When the end came for Seattle-based trio Nirvana - troubled songwriter, guitarist and singer Kurt Cobain, towering bassist Krist Novoselic and powerhouse drummer Dave Grohl - it represented much more than just another rock and roll suicide.

Easily the defining band of the 90s, with more than 60 million records sold and just three studio albums behind them, the legacy of Nirvana continued well beyond Kurt Cobain's untimely demise on April 8, 1994. Even now the headlines are usually about the singer's tragic departure, so it's easy to forget just why Nirvana were so influential.

It's simple, really: Nirvana rocked. Seriously. Combining killer pop hooks with plenty of punk attitude - not to mention Cobain's introspective lyrics and violent howl - the band borrowed from the past to create a sonic world all their own. Tracks like "Negative Creep", "About A Girl" and their cover of "Love Buzz" from 1989's debut LP Bleach (recorded for under $1000) put the band on the map. Yet it was the breakthrough "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from second album Nevermind that saw Nirvana unwittingly embraced by an entire generation.

In Utero was their response: abrasive, harder and arguably the band's best record. The potential seemed limitless, but it would tragically never be fulfilled.

While 90s alternative music didn't start and end with Nirvana, the effect the band had is undeniable. What would Cobain have created in 2007? We'll never know.