6. Nirvana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg One of the main progenitors of the 90s grunge movement, Nirvana was - if nothing else - loud enough. But they also knew how to accentuate and emphasise their volume. Kurt Cobain said that Smells Like Teen Spirit, one of the most influential songs in recent memory, was his attempt to achieve the loud/soft dynamic of the Pixies (another much-missed band). This consideration reflects their intelligent song construction, and it can be found on In Bloom and lots of their other best songs. Listening to their catalogue can seem contradictory. On the one hand, they have a song called Rape Me, but on the other you have the more contemplative All Apologies. One thing their songs all have in common is a tortured self-loathing, coupled with sardonic attacks on society's myriad of faults. Unfortunately, Kurt Cobain may have bought too much into the doom and gloom, killing himself at the age of 27 in 1994. Cobain and Nirvana were gone far too soon, but the brevity of their career has only served to heighten their already substantial legacy.