Poll: What’s the Best Nirvana Album? – Vote Now
Nirvana's Nevermind was one of the most impactful albums in rock 'n' roll history, but was it really their best? That's what we want to hear from you in this week's Loudwire Nights Album of the Week poll!
Whether the members of the band liked it or not, Nirvana were known as one of the pioneers of the Seattle grunge movement that began in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1980s. Along with Soundgarden, Mudhoney and a few others, Nirvana began playing shows in and around Seattle that attracted an angsty, young audience, as well as young industry personnel who were looking for something new to work with.
Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt founded the Seattle-based indie record label Sub Pop around the time that Nirvana were starting out, and they decided to sign them and release the band's first album Bleach in 1989. The album failed to chart at first, until it was reissued by Geffen years later.
Frontman Kurt Cobain wasn't even super proud of it — he told Spin in 1993 he "didn't give a flying fuck what the lyrics were about" when he wrote the songs for it, which he did while he was "pissed off" the night before they started recording. "Let's just scream negative lyrics, and as long as they're not sexist and don't get too embarrassing it'll be okay," he elaborated.
But 1991's Nevermind was a totally different ballgame. The band went for more pop melodies on their sophomore effort, and it paid off. The album knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous from the top of the albums chart a few months after it was released, and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was eventually so heavily played by radio stations and MTV that the entire culture of rock shifted more toward Seattle and Nirvana's contemporaries.
In Utero was Nirvana's last album, released in 1993, just a few months prior to Cobain's untimely death. They had a short discography, but an extremely impactful one. Head below to choose your favorite album by Nirvana, and tune into Loudwire Nights next Monday at 7PM ET to find out which record prevailed.
During tonight's show, you'll get to find out which Godsmack album was voted the best, and hear three songs from the winner.
Loudwire Nights with Toni Gonzalez airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.