Nevermind by Nirvana (US) (CD, Aug-1991, Geffen)

This is the album that started it all - popularizing grunge, idolizing Kurt Cobain, introducing Nirvana, and inserting underground Rock into mainstream pop culture. Its hard to believe the album's quality - if you aren't overly familiar with Nirvana, you might listen to this album and assume its their greatest hits CD - after all, just about all of the tracks are now considered modern classics.

There are few albums that can be played from start to finished and enjoyed the entire way through. Moreover, there are few albums that can be listened to completely and be viewed as a single piece of art - with each of the tracks collaborating with the others. This album does both of those - masterfully.

Nevermind earns status within my Top 10 albums list. If you don't own it - add to your collection now

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. In Bloom
3. Come As You Are
4. Breed
5. Lithium
6. Polly
7. Territorial Pissings
8. Drain You
9. Lounge Act
10. Stay Away
11. On A Plain
12. Something In The Way

This album is a must for anyone who loves rock music and its history. It is hard for me to describe to a young person today just what it felt like to hear this revolutionary music for the first time. Now, Nevermind is standard classic radio fare that has allowed alt bands like Death Cab for Cutie and The Killers to become pop stars, but in 1991, when bands like Poison dominated the airwaves, it was almost inconceivable that something as edgy, serious, and passionate would be heard by the mainstream.
In the late 80s and early 90s there was an alternative music movement that was bubbling just below the surface waiting for something to turn that simmer into a boil. That something was Nirvana, and it ignited a fire that blew the lid off Top 40 radio and changed the face of music.
I was 16 at the time and was already heavy into alternative music with Pixies, Sonic Youth and REM being my favorite bands. I don't remember the day or place I first heard Nevermind, but I remember the feeling. During those first opening notes of Smells Like Teen Spirit, my jaws dropped open. It was like everything I had heard before and nothing I had heard before all rolled into one. It was a conflicted feeling of de ja vu and that of entering a strange new world. It was my only musical experience like this to date and I don't think it happens very often. People who were around to first hear the Beatles or Elvis are probably the only other fortunate people to have a musical experience like this.
Despite the fact that Teen Spirit has become the most overplayed rock song of the decade (stealing the crown from Stairway to Heaven), it's still an absolute emotional rock freak-out best heard cranked up loud. What follows Teen Spirit is a musical masterpiece that blends all the best about rock music and turns it into a new genre. There are no bad songs here. It's hard to find albums like this today where its all about two or three hits with the rest being filler. Drain You is one of my favorite songs as is Lithium and Polly, but most of the time, I play this all the way through.
I highly recommend this music for any rock fan who really wants a complete collection. In fact, I'd recommend any Nirvana album, but to me this one is the most accessible for newcomers. Somewhat overproduced, yes, certainly over-reviewed, and hyped to the point of exhaustion, but don't let that stop you from missing Nevermind and an intense musical experience.

What is there to say about this album that noone knows yet? Nothing because this album is well deserving of the status that it has obtained. If you are one of the few people that haven't heard this ground-breaking disc, don't wait any longer. I can find at least one positive memory to associate each song on this album with. "Nevermind" will never be obsolete. Cobain changed everything and sadly he isn't around to rid the rock world once again of the pollution that is now on the radio. "Nevermind" is what a grunge-rock band, or even any type of band for that matter should be: Guitar, drums, bass, vocals. Stripped down, raw and unforgettable. Nothing on here is filler.

R.I.P. Kurt

It is impossible to talk about Nevermind as an album without immediately jumping to its importance in pop culture in the last 20 years. And though it's easy to throw the term "overrated" at it, this album deserves near all the praise it has received.

Though classics like Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Come As You Are, and Lithium hog a lot of the attention, the album wouldn't be legendary if those were the only quality tracks. Songs like Breed and Territorial Pissings would be welcome on any punk compilation ever made, Polly and Something in the Way are acoustic pieces that are as impressive as they are simple, and Drain You, Lounge Act, and On A Plain show the diversity of Nirvana's influences. The ultimate cathartic moment on the album may be the hidden track Endless, Nameless, an distorted, noisy, 6 minutes and 43 seconds of rock and roll heaven.

Butch Vig's production has come under criticism for making this album sound "too slick," and by punk rock standards, it's downright clean. But while it may hurt it's indie credentials, it makes Krist's basslines that much more memorable, Dave's drums hit that much harder, and Kurt's voice to come out that much more.

Maybe the most surprising thing about the album is that 20 years later, it doesn't sound like "classic rock." It's still as loud, ferocious, and interesting as it ever was, much like Raw Power by the Stooges. That might have less to do with the album than what has followed it, but that does not diminish it's huge effect on music.

This was the peak of grunge rock in the '90's. This is acclaimed to be one of the best rock albums or all time. Nirvana isn't my favorite band, but this album is amazing start to end. There is probably no one who likes rock who doesn't own it. It is one of those CD's that every collection has. You should have it too.