Which do you think is better: Bleach or Nevermind?
Personally I’m on the side of Bleach but Nevermind is undoubtedly more famous.
Opinions?
Nevermind. Bleach has some great songs, but it’s not a complete album in my mind. Nevermind is pretty much great from beginning to end. Of course, all of Nirvana’s stuff is pretty simplistic, but Nevermind has great hooks in every song.
[Modding]Moved to Cafe Society[/Modding]
I’m going with Nevermind. Bleach was always a little too abrasive for me. I hadn’t heard anything else quite like that before, which made it interesting, but Nevermind was a lot more enjoyable to listen to and re-listen to.
I too have to go with Nevermind. Bleach is a great album, but it was a work in progress. By the time Nevermind was written they were on a whole other level.
to me bleach was the real nirvana before butch vig and the major label put too much shine on them . the songs were there, but they were too, too much of something.
bleach was raw abrasive animalistic. nevermind was a polished stone. sometimes hard to remember that the same band did both albums, back to back even
Nevermind is too polished, but Bleach isn’t polished enough. I’m going with In Utero.
Best answer yet 
I’ll have to go with Zen Arcade or Surfer Rosa.
I keed, I keed.
Not a big fan, but Bleach is a noisy mess with a couple great songs while Nevermind may be a bit too made-for-radio but still better-written and performed. Anybody who thinks drummers don’t matter should check out how Dave Grohl elevated them from the sludge just as much as Butch Vig.
Other than that I am a fan this is what I would say. We could (and probably should sometime) do a whole thread on how much the drummer matters. I’m of the opinion that they matter a LOT.
Bleach is great but Nevermind is in a different street. You’ll hear plenty of stuff as good as Bleach each year, something as good as Nevermind comes around more like every five years. Rare to get an album that’s so brilliantly poised between raw punk rock energy and the more classic rock, melodious sound.
In Utero is great as well, but is too self-regarding. The hooks are still all there, but the lyrical angst detracts.
I agree with this.
I’d rank it:
- In Utero
- Nevermind
- Bleach
I love their unplugged, too, of course.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I read about Steve Albini’s view on this. If they wanted the drums to sound like they were in a warm room, they recorded them in…a warm room.
The funny thing about In Utero is that while it’s got the right amount of raw and polished, it actually utilizes tech that while less sophisticated is harder to come by. Having that perfect warm room isn’t a common thing. That’s why most people use the digital processing, because it’s actually cheaper and easier than having the perfect studio for every kind of sound.