The shadow of influence Kurt Cobain cast on this decade during its first four years is astounding. With the inimitable Messrs. Novoselic and Grohl on board, Nirvana was the most powerful force in rock, hands down. And the band's third and final album was its most powerful creation.

1991's classic Nevermind started the revolution, but five years after his death, In Utero provides a stronger portrait of Cobain as an artist. He spilled the contents of his tortured brain directly to tape, juxtaposing quiet confession with corrosive catharsis. His caustic guitar sound grabs you by the stomach, forcing you to feel his pain.

Cobain is the martyr and the messiah of '90s music, and this brutally honest album preserves his essence in art.