10 Classic Albums That Came Out Of Nowhere

After the '80s soldiered to the end of its tenure, a lot of people were in desperate need of something bold to come down the pipeline. While the hair metal scene was not putting out bad music by any stretch, it just felt way too played out for anyone to really invest their time in anymore. We needed a new sound... we just weren't sure what it was until some dude in a flannel shirt set the entire music world on fire.

Compared to the cultural shakeups we've gone through as a musical landscape with the arrival of psychedelia and punk, grunge still caught everyone off guard, with most record labels scrounging to find the next Nirvana.

In just 12 concise tracks, Kurt Cobain's music felt like the future of rock by pulling from the past, incorporating the same punk rock attitude and marrying it to melodies like Lithium and Drain You that could have turned up on Beatles albums.

Even more shocking was where it came from, with most people flocking to the city of Seattle. In a time where it felt like you could only get famous coming out of New York or California in the States, this juggernaut from the Pacific Northwest turned everything on its head and made everyone stand at attention again.

Once you heard Nevermind, no one knew which end was up anymore.