Alright let's look.
I admit it, this is not the best compilation album. I suggest you only buy this if you know what you are getting into, this isn't for anyone new to the music. And uh, "Music Fan" or whatever, if you honestly think that 'grunge' brought about the whole glam pop thing you need to seriously take a closer look, grunge did nothing to bring about glam pop it has existed for years. If I remember correctly Nirvana are the guys who knocked Micheal off the top of the pop charts? And yeah, Grunge is slow, the guitars are played really screwy and the the lyrics are dark...I prefer ameteurs playing that's what punk was about I thought? Look at the Ramones...At any rate the cd is ok the scene itself was awesome.

Sub Pop creates an aura
Another Sub Pop compilation filled with as many "lesser" bands as household names. Not quite the quality (in the music or the packaging) as the Sub Pop 200 re-issue, but a nice snapshot of what came to be known as The Grunge Era.

Unfortunately, the overall quality of this (and other discs like it - not to mention the individual band catalogues) serves as a constant reminder just what a boring musical time we live in now. Nothing lends weight to music like a "music scene," and the folks at Sub Pop played the Seattle angle to the hilt. Lucky us they did . . .

a sound piece of grunge history.
Anyone that says the only well known artist on this compilation is Nirvana is incredibly unfamiliar with the grunge genre. Let's not forget Mark Lanegan and the Screaming Trees, Afghan Whigs, Mudhoney, etc, all just as noteworthy in the genre's history.

With that said, the comp is a great record of some obscure songs by some great bands, which, if grunge is near and dear to you, you already know. I was happy to find it in the used bin years ago. However, if you're only a moderate grunge fan and you know it, this one's not for you.

Great little-known music
Firstly, I did NOT buy this for the Nirvana song. To be so shallow as to think that would be the only good song on this compilation is unbelievable. True, Nirvana is the only really well-known band on this one, but for those of us who have advanced a bit deeper into the world of grunge, Dive is only one of several gems found here.

This album features the heavy metal song "Stumbling Man" by Tad, with Soundgarden-like riffs and deep vocals. It also features punkish "House" with Babes in Toyland where Courtney Love does some superb angry vocals. Most of the rest of the songs are rather grungy, most are really good.

I recommend this album for any fan of Nirvana not yet familar with the rest of the Seattle scene, as it contains some very good examples of grunge songs, and some good reasons to check these bands out further. Also recommended for fans of any of the bands on the record, as the songs on this compilation are mostly singles that are hard to get hold of otherwise.

Great for those intended, sucks for the rest of us
I bought this CD years ago for the L7 and Babes in Toyland tracks. Everyone else bought it for Nirvana, I'm sure that's why SUB POP put them on the CD. If you're still listening to this stuff 10+ years later, good for you, you'll probably enjoy it. If you've matured past the "oh boo hoo, life brings me down so I'm gonna whine about it" then you're gonna hate the CD.