Nirvana
My rankings of the 3 Nirvana studio albums. Covers Bleach through In Utero. Additionally, Incesticide will be included here.
List is ordered more by my personal enjoyment and opinion of each album.
2:37 PM, 11/2/26
1.
The first studio album from Nirvana. When put next to the last two albums Nirvana would record, that being Nevermind and In Utero, this album looks out of place.
The sound of this album is noticeably different and heavier than that of the more poppy sound the band went for on Nevermind or In Utero. The only song here that even typically resembles a later Nirvana album is About a Girl. Though, maybe this all works in favor of Bleach.
Bleach is my favorite Nirvana album and I'm not so sure why. The sound is just very infectious and is memorable in so many places. Kurt's vocals on Blew, About A Girl's vocals and instruments, the repetition on School, the opening and vocals on Swap Meet, or basically anything from any of the other songs. Something about everything on this album just works in a way that is hard to describe.
While I can't say I wish Nevermind or In Utero were just more of Bleach, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see a world where Nirvana continued on and dipped back into their Bleach roots later in their career.
The sound of this album is noticeably different and heavier than that of the more poppy sound the band went for on Nevermind or In Utero. The only song here that even typically resembles a later Nirvana album is About a Girl. Though, maybe this all works in favor of Bleach.
Bleach is my favorite Nirvana album and I'm not so sure why. The sound is just very infectious and is memorable in so many places. Kurt's vocals on Blew, About A Girl's vocals and instruments, the repetition on School, the opening and vocals on Swap Meet, or basically anything from any of the other songs. Something about everything on this album just works in a way that is hard to describe.
While I can't say I wish Nevermind or In Utero were just more of Bleach, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see a world where Nirvana continued on and dipped back into their Bleach roots later in their career.
2.
The third studio album, and the final one, from Nirvana. In Utero would release only within half a year of Kurt Cobain's suicide in April of 1994, so the album holds an interesting place in Nirvana's catalogue even just for that reason.
In Utero stays in line with what Nirvana did on Nevermind, sticking with Kurt's pop focused writing. Here though, it seems like Kurt's vocals are at the forefront of alot of the album, which is fitting considering its some of the last material he would create and release. It seems the instruments are also stripped back to some extent to let Kurt's voice really shine.
The songs on In Utero are beautiful as much as they are cruel in their presentation. Heart Shaped Box is almost gorgeous in how amazing it sounds with some of the almost grotesque lyrics and music video standing alongside it. The bluntness of Rape Me, overbearing nature of Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, and the beautifully haunting All Apologies are just simply great audible experiences.
This album will always be special in its place in music history, but also for the beautiful quality it keeps within itself.
In Utero stays in line with what Nirvana did on Nevermind, sticking with Kurt's pop focused writing. Here though, it seems like Kurt's vocals are at the forefront of alot of the album, which is fitting considering its some of the last material he would create and release. It seems the instruments are also stripped back to some extent to let Kurt's voice really shine.
The songs on In Utero are beautiful as much as they are cruel in their presentation. Heart Shaped Box is almost gorgeous in how amazing it sounds with some of the almost grotesque lyrics and music video standing alongside it. The bluntness of Rape Me, overbearing nature of Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, and the beautifully haunting All Apologies are just simply great audible experiences.
This album will always be special in its place in music history, but also for the beautiful quality it keeps within itself.
3.
The second studio album, and the breakthrough, from Nirvana. Nevermind takes a very different approach from what Nirvana originally started on Bleach. Dave Ghrol came in to replace Chad Channing on drums, and Kurt took to his pop songwriting talent for the songs here.
With Nevermind, Nirvana polished the heavy and rougher sound of Bleach into a much more widely palatable noise profile for the world, and yeah it works pretty great. Nearly every song on the album works on such a high level that it is a sight to behold. Furthermore it helps how many of the great songs are placed next to eachother. The 5 song stretch of Smells Like Teen Spirit into Lithium is probably one of the best sequences you can ever find on an album.
The album can at times take some mis-steps in quality/excitement, whether it be on Polly or Lounge Act, but even these songs work nicely on their own merits. Basically every song on here has beautifully rough vocals from Kurt, and amazing instrumentation from the rest of the band, it's no wonder this is one of the most famous albums of all time.
With Nevermind, Nirvana polished the heavy and rougher sound of Bleach into a much more widely palatable noise profile for the world, and yeah it works pretty great. Nearly every song on the album works on such a high level that it is a sight to behold. Furthermore it helps how many of the great songs are placed next to eachother. The 5 song stretch of Smells Like Teen Spirit into Lithium is probably one of the best sequences you can ever find on an album.
The album can at times take some mis-steps in quality/excitement, whether it be on Polly or Lounge Act, but even these songs work nicely on their own merits. Basically every song on here has beautifully rough vocals from Kurt, and amazing instrumentation from the rest of the band, it's no wonder this is one of the most famous albums of all time.
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