Post-grunge emerged after grunge in the early 1990s following the newfound mainstream appeal of alternative rock. Generally, bands labeled as such are rock bands influenced by grunge. Their music often uses the distorted guitar, angst-filled lyrics and "loud-quiet" dynamics of grunge, albeit in a radio-friendly and commercial way. They arguably have more in common with 80's rock and power ballads musically.

While there are exceptions, many post-grunge groups do not explicitly refer to grunge bands as influences. Rather, they often cite as influences those bands that influenced the development of grunge itself, such as The Melvins and early hard rock acts such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. However those bands show less of a relation to these "influences", making them more of idols than the true influences they were for grunge bands of the early '90s.

The first huge "post grunge" albums were Sixteen Stone by British band Bush and Live's Throwing Copper. The albums are built mainly around hit singles and filler, a departure from the day's grunge artists Nirvana and Pearl Jam whose works was more album-oriented. Bands such as Collective Soul, Nukeateen, Silverchair and Candlebox were soon to follow.

By 1994 "post grunge", along with alternative rock in general, had overtaken grunge as the main rock format in America, while in Britain, Britpop (Britain's alternative rock scene) was becoming massively popular. However by the end of the millennium, with disappointing follow ups by most "post grunge" artists, only a few bands, like Creed, maintained continued commercial success. Many bands that survived had evolved, most notably Dave Grohl's post-Nirvana outfit, Foo Fighters, whose first two albums fit in with the rest of the "post grunge" pack.

Today there are a number of post '90s bands still thriving commercially in this genre, most notably Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin, Daughtry, Three Days Grace, Puddle of Mudd, Seether, and 3 Doors Down.