Nirvana from Best Bands of All Time

Not overrated. Musically, Soundgarden are on par, and Pearl Jam gets close. Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots could rival Kurt Cobain for drug use, but not song craftsmanship. Nirvana gets extra prominence because of the effect they had. They shook the industry to its core. They marked the change in era. Nirvana killed hair metal and fluff pop, and ushered in a 5 year streak of genius, not just of themselves, but a new tone in music. Nevermind is as good as advertised (all-time great), Bleach is overlooked, and In Utero, despite its challenges, is still brilliant. More than anything, anyone who claims Nirvana is a one-album wonder is forgetting about the subdued wonder of Unplugged. How good does a band need to be when they do Bowie, Leadbelly and the Meat Puppets better than the originals do? Maybe if Cobain hadn't died, these guys would have drifted into mediocrity, ruining their image, but he did die, and their work from 89-94 is as epic as anyone.

Nirvana brought real music back into the mainstream. I wonder if we would rank them more like Pearl Jam if they continued on? However, all of their albums are better than Ten ever was. I think Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic were under-rated in this band, and think they had more weight than what people gave them. Remember that Nirvana went nowhere until Dave joined the picture. I love the raw energy that they put into music, and the honest distress. It is often said they are pretentious, but I disagree and think their music came from the heart.

Excellent band, yet very over-rated at the same time. IMO the best bands of the 90's were Radiohead, Blur, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Most important band in my life when growing up. I remember when I was a kid in 1992 hearing Nirvana and they were almost bigger than god. You cannot under estimate how big this band was. There hasn't been another band like them since. Nirvana will live on forever.

Terms like extremely influential,genre-defining and overrated are constantly being thrown at the band. And I agree with all of them. They're great,but not one of the best artists of all time.

Catchy anthems with Teen Spirit, and Lithium, and deep cuts with Dumb, and Drain You; there's something for almost everyone in this band. They makes me want to live in the early 90's, just so I can experience the culture they spawned. Kurt may be my favorite rock icon, and I connect deeply with his music. Courtney's a murderous bitch. 'Nuff said.

For everyone who thinks Nirvana were talentless and boring, I would highly recommend listening to Downer, Breed, Aneurysm, and Scentless Apprentice. Very original and passionate! My second Favourite band after The Smiths.

First and still most rich and famous, Pixies tribute band!

Terms like extremely influential,genre-defining and overrated are constantly being thrown at the band. And I agree with all of them. They're great,but not one of the best artists of all time.

Nirvana is one of the most overrated bands of all time. They put out one very good (not great) album and the rest was average at best. I never understood why they got all the credit for the change in the rock landscape in the early '90s. When you look back at rock history, that was something that happens every so often. And there were several other bands that were effecting the change as well. Nirvana were not the only band who "brought real music back into the mainstream". Personally I think they are the fourth best out of the Seattle grunge big 4 - Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and then Nirvana. The best thing about Nirvana's success is it gave Dave Grohl the creative freedom to bring us the Foo Fighters.

One of the greatest bands ever.In Utero,Nevermind,Bleach...But in my opinion better from grunge was Alice In Chains.But hmmm...Nirvana was(and is)GREAT!!!

Much more than just a grunge band. They had two really great personal albums that I could listen to over and over (Nevermind and In Utero).

Probably the most overrated band in the history of music. Nirvana arrived on the music scene when popular music didn't know where to go next. Listeners were done with 80's hair metal and done with pretty moody synth. A perfect concoction of a new sound plus an empty mainstream throne combined with the ability to sonically personify the feeling of a generation rose Nirvana to the top. They aren't great musicians. They aren't great singers. They aren't even smart lyricists. But they are gut wrenchingly raw and cathartic. Sprinkle in a who-dun-it murder/suicide and it's the stuff of legends.  But if we can see through the how's and why's of Nirvana's reign and look strictly at the what's, meaning the music, they are average. Followers did it better---refined and melodic-- and preceding underground bands like Pixies did it smarter.  Cobain had an endearing quality that I personally find unnerving and can be found in any high school--the "I don't even care if I'm cool, I'm just doing this because I can" schtick. So many people do everything that they can to fit in and be accepted that seeing someone so un-interested in being so is magnetic to those types.  Still, it doesn't make for a legendary band. Nirvana cast a spell on people that still baffles me today.

I'm probably going to bother more than a few people when I say that I prefer Nirvana to The Pixies, and I prefer Pearl Jam to Nirvana (yes, it's all back to front for me). Having said that, Nevermind followed after Pearl Jam's Ten and helped kick off the decade in a sound that would define it. Though they only have 2 good albums, their influence affirms their status as one of the greatest bands. Their perpetual wave of tortured-teenage fans drive me nuts, but that's not their fault.