The Best of the Best: Nirvana's Nevermind

    I have never been a big grunge fan. I'm boring and happy. Not too angsty. My brand is full of smiles and sunshine. I love rock, but grunge and metal are just two genres I can't get into. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate them though! I don't have to tell you about how much of a genius Kurt Cobain is. The man needs no introduction. And everyone knows Nirvana. Probably about 85% of the population has a Nirvana t-shirt. 

    Nirvana's Nevermind ranks at number two on the Acclaimed Albums list. I gave it a listen through for the first time while I was at work, and was going through a frustrating time as we all thought we would be losing our jobs in the following year. So this album was actually the perfect soundtrack for that day. 

    You can still feel Nevermind's impact on music as a whole to this day. The album and especially its lyrical content promote male emotions in a way that are vulnerable, dark, kinda twisted, kinda humorous, and even anti-establishment. Really the things that no one wants to talk about. It's expressed here with a sound that matches that ferocity and emotional strength. To sum it all up: it's heavy. It's a heavy box and you have nowhere to sit it down, so you just have to hold it. 

    Cobain's vocals are... raw. That's just it. They're raw and they soar through all his growls and groans. All these elements combine into one album that doesn't stop pressuring you from the first second to the last. 

    There are so many documentaries, interviews, shows, articles, books, and think-pieces of Nirvana, this album, and their front-man, Cobain. It's easy to get swallowed up in them all. Around the time I listened to the album, I saw a Billboard article, I believe, that called Cobain the voice of his generation. Which would be my parents' generation. So I asked them if he was. They both said no. Then I realized that they aren't Nirvana's target audience as they both grew up in the rural south, but for those that are, Cobain was their ringleader. Even if he wasn't my parents' voice, he still changed the game for their influences and everyone following. 

    There's a roughness that I also appreciate here that I don't normally encounter with the artists I love. I mean, there's a song here called "Territorial Pissings." So, yeah. It's a manliness that isn't encountered often. I also think this can be associated with just who the band was as people at the time. Many artists are given hundreds upon thousands of dollars to record their albums. Nirvana? They had to play a gig to get gas money to go to Los Angeles to record. Their budget to begin with? $65,000. Their instruments weren't the best of the best either. The lack of polish is the charm point though. It's relatable. 

    Every little square inch of the album is famous in popular music from the cover to the content. And you'd have to have been under a rock for decades now to not know "Smells Like Teen Spirit." 

    Overall, I mean... There's not much to say. "Nirvana" and "Nevermind" speak for themselves. They did for the youth culture what TikTok is doing today. 

Rank: S Rank

Recommendation: for the angsty, teens, and punks at heart.