Nirvana first had a top-100 single on Billboard's year-end chart in 1992, when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ranked among the year's 100 most successful Hot 100 singles. The song placed at number 32 on Billboard's 1992 Year-End Hot 100.
Released as the lead single from Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became the band's breakthrough into the mainstream. Its success helped push grunge and alternative rock from the underground into American popular culture, while the song's heavily played music video made Nirvana a defining act of the early 1990s.
The year can be confusing because the single was released in 1991 and first entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 late that year. Its strongest chart impact continued into 1992, which is why it appears on the 1992 year-end list rather than the 1991 year-end list.
Another common mix-up is assuming Nirvana topped the Hot 100. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" peaked at number six on the weekly Hot 100, while it performed especially strongly on rock and alternative charts. The year-end ranking measures performance across the entire chart year.