Nirvana... or Pearl Jam?

Nirvana was formed in Aberdeen in 1987. Pearl Jam was formed in Seattle in 1990.

Nirvana's Bleach was released in 1989, while Pearl Jam's Ten was released in 1991.

Pearl Jam's Vs. sold 950,378 copies in its first five days on sale, which set the record for most first-week copies sold. They held the record five years.

Nirvana had three studio albums, but Pearl Jam has had twelve.

Promoters pursued Nirvana to perform at the festival. At the time, the band pulled out of Lollapalooza due to singer Kurt Cobain's health. Cobain later died by suicide on April 5, 1994, four months before the festival.

Pearl Jam recorded theirs on March 16, 1992, and Nirvana recorded theirs on November 18, 1993.

Nirvana had drummers including Dale Crover, Chad Channing, and Dave Grohl. Pearl Jam's drummers included Jack Irons, Dave Abbruzzese, and Matt Chamberlain.

Pearl Jam boycotted Ticketmaster in the mid-90s.

Nirvana's In Utero was produced by Albini.

Nirvana was inducted in 2014, and Pearl Jam was inducted in 2017.

Nirvana won Best Alternative Music Performance for their Unplugged album. Pearl Jam won Best Hard Rock Performance for "Spin the Black Circle".

Kurt Cobain played guitar left-handed.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was parodied as "Smells Like Nirvana". Weird Al has the song "My Baby's in Love With Eddie Vedder" but hasn't released a Pearl Jam parody.

Nirvana's last concert was March 1, 1994, but Pearl Jam is still active as of 2025.