MC Hammer -- born Stanley Kirk Burrell -- sold 10 million copies of his 1990 album "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em." MC Hammer dropped the MC in 1991 and toured behind the follow-up album "Too Legit To Quit." Unfortunately for him, that was the height of his success. In 1996 he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On the good side, in 2000 VH1 ranked his biggest hit, "U Can't Touch This," at No. 88 on its list of the top 100 greatest dance songs of all time. Hammer was among the early rap acts to "cross over" to the mainstream. Some other top rap acts of the early '90s were 1980s holdovers Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. Dr. Dre also emerged as a solo act. His album "The Chronic" came out in 1992. It included a guest shot from a then brand new rapper named Snoop Dogg.
The alternative rock/grunge scene that emerged during the early 1990s churned out bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and, most notably, Nirvana. Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind," a follow-up to its 1989 debut album "Bleach," went triple platinum. The lead song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," became an anthem for teen angst. Nirvana's third album, "In Utero" from 1993, was nominated for a "Best Alternative Music Album" Grammy, but did not win. By then lead singer Kurt Cobain was battling a heroin addiction. His drug overdose in Rome cut short Nirvana's 1994 European Tour. Later that year, Cobain killed himself in his Seattle home. Dave Grohl -- the drummer for Nirvana -- formed the band Foo Fighters in 1994. His band became an arena and festival headliner.
The 1991 album "Groovy Ghetto" doesn't bring up a lot of memories by itself, but it did contain a dance cut that went to No. 1 in 28 different countries in 1992. "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred was a playful mockery of men who work out in gyms and think too highly of themselves. Record companies didn't warm up to the album or track, forcing the bands promoter -- Guy Holmes -- to release it on his own personal label. As of 2011, "I'm Too Sexy" made Right Said Fred a bona fide "one hit wonder." Some others were Alannah Myles ("Black Velvet" from 1990), Jesus Jones ("Right Here, Right Now" from 1991) and The Breeders ("Cannonball" from 1993).
Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway and Ed O'Brien operated as On a Friday from 1986 until 1991. They adopted the name Radiohead that year and emerged as one of the leaders of alternative rock for the decade. The band released its eighth studio album -- "The King of Limbs" -- in 2011. However, it was the 1993 single "Creep" off "Pablo Honey" that brought them into the mainstream. Their follow up, "The Bends" from 1995, featured such songs as "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees." Some other alternative rock standouts from the early 90s were R.E.M., Pavement, Rage Against the Machine, Tori Amos and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a veteran band that finally made the charts with "Give It Away" and "Under the Bridge."