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Cover of In Utero by Nirvana
Cover: In Utero

Song · Nirvana

“Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana

From the album In Utero (1993)

“Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana appears on 122 radio countdowns from 44 stations between 1993 and 2026. It was first released in 1993 on the album In Utero. Its best result is #6 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #7 alternative song of 1993, #50 alternative song of all time and #130 of the '90s.

122countdowns
44stations
#6best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1993–2026years charted

Watch

Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box

Video from YouTube (NirvanaVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Heart-Shaped Box" was the first single from In Utero, Nirvana's third album, which DGC released in 1993, and it's Kurt Cobain dragging the band's sound somewhere murkier and more unsettling. He wrote it, sings it and plays guitar, with Krist Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl on drums, Grohl also credited with vocals. Steve Albini recorded it in February 1993, with Adam Kasper as associate engineer, but the Geffen brass didn't like Albini's mix, so Scott Litt remixed it, one of just two songs on the album he touched, and Cobain added extra harmonies and guitar along the way.

It crawls on a sick, lurching verse that erupts into a howling chorus, as loud as anything the band cut. Cobain said he wrote it about children with terminal cancer, though it's widely read as a song about his marriage to Courtney Love of Hole.

It never came out as a single in America, to keep from undercutting album sales, but radio played it anyway and it went to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, while it reached the top 10 in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Finland and New Zealand. Anton Corbijn's video took Best Alternative Video and Best Art Direction at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. It was the last song Nirvana played live, in Munich on March 1, 1994, and the last Nirvana song to get a video before Cobain's death that April.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1993 15 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 6 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 28 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105
1993 12 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101
1993 20 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1993 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 73 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 243 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1994 475 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 88 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 160 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 216 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 215 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1996 213 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 425 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 167 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 144 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 237 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 28 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 68 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 47 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 221 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 39 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 179 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 404 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 198 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 39 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 75 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2000 19 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 199 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1728 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 128 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 10 WFNX WFNX Top 50 Grunge Songs of All-Time (June 2002) 50
2002 171 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 81 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 158 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 59 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 90 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 8 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 107 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 32 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 76 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 89 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 109 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 47 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 54 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 74 The Edge KEDJ Top 103 on Independent Radio 103
2006 42 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 146 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 317 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 105 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 65 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 12 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 803 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 104 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 24 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 34 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 21 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 36 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 24 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 22 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 435 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 22 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 429 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 640 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 23 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 163 KBPI KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time 200
2013 39 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 24 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 99 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 948 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 89 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2015 625 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 400 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 304 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 372 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 975 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 186 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 73 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 132 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 975 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2020 54 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 288 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 77 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 216 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 108 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 835 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 348 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 45 107.7 The End The End Obligatory Top 100 Alternative Songs of All Time (2021) 100
2021 73 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 231 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 162 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 434 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 297 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 732 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 341 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 48 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 14 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 205 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 219 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 159 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 234 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 341 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 488 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 24 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 224 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 48 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 278 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 381 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 333 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 176 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2025 54 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 162 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 349 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 146 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 487 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 157 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 40 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Heart Shaped Box; Heart-shaped Box; Heart - Shaped Box.

Charting alongside it in 1993

Best songs of 1993 →
  1. 1CannonballThe Breeders
  2. 2CreepRadiohead
  3. 3LingerThe Cranberries
  4. 4PlushStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5No RainBlind Melon
  6. 6Soul to SqueezeRed Hot Chili Peppers

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