Gibson have named Nirvana’s Nevermind as the top album of the 1990s – and the guitar maker’s website readers have agreed in a public poll.

Nirvana have three albums in the top 50, with In Utero and MTV Unplugged making the cut alongside the top record. Radiohead appear twice with OK Computer and The Bends. Pearl Jam’s Ten and Vitalogy both appear as do Foo Fighters’ self-titled release and The Coulor & The Shape, plus Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie.

Of the chart-topping 1991 album Gibson say: “Nevermind changed everything. The radical 180-degree turn the music industry experienced in the wake happened in the blink of an eye.

“After the single Smells Like Teen Spirit, it was out with pointy guitars and eyeliner – and, some might argue, musicianship. It was in with angst, anger and a whole lot of flannel.

“It was the very moment alternative rock became mainstream and the music industry has never been the same. Nevermind is easily one of the most influential albums in the history of recorded music.”

The stats further suggest 1994 was the best year of the decade for albums, with 11 titles appearing, and the worst was 1998 with just two.

Gibson’s top ten:

1 Nirvana: Nevermind
2 Radiohead: OK Computer
3 U2: Achtung Baby
4 Oasis: Definitely Maybe
5 REM: Automatic for the People
6 Pearl Jam: Ten
7 Metallica: Metallica
8 Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind
9 Jeff Buckley: Grace
10 Radiohead: The Bends

Gibson readers’ top ten:

1 Nirvana: Nevermind
2 Metallica: Metallica
3 Guns n’Roses: Use Your Illusion I and II
4 Pearl Jam: Ten
5 Wilco: Being There
6 Radiohead: OK Computer
7 Foo Fighters: The Colour and the Shape
8 Green Day: Dookie
9 Teenage Fanclub: Bandwagonesque
10 U2: Achtung Baby