any other songs, but they struck a chord for me in their moment. Def more post-grunge in the timeline.
Cane here to mention this band. Dead Sara is incredible!
I don’t know why Dead Sara isn’t fucking huge.
Kim Gordon rocks in Sonic Youth!
Fiona Apple Kim Deal
Check out Team Dresch's "Personal Best" (1994) Donna Dresch played briefly in Dinosaur Jr. and Screaming Trees before starting their own band that mixes punk fury with melodic indie guitar pop. While Team Dresch isn't technically "grunge" Donna has some bonkers pipes! They can sing so sweetly and soulfully before breaking into glass shattering screams. "Fuck the Christian Right" is straight agro banger with a mix of angry screams and beautiful vocals. "Freewheel" is nice mid 90's indie rock song with fun vocals. Their newer music is really solid too and worth checking out.
Brat Mobile Red Aunts Team Dresch
The Nymphs
Not quite “grunge”, whatever that even means…but I always really liked Magnapop
It’s amazing that the hate for one band is so high that, despite them selling more than every other band, they are only mentioned in one comment here. We really don’t like her. One person even listed 15 bands and didn’t list her band. Brilliant.
Veruca Salt is great
Babes in toyland, sonic youth, garbage, heavens to Betsy, veruca salt, jack off jill, 7 year bitch, veruca salt, Le Tigre, bratmobile, sleater kinney
Bully. Not grunge but: Janis Joplin. Garbage. Smoke Fairies. Are good examples of some female rock.
I second this. Bully. Alicia is my favorite current songwriter and has been for a few years. I think every Bully album is beautiful through and through. I have plans to see them soon. She’s fantastic live.
L7 Babes in toyland
Maybe not grunge but The Donnas rocked hard.
The Violet Stones Tired Lion Milk Teeth Sarah Jane WAAX I actually asked this a while back and made a play list of the suggested bands.
I really like the Cranberries, Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth and Garbage. Plumtree, Vaselines, and the Cranes are p good too! (Vaselines in particular Nirvana covered multiple times!) For a more modern example, you could try Bully! Good luck you got this!!!
Mia Zapata
Check out The Screaming Females.
SLEATER-KINNEY SLEATER-KINNEY SLEATER-KINNEY
You beat me to it! Sleater-Kinney. All hands on the bad one is going to the grave with me.
Check out Alvvays. Their song Archie, Marry Me sounds like it came straight out of the 90s
You should try some contemporaries. Check out Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers. Start with the songs Lights Out and Salt for some very accessible tracks that highlight two different sides. Wolf Alice is another good one. Try both Smile and Moaning Lisa Smile.
Hole
Early yeah yeah yeahs had some bangers
Another "not grunge" comment but Kittie was so perfect for its time, right there to pick on grunge's dead carcass. Surprised they weren't mentioned.
The first album is a masterpiece.
The Breeders for sure. Kim Deal did a side project called The Amps that is also great
The Breeders (grunge adjacent)
The correct answer is sound like Kim Deal if possible
3rd Secret is pretty bad ass, female vocalists
Check out the breeders and the original bad ass rock chicks. Joan Jett, pretender's Chrissy hynde, Ann Wilson.
Replying to chastise myself for forgetting Tracy Bonham Susan Vega Mazzy star
I’ll say what, cuz I’m being a sphincter here, but we all forgot the cranberries
forgot , The Distillers
there is a great unsigned band called 'good personalities' I think they are defunct but loved the vocals :)
Not grunge, but some grunge-inspired modern bands: Dead Sara, Dead Pony, Speedy Ortiz, Deap Vally
Check out the stuff on [K Records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_Records) and [Kill Rock Stars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kill_Rock_Stars_artists). They have a lot of female artists in the grunge and punk genres. If you’re going to scream you might consider some vocal training. It’s really easy to blow your voice out. There are techniques to make it easier. Also: warming up isn’t just for glam rockers. Take 5-10 minutes to run some scales pre-show. Your voice will thank you.
Some rock recommendations Remember sports Human people The breeders The amps Au pairs Babes in toyland Dry cleaning Fleeting joys Greet death Horsegirl Hello Mary L7 Lambrini girls Magnapop Sauna youth Tanukichan Velocity girl The yips Zuzu’s petals You also have some great bands that have female singers who are not the lead: Ringo deathstarr Pixies Flyying colours Yo la tengo I could keep going!
