The Best Song From Each Nirvana Album
In honor of three timeless albums, Audio Ink Radio is highlighting the best song from each Nirvana studio album. – Author: Anne Erickson, Photo via Chris Cuffaro
When it comes to the grunge movement, perhaps no band is as important as Nirvana. Kurt Cobain and company became one of the biggest bands of the 1990s, and not only that, but they became poster boys for an entire musical movement early in the decade. While bands such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains were also critical to the movement, without Nirvana’s 1991 sophomore release “Nevermind” going viral before the word was a thing, there’s no way grunge would have taken on such a life of its own.
Nirvana’s career, sadly, was cut short due to the death of Cobain in 1994. Following Nirvana, drummer Dave Grohl formed Foo Fighters, but that band was more of the post-grunge style and quite a divergence from Nirvana. While Nirvana was known for having a more lo-fi, raw sound, Foo Fighters crafted more radio-friendly, commercial singles, with songs such as “Best of You” and “”Learn to Fly” truly ruling rock radio.
With Nirvana only being an active band for a few years, they released just three studio albums, which is surprising considering how popular they were not only in their era but for decades after the band disbanded. In honor of those three timeless albums, Audio Ink Radio is highlighting the best song from each Nirvana studio album. Note that we aren’t including live releases or compilation albums in the tally.
The Best Song on Each of Nirvana’s Studio Albums
“About a Girl” off “Bleach”
Most people associate the grunge movement with the 1990s, and while it’s true that the genre blossomed in that decade, it got its start in the 1980s. Nirvana released “Bleach” in 1989, and this was before Dave Grohl joined the band, so Chad Channing was on drums. This album was more lo-fi than “Nevermind” and really showed off the band’s raw roots. The Sub Pop release has no bad songs, but “About a Girl” stands out as the best. It’s one of the band’s most popular singles, which says a lot, considering that it came out before Nirvana was a household name. In general, this album is raw, dirty and pure rock.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” off “Nevermind”
Don’t hate us for going with the obvious choice here. There’s just no denying that without the success of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana never would have blown up so big, and the rest of the grunge movement would have also stayed more underground. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” isn’t just a song. It’s a representation of a musical era and snapshot of history.
“Heart-Shaped Box” off “In Utero”
In a sense, “In Utero” is the most overlooked of Nirvana’s three studio album. Sure, “Bleach” was also underrepresented, but at the time, there was some criticism towards “In Utero” just because it wasn’t doing what “Nevermind” did. It seems so silly looking back on it, because nobody could recreate the phenomenon of “Nevermind.” “Heart-Shaped Box” is a disturbing, but beautiful, song off “In Utero,” and it has our vote for the best.
For more grunge, find Audio Ink Radio’s feature on the best grunge songs of the 1980s.
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