Bleach
by Nirvana

Bleach by Nirvana
Year: 1989
Release date: 1989-06-15
Overall rank: 646th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 1,325 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1989 (9th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (98th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (646th)

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Nirvana bestography

Bleach is ranked 4th best out of 17 albums by Nirvana on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nirvana is Nevermind which is ranked number 14 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 27,468.

Nirvana album bestography « Higher ranked (157th)
MTV Unplugged In New York
This album (646th)
Bleach
Lower ranked (1,658th) »
Incesticide

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Bleach track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Bleach rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 646th | 1980s rank: 98th | 1989 rank: 9th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026Rm12398Top 26 Music Albums of 198920/261
2026wizardalienTop 11 Music Albums of 198911/110
2026Juneof44Top 50 Music Albums of 19894/505
2026SiromynianTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s76/100 -
2026leniadTop 101-200 Music Albums of the 1980s23/44 -
2026stareaterogni0nTop 100 Greatest Music Albums96/1005
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 67 Music Albums of 19891/675
2026jlsfourthTop 80 Music Albums of the 1980s23/80 -
2026Cheboygan74Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s36/100 -
2026joathomeTop 43 Music Albums of 198924/432
2026saltysurpriseTop 67 Music Albums of 198915/674
2026 swedTop 53 Music Albums of the 1980s33/53 -
2026araidernomoreTop 25 Music Albums of the 1980s20/25 -
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s17/100 -
2026 PurplepashTop 100 Greatest Music Albums67/10033
2026 btener11Top 100 Greatest Music Albums43/10058
2026 ExTeaSeaFavorite album of each year!37/50 -
2026bonnequestionBest albums from '85 to '9471/100 -
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of 198984/1001
2026Foxforce5Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s64/100 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 647
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 1,564
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Bleach collection

Bleach ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 1,325 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 1,325 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
5 days ago Ilor  Ratings distribution  26376/100
 
90/100
 
04/30/2026 13:04 ASOARE  Ratings distribution  2,23576/100
 
85/100
 
04/23/2026 12:57 davidleewrong  Ratings distribution  2,35881/100
 
75/100
 
04/14/2026 09:14 Liks_on_music  Ratings distribution  57981/100
 
55/100
 
04/08/2026 21:09 araidernomore  Ratings distribution  44870/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.1/100, a mean average of 75.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.2.

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Bleach comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 61 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 05/22/2023 19:15 | #297167
Solid debut album form Nirvana, they had never been that heavy and raw after it. I love the section About The Girl, School, Love Buzz any of these could be my favorite song. I aslo find Paper Cuts and Negative Creep very interesting. The album drags for me a bit and I don't like Mr Moustache, but it's overall very good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/07/2023 05:01 | #295841
Bleach may not be Nirvana's most meticulously crafted album, but it will always be my favorite. The raw, buzzy brutality achieved on this record by just three musicians is as baffling as it is exhilarating. Kurt Cobain was a rare creative force, and I believe Bleach captures his genius in spades. The sheer variety displayed on this project is admirable--from the lurching stoner sludge of "Paper Cuts" and "Floyd the Barber," to the furious thrash of "Mr. Mustache" and "Negative Creep," to the sparkling Beatles-esque beauty of "About a Girl," and everything in between. Underneath all the howling and shredding, there is a tangible lyrical wit and countercultural intelligence. Potent, snarky, catchy, memorable hooks are all over this record. Incredible, and too-often overlooked.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/30/2023 11:31 | #295598
Peso, distorção, agressividade escondendo poesia.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/29/2022 05:51 | #290039
Features my favourite Nirvana track Negative Creep and for raw energy beats Nevermind
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 09/07/2022 01:10 | #289452
Alright debut but nothing too special
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/29/2022 13:18 | #289000
My favorite Nirvana album. I’m not saying it to be different or anything, I feel like this album has an authentic quality about it that the later 2 lack, and I don’t get the feeling from Kurt that he is a miserable twat. I give it a 90/100, it’s a great casual listen
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 07/23/2022 16:53 | #287754
Miserable.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 01/01/2022 13:31 | #278331
Really poor album overall. About A Girl is an incredible song, and drags the rating of this album up considerably - a glimpse of the greatness to come. Love Buzz is okay, but the rest is just incoherent noise.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (2 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 11/20/2021 12:24 | #276465
‘Bleach’ is one of those albums that is historically important without actually being particularly good and clearly suffers from personnel issues (Dave Grohl wouldn’t join Nirvana for another year and Jason Evermore, Soundgarden, wouldn’t play a note despite being credited on the sleeve)

There’s four really solid tracks here in “Blew” / “About a Girl” / the Shocking Blue cover “Love Buzz” and of course “Negative Creep”, the remaining 9 tracks, with the exceptions “Floyd the Barber” & “School” are largely forgettable. Cobain famously declared he was still writing lyrics for ‘Bleach’ on his way to the studio and it kinda shows

I could understand someone saying they prefer this album to Nirvana’s next release, but to say its better is simply wrong
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/28/2021 20:25 | #275488
Nirvana’s opening effort shows their embryonic brilliance in punk form. The songs are – for the most part – short and punchy, delivering their message with energy and abandon and then closing abruptly. The songwriting may not quite be up to their future standards but there’s no denying the impact of this album.
Best Track: About A Girl
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1989
1. Doolittle by Pixies
2. Disintegration by The Cure
3. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
4. Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
5. 3 Feet High And Rising by De La Soul
6. On Fire by Galaxie 500
7. Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
8. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty
9. Bleach by Nirvana
10. New York by Lou Reed
11. Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
12. Like A Prayer by Madonna
13. Technique by New Order
14. The Real Thing by Faith No More
15. Floating Into The Night by Julee Cruise
16. Hats by The Blue Nile
17. Wrong by NoMeansNo
18. 13 Songs by Fugazi
19. The Sensual World by Kate Bush
20. Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan