10 Most Important Rock Albums Of All Time

At the start of the '90s, rock and roll was starting to erode really quickly. Compared to the revolutions going on in the '60s and '70s, the arrival of hair metal was getting much too stupid for anyone to take seriously. We needed a change of scenery, and a couple of misfits out of Seattle managed to work a miracle on Nevermind.

Then again, it's almost weird saying it given the weirdness in the lyrics. Across the entire record, there's no unifying theme tying these songs together outside of a few catchy melodies. However, this is probably the most earnest rock and roll record ever made, with Kurt Cobain wearing his heart on his sleeve throughout the duration of the disc. While you might not understand the internal meaning behind something like Lithium or Polly, you know it's intense as hell coming out of Cobain's mouth.

When the album does have something to say though, the amount of poignancy in the loner anthem Something in the Way and the snide take on piggybacking on In Bloom is enough to keep you digging for more. Above all else, this was the announcement of the new wave of rock music to come, with the entire alt-rock community coming to prominence off the strength of this one album. Nirvana was not a complicated band, and these might not be complicated songs, but when you have this much power behind your delivery, it's enough to shake the foundations of rock history.