10 Greatest Hard Rock Songs Of The 1990s

Anyone who ever thinks of including a list of '90s rock songs and doesn't put Nirvana in it is missing an integral piece of the decade. Despite having one of the most emblematic songs of the decade in Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana's sophomore release Nevermind managed to delicately toe the line between the sounds of pop, rock, and even punk all at the exact same time. On the follow up though, Kurt Cobain sounded like he wanted to leave the catchy hooks in the dust.

Being the first taste of In Utero, Heart Shaped Box is definitely a lot more brooding than the previous Nirvana songs, almost sounding like Kurt is weary from the life of a rock star already. When the chorus actually hits though, the whole thing seems to go into the next dimension, with Kurt sounding more raucous than ever behind the mic and the bass sounding absolutely massive behind him.

With production courtesy of hardcore punk veteran Steve Alibini, the whole song feels a lot more aggro than the more stylized sounds of Nevermind, down to Kurt's guitar solo sounding like it's being fed through the discount version of what a big budget guitar amp would sound like. Above all else, this song feels more like a statement than anything else. We are not you pretty little pop band, so you're gonna have to get used to it.