Being a teenager during the grunge era I never liked Soundgarden (or Alice in Chains). Their music just never clicked with me. But Hunger Strike, Say Hello 2 Heaven & All Night Thing from Temple of the Dog are great plus I did enjoy some of the Audioslave stuff.
That being said it's always too bad when someone passes away at a fairly young age. Especially if it was suicide or an overdose.
Did you like the grunge music scene at all? I understand if it didn't click with you, we all have our own tastes.
I loved the grunge scene. My brother got me The Singles soundtrack for Christmas one year, and it was my first exposure to the Seattle sound. That album had Alice in Chains, Chris Cornell (had a solo song), Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins (although they weren't from Seattle), and others. I still mostly listen to Pearl Jam radio on Pandora.
Pearl Jam, Candlebox, STP, & Nirvana were my grunge bands of choice. I'm a huge Blind Melon guy but they really only dressed grunge (labeled more alternative) and just happened to come out during that era.
The Singles Soundtrack has one of my favorite PJ songs on it plus the Mother Love Bone song that is responsible for my oldest daughters first name.
I get Soundgardens place in grunge history and appreciate what they did, they just weren't what I was looking for.