Founded in 1990 in Seattle, Pearl Jam is one of the most successful bands out of the grunge movement, if not of the whole alternative rock scene from the early 90s.

It began with Green River, a Seattle band formed in 1984 with Jeff Ament, later adding Stone Gossard. When they broke up in 1988, Ament and Gossard formed Mother Love Bone with Malfunkshun singer Andrew Wood – a band destined for the big time until Wood died of a heroin overdose. After recruiting drummer Dave Krusen and California vocalist Eddie Vedder, they named the new band Mookie Blaylock – later renaming themselves Pearl Jam and signing with Epic Records. Their debut album Ten was released in 1991 and by the following year was becoming one of the most successful debut albums ever.

Growing uncomfortable with success, the following albums went for a more anguished and experimental sound, and the band’s notorious activism had its most prominent case once they boycotted Ticketmaster, accusing them of price-gouging fans. In the meantime, various drummers passed through the band, with percussion only settling once Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron joined them in the tour for 1998’s Yield.

With 10 studio albums and various live recordings (including “Official Bootlegs” of basically every concert the band performed since 2000), Pearl Jam has sold nearly 32 million records in the U.S. and an estimated 60 million worldwide.