1991 Rock Classic, Ranked the 'Best Song of the '90s,' Is Suddenly Climbing the Charts 35 Years Later
"Smells Like Teen Spirit," the song that gave Nirvana mainstream success more than 30 years ago, is back on the charts. The 1991 grunge rock classic re-emerged on Billboard's Rock Streaming Songs chart for the week of June 20, marking its 138th week overall on the chart.
Written by Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, and Krist Novoselic, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the lead single from Nirvana's October 1991 album Nevermind. The song featured a heavy, distorted four-chord guitar riff and an explosive chorus that featured nonsensical lyrics inspired by a popular deodorant brand Cobain wasn't even aware of.
Fueled by a heavy rotation MTV music video, the song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 when it was released over 35 years ago, making it the Washington-based band's bestselling song of all time.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" became an anthem for Generation X. Rolling Stone ranked it the number one "best song of the Nineties," describing it as "the song that blew up the world."
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Kurt Cobain's challenge to the audience – and after all these years, the challenge still stands," the music outlet shared in 2019.
In a September 1991 interview with The Seattle Times just ahead of "Smells Like Teen Spirit's" release, Cobain, who was 24 at the time, said the song was "basically just about friends."
"We still feel as if we are teenagers because we don't follow the guidelines of what's expected of us to be adults," he explained. "We still screw around and have a good time. It also has a kind of like a teen revolutionary feel to it, too."
At the time, Cobain was asked if he thought "Smells Like Teen Spirit" had the potential to be a hit single. "That's not gonna happen," the Nirvana frontman said.
Cobain died in 1994 at age 27.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 6:32 AM.