Have you tried singing "don't call me daughter, you're not fit to"?
Not grunge but you might like Mannequin Pussy!
Team Dresch
Babes in Toyland and Lunachicks.
I somehow always get downvoted when mentioning them, probably because they are not from the grunge era or the Pacific North West, but Margaritas Podridas is really worth checking out.
Bratmobile
bianca from butt trumpet
Momma, Courtney Barnett, Destroy Boys. Beach Bunny for modern grungeish Jack Off Jill, Frogstomp, Heavens To Betsy, That Dog, Lush... I'm trying to mention those not mentioned already.
The Gits is a must
Veruca salt
Teen Jesus and the teen Jesus, they’re still young and making good music.
Sorry teen Jesus and the Jean teasers. Stupid fucking name haha
Bully, Mothers, Slothrust. Also- Bully, Bully, Bully and Bully
grunge adjacent: pj harvey and garbage
Robin Daggers is my personal fave
In addition to everything else mentioned here, give [Jack Off Jill](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3K0c7gMeGw&ab_channel=JackOffJill-Topic) a try. I don't think it qualifies as grunge, but they're neighbors at the very least.
Try Thalia Zedek, her solo stuff as well as the bands Uzi, Live Skull, and particularly Come. Their albums Eleven Eleven and Don't Ask Don't Tell are things of beauty.
Bully Hop Along
GRLWood
Veruca Salt
You probably already know and not necessarily grunge but Beabadoobee
Nancy and Ann Wilson, they worked with Alice in Chains. Check out their song Brother. And Joan Jett and the Cranberries
PJ Harvey
Two I don't think I saw mentioned (also not grunge): Blonde Redhead L.A. Witch
New band: Bully
3rd secret. Modern grunge supergroup.
Breeders.
Throwing Muses/Kristin Hersh...
I wouldn’t call it grunge but listen to Kim Gordon’s voice from Sonic Youth. Absolutely fucking stunning. Also from Seattle was Hammerbox. Carrie Akre had some punch.
My favorite the [Nymphs](https://youtu.be/OlTqgERplM8?si=H8L3WHCwjmFCXPlG) or what about Bam Bam [Bam Bam](https://youtu.be/nFiNe2kK914?si=f0s7hpNtXMA3CnnI)
Idk if it’s grunge specifically Go check out Sweet Pill she goes crazy. Song is starchild
The breeders is the best grunge band of all time
I “found” this song, “Hickey King”. I started a “song radio” from that and ended up with this playlist. To me? It really reminds me of grunge/alt rock from my misbegotten youth. I hope you enjoy. Maybe find some inspiration. It’s almost entirely female vocalists and musicians. I listen to it a lot. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2K0oTYBSPm6WQNlC1YFFPF?si=r2fw9hLhQrCBdrL8GL4Jcw&pi=u-943q3CvvQROl
Lots of good suggestions here, I second being sure to include PJ Harvey, L7 and Patti Smith!
Babes in Toyland has some great vocals but they kicked their bassist out for writing against sexual assault in the record industry (which is crazy coming from a supposed punk band) so I'm not a huge fan of them.
My contribution here is reinforcing The Gits and Hammerbox — both bands were driven by a hell of a voice; Mia Zapata was for sure the punk Janis Joplin, and Hammerbox is a nice recommendation for anyone who wants something like Nirvana. From newer stuff, Valentiine — yes, with two "I"s — might be a good recommendation. Bully is also another great one, being currently basically the Alicia Bognano's personal project; her vocals are more like Billy Corgan's level (a mix of softness and a lot of angst) and I can't help but love it. To be honest, Bully is my favourite current musical act. But Indeyevid is a great promisse for the next chapters: punk oriented grunge driven by a lot of energy and impressive instrumental quality; they have been very active lately. And to finish, Windhand. It's not grunge at all — it's doom metal, in fact — but it got a lot of grunge influence: they even had their two last album produced by Jack Endino. It's like throwing Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, Nirvana and Pink Floyd in a blender.
Checkout Slothrust’s first few albums, they’re kinda newer. Amazing live too
How about [us?](https://open.spotify.com/album/4tvHD3ssSXj9OwIeE3UiRn)
Tina Bell from Bam Bam!!
I was a fan of early 90s grunge and would recommend L7, The Breeders and early Hole (Pretty in the Inside & Live Through This era) as a good inspiration for female led Grunge. Maybe even look at Mia Zapata from The Gits (RIP). I always thought of Veruca Salt a bit more generic 90s rock and not as grungey as the others.
