The 3 Undisputed Best Songs From Nirvana’s 1991 LP ‘Nevermind’

In the history of popular music, there have been a number of seemingly perfect or classic albums. But not every one of those albums cemented a musical movement. No, far fewer boast that distinction. One band that does, however, is the Seattle-born rock band Nirvana.

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In 1991, Nirvana released the band’s sophomore LP, Nevermind, and the history of rock was changed forever. Not only had Nirvana announced themselves onto the landscape, but the record cemented the grunge movement. These are the three undisputed best songs from Nirvana’s 1991 LP, Nevermind.

“Come As You Are” (Track 3, 3:339)

Some fans of Nirvana, grunge, or even rock music might be raising an eyebrow now. Not for the fact that we’ve included “Come As You Are” on the list, but because we didn’t start with “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, which is perhaps the most famous rock song of the 1990s and certainly of the grunge movement. But oh well! We wanted to begin with “Come As You Are” here because of the message—the all-inclusive, welcoming message. The track also boasts a guitar riff that most people studying the six-string try to learn! But as a rock song, of course, it’s eerie, skeleton-shaking, and totally immersive.

“Breed” (Track 4, 3:03)

This song is 100% explosive emotion. It also comes directly after the pensive “Come As You Are”, which is a nice juxtaposition in tone. Lyrically, the song is a comment on the moment. Speaking of juxtapositions, Nirvana was an experiment in just that. Cobain was counterculture; he wanted to take the juice out of suburban American culture. Yet, he was also a model-handsome artist beloved by almost everyone. That’s hard to manage. But “Breed” dives into all of that—in it, Cobain sings about apathy, meaninglessness, and aggression.

“Something In The Way” (Track 12, 3:52)

For the third and final song on our list, we head to the end of Nevermind. This is technically the last track (if you don’t count the hidden tune, “Endless, Nameless”). There is just something transcendent about Cobain singing the refrain over and over again, “Something in the way“. Being alive means being imperfect, which means something is always impeding our progress. Cobain nailed that reality with just a few sullen words. Chef’s kiss!

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