1988-present

Bob Seger's next record was 1991's The Fire Inside, at a time when glam metal, grunge and alternative rock were all taking the forefront. His new music found little visibility on radio or elsewhere. The same was true of 1995's It's a Mystery, however the album was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold). In between, however, his Greatest Hits compilation was a major success, achieving sales of over 8 million units through late 2006. Seger did go back on the road again for a 1996 tour, which was successful and sold the fourth-largest number of tickets of any North American tour that year.

In June 1997 Seger drove his automobile off the Trans-Canada Highway in Nipigon, Ontario and was charged by Ontario provincial police with drunk driving after crashing his car.

Seger took a sabbatical from the music business for about ten years to spend time with his wife and two young children. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15, 2004. Fellow Detroiter Kid Rock gave the induction speech and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm proclaimed that date Bob Seger Day in his honor.

Seger's first new album in 11 years, titled Face the Promise, was released on September 12, 2006. In its first 45 days, the album sold more than 400,000 copies, according to Soundscan. The album has sold over 1 million copies to date and stayed on the Billboard chart for months. His supporting tour has also been eagerly anticipated, with many shows selling out within minutes. Showing that Seger's legendary appeal in Michigan had not diminished, all 15,000 tickets available for his first show at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena sold out in under five minutes; three additional shows were subsequently added, each of which also sold out.

In 2005 Seger was featured singing with 3 Doors Down on the song Landing in London from their Seventeen Days Album.

On October 21, 2006 Seger performed America the Beautiful at the first game of the 2006 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers.

Events in late March of 2007 suggested that Seger may move on from Capitol Records because those who had worked with him to this point are now gone from the label. The same press release also confirmed Seger's intention to release a live CD/DVD package chronicling his Face the Promise tour at some point in the fall.