The ultimate Nirvana playlist

Nirvana’s debut album, “Bleach,” was released on June 15, 1989, which means the record is now more than three decades old. Although it didn’t even feature Nirvana’s best-known drummer, Dave Grohl (who wouldn’t join the band for another year), guitarist/lead vocalist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic still managed to put together a sound that caught the attention of grunge fans and music critics and would be a blueprint for the band’s future successes. With that all in mind, here is our 20-song, ultimate Nirvana playlist.

When it comes to Nirvana’s three studio albums, “Bleach” is the black sheep, containing songs that range from a pop track like “About a Girl” to a grunge cover like “Love Buzz” to a thrash metal tune like “Negative Creep.” If you want to hear a song that epitomizes what was to come for the band, try “Blew,” an original grunge track that was written by Cobain in 1988 and featured the lineup of Cobain, Novoselic and Chad Channing on drums. It was the opener on “Bleach” and later appeared on a 1989 EP also titled “Blew.” Fans, critics and the band members themselves tended to embrace their later music much more during live performances, with “Blew” being the sole track from “Bleach” that managed to hang on throughout Nirvana’s entire short-lived existence.

If you don’t recognize the name “Sliver” right away, you’ll likely know this as the punk-esque Nirvana song containing the repeated lyrics “Grandma take me home.” Released as a non-album single in 1990 prior to the arrival of drummer Dave Grohl, “Sliver” was later included on the 1992 compilation album “Incesticide,” after which a music video was made, which explains why Grohl can be seen in the video.

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the lead track off Nirvana’s second album, 1991’s “Nevermind,” and it was also the band's first major hit, first single to chart worldwide, first Grammy nomination (actually two nods) and the band’s first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, where the song reached the No. 6 spot. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would remain the band’s most successful and defining song, even though Cobain admitted he was attempting to imitate the Pixies with the music; he included nonsense lyrics to fill space, and his vocal enunciation varied between barely intelligible and completely incomprehensible. Still, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came to be defined as the epitome of what grunge music sounds like.

Nirvana’s second major single, “Come As You Are,” soared as high as the No. 32 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as No. 3 on both the Mainstream Rock and Alternative Songs charts. Cobain was initially hesitant to release the song as the second single off “Nevermind,” as the distinctive main riff coincidentally sounded a lot like the riff from Killing Joke’s 1984 song “Eighties.” Killing Joke was displeased with the release, but as it turns out the British rock band The Damned had a song called “Life Goes On” that also sounded like “Eighties,” but the former actually predated the latter by two years.

One of the most popular songs among Nirvana fans (readers of “Rolling Stone” magazine voted it as the band’s best), “Lithium” is about a guy whose girlfriend dies, and he turns to religion to keep him from feelings of depression and suıcide. The title is said to be a reference to Karl Marx’s quote about religion being “the opiate of the masses." The lyrics are appropriately dark, but some of Nirvana’s most quoted lyrics come from “Lithium,” including the opening: “I'm so happy / Because today I've found my friends / They're in my head / I'm so ugly / But that's okay 'cause so are you.”

“In Bloom” was actually the first song for which Nirvana made a music video to accompany it, but this was for an unreleased version of the song that dropped in 1990 and didn’t receive much attention. “In Bloom” was later included on “Nevermind” and became the fourth and final single off the record. As fans, we’re happy the song was given new life and a new music video was filmed for it because “In Bloom” is easily one of the most entertaining Nirvana videos. You may remember it as the one shot in black and white where the band imitates an early ‘60s pop band on an Ed Sullivan-esque variety show.

The band thought Krist Novoselic’s opening bass part sounded like something a cheesy lounge band would play, and hence the name “Lounge Act” stuck. However, the song that follows is far from a lounge tune and is instead another heavy, Pixies-inspired romp about Cobain trying to balance a band and a relationship with then-girlfriend Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill fame. The band reportedly couldn’t come up with an ending, so it simply slowed down the tape.

“Drain You” was one of Kurt Cobain’s personal favorite songs, and he subsequently played it often at live performances, Thus it earned a spot in this list. It’s also an engrossing love tune that somewhat eschews the loud-soft changes found in most “Nevermind” tracks and instead transitions from a pop-grunge ditty into a dark, Sonic Youth-like musical interlude that included the sound of squeaky toys Cobain brought into the studio. “Drain You” was the most produced song on the album, as evidenced by producer Butch Vig’s claim that it has more guitar tracks than any other tune on “Nevermind.” In fact, there are so many overdubs that Vig had to trick Cobain (who was reluctant to record multiple takes) into thinking something went wrong and it needed to be re-recorded.

The last song on “Nevermind” (not including the bonus track added later on some editions) was “Something in the Way,” an acoustic number about being homeless and living under a bridge. Cobain recorded his part on a 12-string guitar, which was only partially tuned and played softly, making it difficult for Grohl and Novoselic to record their bits. Yet the result was a haunting masterpiece that became a fan and critic favorite and was later performed on “MTV Unplugged.”

