Nirvana
Smells Like Teen Spirit
DGC DGCS7-19050 7" / PRO-A-4314 12" / PRO-A-4365 12" / DGCDS-21673 CD / PRO-CD-4308 CD / DGCCS-19050 Cassette, released 1991 (U.S.)
DGC DGCS 5 7" / DGCT 5 12" / DGCTP 5 12" / DGCTD 5 CD, released 1991 (UK)
DGC GES 19050 7" / GET 21673 12" / GET 21712 12" / GED 21673 CD / GEC19050 Cassette, released 1991 (Germany)
DGC GES 19050 7" / GED 21744 CD / GEC-19050 Cassette, released 1991 (France)
DGC GES 19050 (1A) 7" / GET 21673 (3A) 12", released 1991 (Spain)
DGC RX-1054 7", released 1991 (Mexico)
RCA S-0758 7", released 1991 (Argentina)
DGC DGCDS 21673 CD / GED 21673 CD/ DGCCS-19050 Cassette, released 1991 (Australia)
DGC GED 21673 CD, released 1991 (Israel)
DGC 300099-4 Cassette, released 1991 (Netherlands)
BMG International 7130092 7", released 1992 (Costa Rica)
DGC DGCCS-19050 Cassette, released 1992 (New Zealand)
Geffen GED 76037 CD, released 1996 (Spain)
DGC GED P001 CD, released 1996 (Portugal)
DGC GED 21573 CD, released 1997 (Argentina)
DGC/UMe B0016231-01 LP01 10", released 2011 (U.S.)
DGC/UMe 5337510 7", released 2011 (UK)
Well, this one was kind of important. It certainly changed everything for me. There were, of course, tons of versions of this one. I'll focus on the vinyl releases, as those were a bit more manageable.
In the States, there were originally three vinyl releases: a jukebox 7" and two promo 12"s. The 7"s were pretty standard and remain common. There were, naturally, a couple of variants. One lists the label as David Geffen Company and another shows it as Geffen Records, Inc. One of the 12"s was on black vinyl and came in a plain white sleeve with a label on it. The other came in a full picture sleeve and was on yellow vinyl. The major label singles were generally pressed in large quantities, so it wasn't always easy to determine which would become the more valuable version. It also didn't necessarily happen in the short term. This release is a great example. None were particularly valuable over many years. In the past decade or so, the yellow 12" has emerged as the desirable version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to own.
In Europe, there were several vinyl releases. Versions of the picture sleeve 7" came out in the UK, Germany, Spain, and France. There were a couple of variants of the UK 7". It came with both molded labels and paper labels. The molded ones have the lettering molded right into the vinyl. People call these "injection labels", but I don't really know where that term came from. For the commercial release, the label area was then painted silver, so the label appeared silver and the text appeared black. There was also a jukebox version of the 7" that left the labels that unpainted - the text is all there, but it's black. This version is the tougher one to find of the UK batch. 12"s came out in the UK, Germany, and Spain as well. In the UK and Germany, there were regular black vinyl 12"s in picture sleeves, but also picture discs.
Outside of the U.S. and Europe, there were a couple of other interesting variants. Promo 7"s came out in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina. These are all tough finds and quite expensive.
In 2011, a couple of additional 20th anniversary vinyl versions came out. In the U.S., there was a black 10", which was also included in the Nevermind - The Singles set. Then, there was a red 10". This was limited to 1,700 copies and was given away by Fender with the purchase of a Kurt Cobain Fender Mustang guitar. I expected this one to become more valuable than it has. It's not cheap, by any means, but its value has held steady for years (and has probably come down a bit, to be honest). The real surprise was the UK 7". This was a black vinyl reissue, limited to 1,000 copies and only available to the UK. It has gotten fairly expensive - generally in the $50-60 range now.
| Version | Value ($) | Scarcity | Price Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| DGC DGCS7-19050 7" Black - David Geffen Co. Labels | 6-10 | 1 | Stable |
| DGC DGCS7-19050 7" Black - Geffen Records, Inc. Labels | 6-10 | 1 | Stable |
| PRO-A-4314 12" Yellow | 70-90 | 4 | Stable |
| DGC PRO-A-4365 12" Black | 30-40 | 4 | Stable |
| DGC DGCS 5 7" Molded Labels (UK) | 10-15 | 1 | Stable |
| DGC DGCS 5 7" Paper Labels (UK) | 10-15 | 4 | Stable |
| DGC DGCS 5 7" Unpainted Molded Labels (UK) | 25-30 | 6 | Stable |
| DGC DGCT 5 12" Black (UK) | 15-20 | 1 | Stable |
| DGC DGCTP 5 12" Picture Disc (UK) | 25-30 | 2 | Stable |
| DGC GES 19050 7" Black (Germany) | 10-15 | 2 | Stable |
| DGC GET 21673 12" Black (Germany) | 12-15 | 1 | Stable |
| DGC GET 21712 12" Picture Disc (Germany) | 15-20 | 1 | Stable |
| DGC GES 19050 7" Black (France) | 10-15 | 3 | Stable |
| DGC GES 19050 (1A) 7" Black (Spain) | 15-20 | 5 | Stable |
| DGC GET 21673 (3A) 12" (Spain) | 15-20 | 3 | Stable |
| DGC RX-1054 7" Black (Mexico) | 70-100 | 9 | Volatile |
| RCA S-0758 7" Black (Argentina) | 180-220 | 9 | Volatile |
| BMG International 7130092 7" Black (Costa Rica) | 60-80 | 8 | Volatile |
| DGC DGC/UMe B0016231-01 LP01 10" Black | 25-35 | 5 | Stable |
| DGC DGC/UMe B0016231-01 LP01 10" Red | 45-60 | 5 | Stable |
| DGC DGC/UMe 5337510 7" Black | 40-50 | 5 | Up |
 UK 7" - Paper Labels |
 UK 7" - Painted Plastic Labels |
 Yellow 12" |
 German 12" Picture Disc |
 Costa Rica Promo |
 Mexico Promo |
 Argentina Promo |
 Red 10" |
This page was last updated on April 20, 2020.
