1. Cliff Burton, Metallica

Date: Sept. 27, 1986

Cause of death: tour bus

On tour in 1986, Metallica’s original bassist seemed to be living the good life. Traveling Europe behind the success of “Master of Puppets,” the band was cruising down a Scandinavian road when its tour bus lost control and rolled. Burton was thrown from the bus, far out of harm’s way – until the bus landed on top of him.

2. Elliott Smith

Date: Oct. 21, 2003

Cause of death: suicide?

Police ruled it a suicide, but for many, Smith’s death remains a whirlwind of mystery and murder theories. These theories may just be conjured up by very dedicated fans, or they may stem from the fact that he was stabbed in the heart – twice. His last album, “From a Basement on a Hill,” was essentially an hour-long suicide note set to some of the most depressing music ever, though. So, who knows.

3. Kurt Cobain

Date: April 5, 1994

Cause of death: Courtney Love

“On the one hand, I have a skyrocketing music career and my old buddy heroin will never leave me,” Cobain was probably thinking. “But, on the other hand, I really can’t take being with that insane, coked-up Troll doll another second.” After injecting enough heroin to take down Louie Anderson and a 20-guage shotgun blast to the dome, Cobain became a legend and Love became … well, she pretty much stayed a coked-up Troll doll, but people actually know who she is now.

4. Terry Kath, Chicago

Date: Jan. 23, 1978

Cause of death: stupidity

At a friend’s party, Kath removed the magazine of a semi-automatic gun and, forgetting about the chamber round, held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. His last words? “Don’t worry – it’s not loaded.” Bang. The party ends abruptly, Kath dies and bandmate Peter Cetera goes on to do the soundtrack for Karate Kid Part II.

5. Duane Allman, the Allman Brothers Band

Date: Oct. 29,1971

Cause of death: motorcycle accident

In October of 1971, Allman, who is commonly thought of as the greatest slide guitarist of all time, got splattered across a Macon, Ga., highway by a semi while he was riding his Harley. A little more than a year later, his bandmate, Berry Oakley, died in a very similar accident a few blocks from the intersection where Allman was killed. Then Allman’s brother, Gregg, married Cher. You decide which is the worst.

6. Marvin Gaye

Date: April 1, 1984

Cause of death: paternal insanity

After intervening in a fight between his mother and abrasively drunk, cross-dressing, minister father, Gaye ended up crooning to the business end of Papa’s .38. His death proved that a gaping gunshot wound in your chest is one of the few things that can’t be remedied by sexual healing, Gaye’s quick fix for every ailment.

7. Bon Scott, AC/DC; John Bonham, Led Zeppelin

Date: Feb. 19, 1980; Sept. 5, 1980

Cause of death: vomit

1980 was a bad year for rock ‘n’ roll and a great year for alcoholism. Both the AC/DC front man and the Led Zeppelin drummer partied a bit too hard and choked to death on their own vomit – Scott in a car outside a friend’s apartment in London and Bonham at Jimmy Page’s house in Windsor, England. Contrary to popular belief, Led Zeppelin was not planning to break up in 1976 or 1978 or 1921 or 1643 – it was Bonham’s death in ’80 that broke up the band.

8. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper

Date: Feb. 3, 1959

Cause of death: plane crash

Often referred to as “the day the music died” (most notably in “American Pie,” the ballad Don McLean wrote about the tragedy), Feb. 3, 1959, marked the loss of three of rock’s royalty. After doing a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, the trio took off in a blizzard, headed for North Dakota, but instead ended up in the biggest rock-death clich‹¨«, where they would soon be joined by Jim Croce, John Denver, Ricky Nelson, Randy Rhoades, Otis Redding and most of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

9. Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones

Date: July 3, 1969

Cause of death: drowning

Despite the coroner ruling it “death by misadventure” because of the ridiculous level of alcohol and drugs in his system, rumors of a Stones-ordered wack were flying after Jones was found face down in his pool. Builder Frank Thorogood, however, who was working on Jones’ house at the time of his death, confessed on his deathbed in 1993 to killing the outcast Stone.

10. Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon

Date: Oct. 21, 1995

Cause of death: drugs

OK, so there is a laundry list of musicians who have died of drug overdoses. But how many have gotten out of rehab, taken a drug counselor on tour with them to avoid a relapse, gone on an all-night coke binge anyway, and OD’d?