The roots of most popular music heritages can be traced to a specific geographical place. When it comes to grunge, its roots are well anchored in Seattle, Washington. As a hybrid music genre and a subculture, grunge emerged in Seattle’s alternative rock scene during the mid-to-late 1980s and broke into the mainstream music industry in the early 1990s. Local bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains brought grunge to the masses, and built their legacy as Seattle’s Big Four. This essay centres on the origins of grunge, the impact its commercial success had on the popular culture of the ‘90s, and the presence of grunge heritage through official and unofficial cultural expressions in Seattle three decades later. By bringing forth examples of tangible and intangible popular music heritage and reviewing the most influential local musicians, this essay aims to explain why grunge has been dubbed the Seattle sound.