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Song · Nirvana

“The Man Who Sold the World” by Nirvana

Released 1994

“The Man Who Sold the World” by Nirvana appears on 81 radio countdowns from 42 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994. Its best result is #4 on the KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #35 alternative song of 1995, #362 alternative song of all time and #180 of the '90s.

81countdowns
42stations
#4best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World (MTV Unplugged)

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

"The Man Who Sold the World" was David Bowie's song first, the title track of his 1970 album, but when Nirvana took it on in 1993 they made it sound like it had been waiting for them all along. Their version came out in 1994, and it's a hushed, spooked reading: Kurt Cobain sings it softly with a catch in his throat, and the eerie, circling guitar figure carries all the menace without the volume.

The lineup is Nirvana stretched and softened. Cobain and Pat Smear play guitars, Krist Novoselic holds down bass, Dave Grohl drums and adds backing vocals, and Lori Goldston's cello gives the whole thing a funeral-parlor glow. Scott Litt produced it with the band and mixed it.

Bowie's lyric is cryptic and dreamlike, and Cobain doesn't try to explain it; he just lives inside it. Radio took to it right away, and it has kept turning up on countdowns ever since.

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
1994 39 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 27 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1994 50
1994 4 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1995 16 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 107
1995 10 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1995 10
1995 44 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 101
1995 27 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 100
1995 22 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104
1995 39 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95 103
1995 49 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 95
1995 61 WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 228 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 738 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 645 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 671 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 198 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 487 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 269 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 190 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 167 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 572 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1928 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 460 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 176 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 741 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2004 42 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 199 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 473 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2004 17 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 176 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 364 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 107 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 232 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 471 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 353 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 478 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 63 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 118 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 473 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 113 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 41 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 466 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 449 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 444 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 793 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 444 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 276 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 204 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 444 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 792 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 273 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2015 429 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 121 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 257 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2019 225 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 251 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 492 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 692 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 264 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 424 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 150 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 468 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 152 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 6 KISW KISW 25 Greatest Rock Covers 25
2022 449 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 412 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 130 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 287 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 139 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 208 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 326 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 136 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 176 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 479 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 669 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 178 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 11 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs 850
2025 761 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 206 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 874 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917
2026 158 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: The Man Who Sold The World; Man Who Sold The World; Man Who Sold the World.

Charting alongside it in 1995

Best songs of 1995 →
  1. 1You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette
  2. 2LumpThe Presidents of the United States of America
  3. 3Lightning CrashesLive
  4. 4Bullet With Butterfly WingsThe Smashing Pumpkins
  5. 5NameGoo Goo Dolls
  6. 6My FriendsRed Hot Chili Peppers

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