Cobain was apparently so into Vail that his emotions made him physically ill (“Love you so much / Makes me sick”). So their breakup devastated him, and the singer penned “Aneurysm” in response. Most fans know the song from the 1992 compilation album “Incesticide” or the live disc “From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah,” but it was actually first released as a B-side to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It may have never appeared on a studio album, but it often appeared on the band’s live set list, and thus deserves a spot on this playlist.

Hey! Wait! I’ve got a new complaint…but it’s not about “Heart-Shaped Box,” the lead single from Nirvana’s third and final studio album, “In Utero” (1993). The album featured medical-themed lyrics and imagery, which are clearly on display in the song inspired by a documentary Kurt watched about childhood cancer. On a lighter note, Cobain also cherished the riff of “Heart-Shaped Box” so much while writing it that he would practice in a closet so then-girlfriend Courtney Love wouldn’t be tempted to steal the part for her own band. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative chart and also featured a highly praised music video.

In contrast to the sad themes of “Heart-Shaped Box,” the second single from “In Utero,” “All Apologies,” was a happy song that Kurt dedicated to Courtney Love and their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. The track earned Grammy nominations for both Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance, and, like its preceding single, also topped the Billboard Alternative charts. 

“All Apologies” was actually a double A-side single off “In Utero” that was paired with the heavier song “Rāpe Me.” Although it was a defiant anti-rāpe song that also touched on the topic of the media prying into Cobain’s personal life, MTV refused to let Nirvana play the song at the 1992 Video Music Awards — even going as far as threatening to ban the band’s videos from the network. When it came time for Nirvana’s performance, the band started playing the first few chords of the song just to freak out MTV execs but then transitioned into “Lithium” instead.

Written by Cobain in a half-hour, “Pennyroyal Tea” is the story of a desperate and depressed individual, and its title is a reference to an abortion-inducing herbal medicine. Cobain’s own medical issue — chronic stomach pains — also contributed to the formation of the song. “Pennyroyal Tea” was scheduled to be the third single off “In Utero,” but those plans were nixed following the singer’s death. Don’t let these details get you too down, though, as “Pennyroyal Tea” is a solid song that rightfully deserves a place on our playlist, as well as lists of Nirvana’s best songs. Cobain’s solo acoustic version on the 1994 “MTV Unplugged” album also absolutely deserves a listen.

“Dumb” is one of the few Nirvana songs that remains low-key through its entire runtime, never veering into heavier or grungy territory. It’s also the second song on “In Utero” to feature a cello, an instrument that can also be heard on “All Apologies.” (Cellist Kera Schaley is the only musician credited on the album other than Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl.) Although it was never released as a single, “Dumb” nevertheless made it onto R&R’s US Alternative National Airplay chart, reaching the No. 37 spot.

Back in the late ‘80s, Kurt Cobain was working on a song that he couldn’t quite put together. In the following years, it was recorded four times with two different drummers and three different producers. When it was finally released, it was somewhat unceremoniously included as the hidden track on the 1993 AIDS relief album, “No Alternative,” and called “Verse Chorus Verse.” However, that’s also the name of an abandoned Nirvana track, so the aforementioned song was called “Sappy” by fans and was eventually officially referred to by that name in bonus content on Nirvana re-releases. “Sappy” is very much a straightforward pop song — and a catchy one at that.

“About a Girl” was actually first released on Nirvana’s debut 1989 album, “Bleach,” but it garnered much more attention from the band’s 1993 “MTV Unplugged” performance, which is the version we’re going with for this playlist. After all, “About a Girl” wasn’t released as a single until 1994 ahead of the live album for the aforementioned show. Written about Cobain’s former girlfriend Tracy Marander, “About a Girl” is an overtly pop song and was such a contrast to the other grunge tracks on “Bleach” that Kurt was nervous about releasing it but nevertheless insisted the Beatles-inspired song be included.

During the famous 1993 “MTV Unplugged” set, Nirvana also performed a couple of covers, including a rendition of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World.” It ended up being such a hit that it was released as a promo single for the 1994 live album, hit No. 6 on the Billboard Alternative Charts and was even praised by Bowie himself — even though the iconic English musician was a bit irked that so many Gen Xers thought “The Man Who Sold the World” was a Nirvana original and he was the cover artist. The song became part of Nirvana’s live sets following the cover’s success.

Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged” cover of “The Man Who Sold the World” was admirable, but Cobain put even more emotion and soul into his rendition of the 19th-century folk standard “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” also known as “In the Pines” or “My Girl.” Occasionally played by the band at concerts dating back to 1990, Cobain’s take on the tune was notable for featuring him screaming the last verse, which earned the praise of music legend Neil Young.

For nearly a decade, “You Know You’re Right” existed on tape only as a bootleg version from a 1993 live performance. A studio recording did exist, but it was made just two months before Cobain’s April 1994 death, and thus its release became marred in a legal tug-of-war between Courtney Love and Nirvana’s surviving members. The song ended up being the only track from what would have been the band’s fourth studio album and was eventually released on its self-titled 2002 greatest hits record.