$19.98
This was easily the best concert of the Unplugged MTV series when it aired in late 1993, and it's only grown more powerful with age. Nirvana was out to prove that it was more than flannel and fuzz, and by adding cellist Lori Goldston and Germs guitarist Pat Smear, the band softened its sound so that its underrated melodies could bloom. Cobain chose a set list (with six covers and no Smells Like Teen Spirit) designed to show off his singing, but by the end it exhausted him, sparking a lengthy, previously unseen discussion of how to close the show. (Dave Grohl jokingly suggests Pearl Jam's Jeremy.) After a few minutes of audience requests, Cobain finally announces, "Fuck you all, this is the last song of the evening," and launches into Leadbelly's Where Did You Sleep Last Night. The moment when he reaches for the last words of the song, opens his eyes and takes a sharp breath is as beautiful and sad as rock and roll gets.— Josh Tyrangiel