100 Best Albums
![](/https/music.apple.com/assets/artwork/1x1.gif)
- 24 SEPT 1991
- 13 Songs
- Nevermind · 1991
- Nevermind · 1991
- Nevermind · 1991
- Bleach (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) · 1989
- Nevermind · 1991
- MTV Unplugged In New York (Live Acoustic) · 1994
- In Utero (20th Anniversary Edition) · 1993
- Nevermind · 1991
- In Utero (20th Anniversary Edition) · 1993
- Bleach · 1989
Essential Albums
- 100 Best Albums Even now, years after you first felt its edges, the chorus of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” still sounds too dangerous—too loud, too ugly, too upset—for any mainstream. And yet Nevermind’s opening salvo didn’t just mark an unlikely breakthrough for the Seattle trio, it upended popular culture in ways we haven’t seen since. Punk became pop, grunge became global vernacular, industry walls broke into rubble, and lead vocalist Kurt Cobain was anointed the reluctant voice of a generation in need of catharsis, all seemingly overnight. But what makes Nirvana’s second album special isn’t its rage, but its innocence. For as haunting and corrosive as it can often be, it was never at the expense of melody or songcraft or humanity. The old guard was actually still alive and well: Both Metallica’s Black Album and Guns N’ Roses’ two-volume Use Your Illusion famously came out within weeks of Nevermind. And while the album went on to sell about as well as those—even displacing Michael Jackson’s Dangerous as the best-selling album in the United States for a brief moment in 1992—Nirvana’s influence extended well beyond sheer economics, cutting a path for generations of forward-looking artists that stretches from Radiohead to Billie Eilish. They presented themselves not as rock gods, but ordinary (and highly sensitive) mortals. As an alternative to the pin-up in leather pants, they offered the proud feminist, screaming until his voice gave out (“Territorial Pissings”). In place of the glossy power ballad, they delivered something fragile and raw (“Polly”, “Something in the Way”). Nirvana’s angst didn’t only come across in the lyrics, but in the delivery. None of Cobain’s wisdom or fury would have resonated in the culture-shaking way it did if not for the sort of tunefulness that has always had a way of making wisdom and fury go down a little easier.
Artist Playlists
- The trio created a singular mix of punk angst, hard rock fuzz and perfect pop hooks.
- Their revolution was indeed televised.
- This isn't grunge—it's the hard-edged sound of a revolution.
- Kurt Cobain's passion stretched from the stadium to the DIY scene.
- Grab the mic and sing along with some of their biggest hits.
Live Albums
Compilations
More To Hear
- Alternative culture became pop culture.
- Words from artists impacted by Nirvana’s lead singer.
- How “Smells Like Teen Spirit” packed a punch in 1991.
- Strombo looks at the lasting influence of the Nirvana frontman.
- Producer Butch Vig and Strombo celebrate Nirvana’s LP turning 30.
More To See
About Nirvana
The insolent opening chords to Nirvana’s 1991 single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” were no mere guitar riff—this was a ticking time bomb, triggering an explosion that instantly changed the face of pop culture and sent shockwaves that are still being felt to this day. The lead-off track to the Seattle-based trio’s second album, Nevermind, didn’t just send the grungy sound of the Pacific Northwest underground crashing into the mainstream, it prompted rock radio stations to flip their formats to alternative almost overnight, turned thrift-store flannel into a must-have fashion accessory, and sent the music industry scouring indie scenes from coast to coast in search of the next leftfield crossover act. It’s a fate few would’ve bet on when the Aberdeen, Washington-formed group dropped their 1989 debut, Bleach, which positioned them as a baby-brother band to grunge kingpins Mudhoney. But amid the corroded jangle of “About a Girl,” singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain betrayed a Lennon-esque melodic sensibility at odds with prevailing DIY-punk orthodoxies. After Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic replaced drummer Chad Channing with Bonham-esque basher Dave Grohl, the group moved from Seattle’s Sub Pop imprint to major label DGC, which released Nevermind, a record that fused ‘60s pop hooks, ‘70s hard-rock heft, ‘80s post-hardcore noise, and eternal teen angst into what would become the definitive sound of the ‘90s. The staggering success of Nevermind, which symbolically knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the Billboard charts in January 1992—turned Cobain into the sort of massively influential figure that could convert suburban kids into socially conscious punks and get obscure artists major record deals by virtue of wearing their t-shirt. But his tumultuous marriage to Hole frontwoman Courtney Love also made him a prime target for the tabloids. That pressure-cooker experience could be felt all over Nevermind’s caustic 1993 follow-up, In Utero, as raw and furious a record that’s ever debuted at No. 1—however, the album also showcased Cobain’s growth as a songwriter on the graceful finale “All Apologies”. That song would prove to be not just the album’s send-off, but his own: In April 1994, Cobain died by suicide at age 27. Of course, an icon of this magnitude never really dies: Nirvana remains a pervasive influence on 21st century indie rock artists like Courtney Barnett and Ty Segall, while Grohl’s Foo Fighters continue to stake out a space for tuneful heavy rock at the top of the charts. But Cobain has also become a towering figure in modern hip-hop, as both a model of non-compromise name-checked by marquee MCs such as Kendrick Lamar and JAY-Z, and a tragic-figure archetype for SoundCloud-bred emo-rappers like Lil Peep and Juice WRLD, who, like their hero, turned their subculture into a pop phenomenon and left this world far too soon.
- ORIGIN
- Aberdeen, WA, United States
- FORMED
- enero de 1987
- GENRE
- Alternative