Today’s artist is the second on this list whose music is confined to the 90s not because of the whims of the marketplace but because he died. The first was, of course, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain.

I wonder, had Kobain lived, if Nirvana would still be around today. And if not, would Dave Grohl still have gone on to form Foo Fighters, as celebrated a rock band as we have in 2012?

Jeff Buckley was the son of Tim Buckley, an avant-garde musician who died of a drug overdoes before reaching 30. Jeff met his father only once but lived in his shadow for most of his short life.

His 1993 album Grace, however, served as a stunning announcement that this kid had talent to burn. Marked by both the guitar acrobatics of the Zeppelin-loving prodigy and a tenderness that at times was almost uncomfortable to listen to, the album is a one-of-a-kind masterwork.

Grace was also the last completed studio album Buckley would ever release. In 1997, in the middle of recording what would have been his second album, Buckley went for a night swim in Memphis’ Wolf River Harbor — fully dressed, including a pair of boots — and was never again seen alive. His body was found a week later.

Buckley’s family insists that the death was accidental. An autopsy showed that he was drug-free and nobody could point to any signs of depression or suicidal thoughts. But if he wasn’t under the influence, shouldn’t he have known the risks of swimming in a dangerous river fully dressed?

Had he lived, Buckley no doubt would have had a lasting career. He was simply too talented a writer, singer and musician to fade away. But fate conspired to cement his legacy in the 90s. Today’s SOTD, his gorgeous version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah,’ will go down as his defining moment on record.