Nirvana from Greatest Rock Bands of All Time

I think people tend to either overrate or underrate Nirvana. Some think they're the best, some think they're trashy. Well, I disagree with both. What they were was the main face of a movement they didn't want anything to do with. They were certainly not as artistically groundbreaking as many people have been led to believe, but let's be honest, most grunge bands were hardly innovative. Their iconic status may be slightly undeserved, but their influence is undeniable. Their lyrics are often so-so, but the raw emotion of Kurt's voice and the band's passionate playing makes it irrelevant. Best band of all time? Fuck no. They're not even the best band of the 90s. Hell, they may not even be the best grunge band. But that doesn't mean they weren't good. They were actually a pretty solid act, in my opinion, and there will always be room for Nevermind in my top 100.

It would have been interesting to see where Nirvana had gone after In Utero/Unplugged, some of their finest work. Speaking honestly though, the only way it could have gone is the way it did. Nirvana and Kurt left their mark and defined a generation and then some.  This band might not be for everyone. But if you get it, you get it. Beautifully simplistic with thoughtful lyrics and great drumming. Nevermind, In Utero and the Unplugged are staples in my collection.

Nirvana has carried me all through my childhood, and this band is amazing. I absolutely hate how Smells Like Teen Spirit gets so much credit when Nirvana has so many other great songs that nobody really knows, such as Pennyroyal Tea, Breed, or even Something In The Way which are all great songs that I wouldn't think a "True" Nirvana fan would know. I wish I could see these guys live when Kurt was still alive. But other than that, great band.

This band really makes you feel like there's no hope. Some of their songs and lyrics are just so weird. At the same their music makes me want to go on a rampage more then any other music.

Nirvana was more than the sum of their parts, more than any singular aspect Kurt Cobain, or other members, brought to Nirvana. Nirvana was a movement, an anthem, a FEELING. He felt what a new generation was feeling at the time. His depression, his angst and his rage exploded outward through his music. Nirvana relied on music before it and created something brand new at the same time. And as the youth became caught up in the wave of emotion and inner turmoil seething through his music (on Nevermind), popular music shifted completely. To simply slag Nirvana as being "derivative" or not the best musicians missed the point and the value of the band completely. While i believe that if Nirvana hadn't existed, some other band would've broken through big in a similar manner, Nirvana was the one to do it on the back of Kurt's musicianship and emotional authenticity. Pearl Jam's Ten actually came out first and was a mere one-week blip at the bottom of the billboard top 200 albums. It wasn't until Nirvana established "grunge" as a commerciably viable genre until the RIAA and MTV started investing more thoroughly. And THEN, with a tidal wave of youth backing this "new" sound, pearl jam experienced a new life through "jeremy" (and its video). It takes a great artist to shift the musical paradigm at the foundries of the RIAA and MTV. (Michael Jackson and Nirvana were the only two.) It's a tough call for me to decide if Nirvana was at the right place at the right time, or if the right time and place just happened to find Nirvana.  Kurt and Nirvana MADE history. Radio changed to fit music like Nirvana's in. Kurt didn't equate to great rock'n'roll, he exuded the genuine human condition through his brand of rock and roll. America, first with the youth, just happened to understand and feel what Kurt expressed. And that to me is the mark of a true music legend -- one that creates music that is greater than the actual music or words or image. Few have done this since rock, or popular music for that matter, came into existence. Fewer have done it and MEANT it.

They only had three albums, but man were they good. Sure, they weren't as creative and inventive as bands like Radiohead, Sonic Youth, or Neutral Milk Hotel, but they were the face of a generation and they did their part. They wrote catchy grunge songs, and they inspired many many bands to come.

Printercat wrote Nirvana were pioneers of Grunge... That's far from the truth! The Pixies made grunge popular with their album Doolittle and not forgetting a great song called, "Where Is My Mind". 

"Here we are now, entertain us" Defined an entire generation. And perhaps, even now, that single lyrical sentence means more now in describing the millennial generation of today. Call it simple, I call it simply great.

One of the best bands of the 90's, them and Radiohead were the two most important bands of that decade in my opinion

In a time when music was looking quite dismal and uninspired, Nirvana came along and brought it back to life, back to basics; re-injecting passion and originality into the main-stream once again. Now, whether or not you like them - or even accept their status in history - is, of course, irrelevant. Because, to put it bluntly, you simply cannot argue that music in general - both main-stream and underground - seemed to conceptually improve once Nirvana, or should I say Kurt Cobain, re-set the standard.

The fact that Nirvana is ahead of the Rolling Stones simply because Nirvana made Nevermind is...laughable. I know this is an albums website, but if you put The Rolling Stones catalogue up against Nirvana's, it's like comparing mouses and elephants. 

When all is said and done, Nirvana's music dominated the first half of the '90s and paved the way for future alternative artists. They may not have been the first to do grunge but they were definitely the best.

When it comes to the popular songs (Smells Like Teen Spirit, My Apologies etc), Nirvana becomes a lot of fun in short bursts but when it comes to the other songs; it's a lot of noise and it's boring. Not my favourite band but I do respect for what they have done to the 90s generation - Kurt Cobain has my respect.

Unplugged in new york was good, Nevermind had 5 decent songs on it, the rest is poor. I thought they were great when nevermind first came out and didn't mind In Utero at the time (although probably more because I wanted to like it). I recently listened to them again 20 years on, and I just don't get the hype. Other than unplugged, it'll probably be another 20 (once I've forgot just how bad some of them album fillers are) before I dust them cds down again.

Part of the soundtrack of my youth, together with Pearl Jam they were on the base of a new sound (grunch). 20 years later, their songs are still powerfull...

Fantastic band, Kurt Cobain will live forever.

In my opinion, Nevermind is over-rated. It's a great album, and I personally may never be able to fully understand it, but I just don't see how they became so famous from it. Nirvana is a good band, but I suppose they just aren't my kind of band.

Nirvana all around is a deserving top 10 band, not just musically but in other aspects that made them notoriously celebrity, whether it be how they presented themselves, their juvenile antics, the last real rock band with punk attitude shoved up corporates a$$e$, they were just kids having fun. Cultural phenom that most of us teens related to at a stagnant time in rock music.

Overrated and genius at the same time. Technically, McCready and Cantrell ran circles around Kurt's simplistic punk chord progressions and non existent finger work, and Vedder and Staley are on another plane (no pun intended) vocally, but Nirvana was more than the sum of its parts. Focus is always on Cobain, but Grohl deserves much credit for their sound -- who knows how far they would have progressed if Kurt had lived and Dave became more of a contributor. Helpful?