nirvana formed in aberdeen, washington in 1987 by singer and guitarist kurt cobain and bassist krist novoselic, with the band having many different drummers. the band released its first album, "bleach", in 1989 on the record label sub pop. after being joined by drummer dave grohl, the band released its second album "nevermind", which is now one of the best-selling alternative rock albums of all time. and popularized the seattle grunge movement and alternative music. the band's third studio album, "in utero" (1993), was also very popular, but not as popular as "nevermind". nirvana ended in 1994 after cobain died. some compilation, live and box-set albums were released after this.