If you hang around musicians for long enough, the question will come up. Is there such thing as a perfect album? The same thing happens with film buffs and movies or painters and paintings. The question of a perfect album is interesting—what does it mean exactly? Can anything be perfect?

Well, if there is such thing as a perfect album, the world heard it in 1994 with the release of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York record. The loudest, most beautifully aggressive band in the world stripped down? Acoustic? Surrounded by candles and ambiance? An intimate audience?

Sometimes when we put limits on ourselves, we can create something more incredible than we ever could have imagined. And that’s what happened in 1994. Yet, we wanted to dissect perfection and highlight four songs from the recording that stand amongst the perfection. Indeed, these are four incredible Nirvana Unplugged acoustic songs.

“The Man Who Sold the World”

The Unplugged album is full of cover songs (as you will see here below) but this is one of a few that especially stand out. Kurt Cobain was such a mysterious person—often intentionally so. He put himself fully in the music but it wasn’t always clear who he was as a human being. So, to hear his influences, the songs that he thought highly enough to play—that’s a special treat. And to hear his gravely voice taking on this 1970 psychedelic rocker from David Bowie is artistically transcendent.

“Pennyroyal Tea”

Leave it to the sharp Cobain to offer some wordplay in his music. Pennyroyal Tea or Penny Royalty? However you hear it, the Nirvana song is searing. It’s a sword deep in your guts. One of the most difficult thing to do in songwriting is to be spare and effective at the same time. And Cobain might have been the best at that, well, ever. Sentences that seem like you’ve heard them before but not quite strung together in that way. That was his genius.

“Lake of Fire”

Another cover from the Unplugged sessions, this song was originally written by the Meat Puppets. It’s got such a deep groove and on it Cobain can overlay his electric sandpaper voice. He belts out the poetry like a person in an alley howling up to the silver-blue moon. It’s astonishing to see someone so bare but also so available, so nonchalant as he is. This performance is one for the ages.

“Where Did You Sleep Last Night”

The crown jewel of the acoustic album, this cover of a Lead Belly song is like a ghost that sticks to you as soon as you hear it. We also get the funny story about the Lead Belly guitar and it’s $500,000 price tag. Capping the recording off with this song—this deep, sad, horrid but also stunning blues song—was a stroke of genius. It’s one of the greatest Nirvana recording and performances in the history of the band. Just bask in it.