The best albums of the 1980s, according to Kurt Cobain (2024)

Although Bleach made a significant dent across the US in 1989, Nirvana truly arrived when they released the follow-up, Nevermind, in 1991. Kurt Cobain and his troupe were by no means the first grunge band in Washington’s thriving scene, but they were the most accessible and alluring, with smash hits like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Come As You Are’ and ‘Something in the Way’ in their weighty arsenal.

As the Nirvana name circled the globe, fans lauded their innovation while a small contingent of detractors described their sound as somewhat derivative. Cobain would be the first to admit where his sound came from, and when the mass media began to swarm at his door, he threw a bit of bait out to keep them happy. This little chunk of bait arrived in the form of a list of Cobain’s favourite albums to date, from Leadbelly’s 1953 album Leadbelly’s Last Sessions Volume One to PJ Harvey’s 1992 debut album, Dry.

As a late-1960s baby, Cobain reached his impressionable teen years in the 1980s. Accordingly, the vast majority of his favourite albums arrived in this diverse decade in musical history. Many around the world remember the 1980s as the era of synth-pop: the heady years of The Human League, OMD and Gary Numan. Guitars remained in the charts thanks to artists like U2 and The Smiths, but Cobain had more of an appetite for underground post-punk groups.

Among Cobain’s favourite bands as a teen were hardcore punk groups like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Fear and Tales of Terror, all of whom feature in the top albums list. Accompanying such selections were more established, accessible acts like R.E.M. and Pixies. Nirvana’s unflinchingly derivative sound could be seen as a compliment or an insult to those cited. When it came to Pixies, Cobain may have cut a little close to the bone.

On several occasions over the past few decades, Cobain’s Pixies counterpart, Black Francis, has accused Nirvana of “ripping” off their sound. Following the success of Nevermind and its lead single, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, Nirvana admitted to fearing that they had borrowed too much from Pixies’ associative loud-quiet-loud approach.

Discussing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, in a 1994 conversation with Rolling Stone, Cobain admitted to borrowing the Pixies’ method. “I was trying to write the ultimate pop song,” he said. “I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it [smiles]. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band – or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.”

During an interview in 2013, nearly 20 years after Cobain’s death, Reuters asked Francis to pick out his greatest contribution to rock. Francis replied sarcastically: “Being original, influencing Nirvana so they could rip a song. I’ll admit it — if Kurt Cobain’ fessed up to it, f*ck it, I’ll agree with it, you ripped us off.” At least Cobain praised the legendary Boston band by including their classic debut, Surfer Rosa, on his list.

Michael Stipe, the frontman of R.E.M., was a little more welcoming of Cobain’s sonic tribute, supposedly because the parallels between the two bands were a little less direct. Cobain was enamoured with R.E.M.’s energetic, weighty approach to country rock ever since the 1983 debut Murmur but was most impressed by the band’s sixth studio album, Green. The record featured the classic hits ‘Orange Crush’ and ‘Stand’. After catching wind of Cobain’s high praise, Stipe became acquainted with the Nirvana frontman.

In 1993, at around the time Nirvana released their third album, In Utero, the Atlanta singer saw that his friend was in a tough spot and tried to extend a branch in choppy waters. Sadly, his efforts were in vain, and in 1994, Stipe wrote the Monster cut ‘Let Me In’ in reflection. “There were a lot of phone calls before that imagined one,” Stipe told Radio X‘s John Kennedy in 2019. “[I was] really trying to pull him out of a very, very dark place. We all knew it, and we were doing everything we could to help – but it wasn’t enough. I wrote the lyrics in five minutes and recorded it in as much time. It was our – my – plea to Kurt. Too bad.”

Elsewhere in Cobain’s list of 1980s albums, he honoured a few leftfield British artists, including the Welsh post-punk group Young Marble Giants, who released their only album, Colossal Youth, in 1980. Cobain also noted Scottish duo The Vaselines as one of his favourite bands. “I just have this feeling Eugene [Kelly] and Frances [McKee] had a really cool relationship,” he wrote. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think it’s a really amazing thing when a couple can get on together and write some of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. They’re kind of sharing their life with people. Eugene and Frances are the Captain & Tennille of the underground.”

Kurt Cobain’s favourite albums of the 1980s:

• Pixies – Surfer Rosa
• Fang – Landshark!
• MDC – Millions of Dead Cops
• Butthole Surfers – Pee Pee the Sailor
• Bad Brains – Rock for Light
• The Frogs – It’s Only Right and Natural
• Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation
• Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth
• R.E.M. – Green
• Shonen Knife – Burning Farm
• The Clash – Combat Rock
• The Faith/Void – The Faith/Void
• Rites of Spring – Rites of Spring
• Beat Happening – Jamboree
• Tales of Terror – Tales of Terror
• Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff
• Daniel Johnston – Yip/Jump Music
• Flipper – Generic Flipper
• Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician
• Black Flag – Damaged
• Fear – The Record
• Public Image Ltd – The Flowers of Romance
• Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
• Marine Girls – Beach Party
• Wipers – Is This Real?
• Wipers – Youth of America
• Wipers – Over the Edge
• Swans – Young God

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