Pretty sure the "matter of opinion" bit is implied in a comment like that. If you need it clarified, no, I have neither empirically demonstrated nor formally proven that Nevermind is a better Nirvana album than In Utero. I merely know it to be the case. :)
Which is to say, it sounds better. And it should: Nevermind was a much more deliberate, planned, and practiced album. The band was at each others throats by the time In Utero wound up, and it shows. In Utero is dark and brooding, which is why people say they prefer it, but it's also grating and one-note. With apologies to James Spader, it's noise rock for people who don't like noise rock, and indie pop for people who don't like indie pop.
Nevermind is also clearly the more influential of the two albums. Zillions of bands have tried to make albums that sound like Nevermind. In Utero? Maybe Neutral Milk Hotel? And they did it better!
I remember something Jim DeRogatis said about Big Black on Sound Opinions back when it was on WKQX, something about how Albini was an interesting artist with lots to say but that his albums were really unpleasant to listen to. That's In Utero for me. As an edgy teen? Loved it. Today? I can barely get through it. 7.4/10.0.
Part of it is that as a 90s kid who owned a couple of Big Black albums, I listened to a lot of albums just because Albini recorded them; In Utero is not the most interesting affect he had on a band.
"Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" is, however, the best Nirvana song.
I think what I like about In Utero (a record I didn’t particularly care for way back when) is that it literally sounds to me like the colors of the album cover.
Heart Shaped Box is probably my favorite Nirvana song by a wide margin.
I feel like this is Hard Days Night vs The White Album (aka The Beatles)
Which is more influential? Which is better? Which is more real?
Edit:
Which one is more like “Bleach” … which one caused Metallica to try downtuning their guitars?
