Ah, Nirvana. The band that basically made flannel and dirty hair a fashion statement worldwide. These guys from Aberdeen, Washington started out as just another garage band in 1987, with Kurt Cobain on guitar/vocals and Krist Novoselic on bass, before Dave Grohl joined them in 1990 to complete what would become one of the most important lineups in rock history. They were just another scruffy bunch of Pacific Northwest misfits until they accidentally became the voice of a generation and, well, that’s when things got interesting.
Nevermind dropped in September 1991 and basically flipped the music world upside down. This wasn’t supposed to happen – the record label thought they’d sell maybe 50,000 copies tops, but instead it knocked Michael Jackson’s Dangerous off the top of the Billboard 200. The whole thing was produced by Butch Vig, who gave their raw, angry sound this polished, radio-friendly sheen that somehow made it even more powerful. The album’s got this perfect mix of punk aggression and pop sensibility that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became the anthem nobody saw coming – Kurt himself admitted he basically ripped off the Pixies’ quiet-verse-loud-chorus formula, but hell, it worked. Then you’ve got “Come As You Are” with that hypnotic bassline that gets stuck in your head for days, and “Lithium” which perfectly captures that manic-depressive swing between numbness and rage.
The thing about Nevermind is it’s simultaneously the most accessible and most genuinely angry album to ever hit number one. Songs like “Polly” tell the harrowing story of a kidnapping and assault, while tracks like “Territorial Pissings” are just pure, unfiltered punk fury. Kurt’s vocals switch from whispering to screaming sometimes within the same song, and somehow it all makes perfect sense. The album basically killed hair metal overnight and made alternative rock the new mainstream, whether the band wanted that responsibility or not.
You should check this out because it’s one of those rare albums that actually changed everything. It’s the sound of three guys from nowhere accidentally becoming spokesmen for an entire generation’s frustration and alienation. Plus, it still sounds absolutely massive today – those guitar tones are just crushing, and the songs are deceptively simple but incredibly catchy. It’s essential listening, basically.