 Bleach did not sell well but received positive reviews from critics when it was first released. Anthony Carew from the About.com Guide said that the album "define [d] the entire decade of the '90s", and awarded it four out of five stars. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars, noting that "Kurt Cobain illustrated signs of his considerable songcraft, particularly on the minor-key ballad' About a Girl 'and the dense churn of' Blew '". He also said that "it's a debut from a band that shows potential but haven 't yet achieved it." NME's Edwin Pouncey said that the album was the "biggest, baddest sound that Sub Pop have so far managed to unearth. So primitive that they manage to make label mates Mudhoney sound like Genesis, Nirvana turn up the volume and spit and claw their way to the top of the musical garbage heap", and gave it an eight out of ten rating. Bleach was considered by Rolling Stone as "a moderate hit on college radio and the underground / DIY circuit."