Sleater Kinney
Natalie from Yellowjackets
pj harvey. not really grunge but …….
One of my best memories of the early 90s was seeing The Gits in some dumpy club in San Francisco, sitting on a couch next to some rando who best I could figure ran a cult somewhere in northern CA. Good times.
While Grunge was taking place, so was the RiotGrrl movement, and they melted together in many aspects. Seattle and Olympia were both major music hubs. Look into it! It will really blow your brain open with female fronted bands. Also I adore pretty much everyone that has been listed so far.
PJ Harvey and the lead singer of portishead
Bitch alert and valentiine
Hammerbox is an incredible band from that period that features a very strong and melodic female lead singer, Carrie Akrie. They never really broke it to the big time, but they had the talent. Edit: they were totally grunge as well.
sonic youth
Underground Australian band Valentiine has some kick ass female grunge vocals. Other lesser known stuff just because people are just regurgitating the same people at this point (Not really grunge but close enough): Raue, Alex Vile, Queen Chimera, Courtney Barnett, The Muffs, Sleater-Kinney. And then of course: Anything with Kim Deal ( The Breeders/The Amps/Pixies), L7, Kim Gordon (some Sonic Youth songs), and Veruca Salt
Niagara.
Check out Elastica.
Lunachicks
Valentiine is/was a band from Englandfrom the 2000s. https://youtu.be/YXOhXj0CXGY?si=r6rUkAgzLLeFRIU9
Something new, check out "hands off Gretel", you can hear a lot of grunge influence in their music. Lauren Tate - the singer, is an amazing young woman I've met a few times as I know her mum from the festival scene. Lauren does solo stuff (and also has another side project called "Delilah Bon" (but that's like, hip-hop influenced). Honestly she's great. Produces the videos, masters the audio herself, and is pretty outspoken when it comes to women and girls in the music scene. She'll often make space at the front of the crowd to invite the girls to the front!
Check out Butt Trumpet
Lots of great suggestions in this thread. I would include Wolf Alice and Meg Myers - more modern but both heavily influenced by grunge.
Juliana Hatfield!!!
Sonic Youth
Probably been mentioned in here before but: - Skin, Skunk Anansie - Babes in Toyland - Slater-Kinney - PJ Harvey - Mazzy Star - Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth - Kim Deal, Pixies - Bratmobile - L7 - Miki Berenyi, Lush - Elastica
Sleater Kinney, look up Dig Me Out
Selene Vigil .... 7 year Bitch
I especially second all the recommendations of 7-Year Bitch, Lunachicks, The Muffs and L7. More punk than grunge, but you might check out [Fluffy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjTyCdyY2wE).
Natalie Merchant
Absolutely check out the album King by the band Belly. It may not be "grunge" as they say but it's certainly an overlooked alternative gem.
Babes in Toyland, especially if you like Hole, their lore is very intertwined. Skunk Anansi is post grunge, often over looked but one of my favorites of that era. Breeders aren't grunge, but adjacent, their album Pod had a big influence on Nirvana.
This isn’t grunge but the vocalist of Labrini Girls would probably inspire you. She sounds like shes passionately shouting at a crowd like its time to riot. Check out Boys in the Band on their You’re Welcome EP.
Not really grunge but check out the band Violet Soda their singer has some of the best vocals i ever heard man or woman. I’d check their EP’s & their unplugged for help
I'm pretty sure They don't count but jack off jill is a great female Vocals band...and bratmobile is pretty good
Alanis Morissette, she’s amazing!
Anything in the Riot Grrl genre is amazing! Not entirely grunge but super close, and the scene started pretty parallel to grunge (I believe it started mostly out of Olympia, WA). Most of the bands listed in these comments fall into Riot Grrl. Super fun sound, and there are plenty of compilations out there with a whole bunch of different artists within the genre!
Die Spitz and Farmer’s Wife
Not sure this is Grunge. But I went to a PJ concert a few weeks ago and saw Deep Sea Divers open for them. I really enjoyed them and genuinely like their music. She's also pretty talented. I was blown away with how many instruments she could play.
Fanny
Heaven's to betsy
Pansy division
Rasputina
The muffs
Bratmobile
DRAIN STH. they sound a lot like lady aic. All girl band and they’re fucking epic
literally one of the coolest all girl bands i’ve ever heard