Dirt is the second studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 1992, through Columbia Records. Peaking at number six on the Billboard 200, the album was also well received by music critics. It has since been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA and gone on to sell five million copies worldwide, making Dirt the band’s highest selling album to date. It is the band’s last album recorded with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was terminated from the band in January 1993.
Vs. (pronounced versus) is the second studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on October 11, 1993 in the United Kingdom and on October 19 in the US. The album, which features a deliberately raw and abrasive sound compared with the band’s previous release, was their first collaboration with producer Brendan O’Brien and their first album to feature drummer Dave Abbruzzese.
Pearl Jam decided to scale back its promotional efforts for Vs., including declining to produce music videos for any of the album’s singles. Upon its release, the album sold 950,378 copies in its first five days on sale, which set the record for most copies of an album sold during its first week since SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991, a record it held for five years. It occupied the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart for five weeks, the longest duration for a Pearl Jam album. Vs. received critical acclaim and has been certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of at least seven million copies in the United States