On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain shot himself to death in his upscale Seattle home; his wife (and now widow) Courtney Love found him. His death, at the time, shocked the world at large, and drove a stake into the heart of the "grunge"/alternative rock movement. Twenty years later, Cobain -- alongside the other members of Nirvana -- are ready to be inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame.

But even this honor cannot compare to what Nirvana truly did best: their music, their songs, and -- ultimately -- their performances. Here, then, is our selection of the top 5 Nirvana songs and performances.

5. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It's an interesting choice to put this one last; however, it bears noting that this breakthrough song -- the song that, ultimately, put both Nirvana and grunge music on the map -- is, by far, the most polarizing for Nirvana purists. It makes the list because of its place in musical history -- it's one of the best selling singles of all time, coming in at 8 million copies sold as of this writing.

4. "Come As You Are." Cobain admitted that he stole part of this song from Killing Joke's obscure hit "Eighties." When Killing Joke found out about it, they considered it an honor -- "money is not our God," said Killing Joke's frontman Jaz Coleman -- rather than thievery. That alone is testimony to Nirvana's power.

3. "Serve the Servants." This older Nirvana track demonstrated the power of Nirvana's lyrics, which -- thanks to the simplicity of their music -- was easy to reflect upon. "I tried hard to have a father, but instead I had a dad" says more in less than 20 words than the entirety of Lil'Wayne's catalog. This performance of the song took place in Rome, Italy.

2. "Rape Me." This song drew the ire of many feminists at the time of its release, but it's actually an anti-rape song. When the band performed the song on the 1992 MTV Awards (oh, how times have changed -- what passes for "performances" on MTV Awards today is nothing more than clown-foolery), they drew the ire of MTV execs, as well (even though they paired it with "Lithium"). For that reason alone, this performance deserves the #2 spot.

1. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night." This cover of the traditional American folk song was performed on Nirvana's MTV Unplugged -- a performance which many music critics consider the band's swan song and epitaph. Though many other artists -- including The Grateful Dead & Leadbelly -- covered the track, sometimes known as "In the Pines," Nirvana was the band that brought the song to the forefront. And how fitting -- 20 years on, this raw, unbridled performance still has the same emotional impact as it did on April 5, 1994, when a gunshot silenced the voice of a generation.