This review originally ran in the December 1991 issue of SPIN. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind, we’ve republished this piece here. 

After a most fine lunch on a bright sunny New York day, Nevermind is blasting through the little box on my desk and the finance department here at the lovely SPIN offices are probably going ballistic … But so what. Forget the new Guns N’ Roses double overkill. Forget Rush’s Roll the Bones. Nirvana has built this one for speed—that would be speed with a capital “S”—and it sure is fun to drive. A little bit punk, a little bit metal, a little bit country, a little bit rock’n’roll. What the hell more do you want?

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Nevermind‘s got a full-out rock assault on “Territorial Pissings,” and a beautifully harmonic “On a Plain,” and a really cool song called “Breed.” Anyway, I swear you’ll be humming all the songs for the rest of your life—or at least until your CD/tape/album wears out. I’m fully about this record, and you will be too.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.