Ranking All of Nine Inch Nails' Albums
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- Опубліковано 18 чер 2024
- Watch me rank and review all of the albums that industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails has released to date.
*this is a completely subjective ranking and I am not a music expert.
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0:00 Intro
0:55 Pretty Hate Machine
2:14 Broken
2:48 The Downward Spiral
4:03 The Fragile
4:51 With Teeth
5:59 Year Zero
7:25 Ghosts I-IV
8:05 The Slip
8:37 Hesitation Marks
9:09 Not The Actual Events
9:33 Add Violence
10:31 Bad Witch
11:16 Ghosts V/Ghosts VI
12:11 My Final Ranking
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I have seen many interviews over the years where Trent sort of admits to how he writes his songs. It doesn't start with playing an instrument or writing lyrics. It usually start with wanting to convey a feeling, then he attempts to translate that feeling to you in song. As a musician myself, i really connected with that in a whole hearted way. The countless hours just playing around on a piano or a guitar, fishing for something out of the ether to move me.
He is a master at making you feel a certain way in seemingly nuance tones. the slight buzz of sounds that swell like insects during summer, the delayed notes on a quiet piano that feel like sunlight gently piercing through fog, the off putting industrial clangs for drums that disorientate and feels metallic. The music is so visceral as if I could touch it like slogging through mud barefoot and the squish squish of it all burrowing between my toes.
Yes, well put! I think that palpable emotion throughout his music is what keeps me coming back, very few musicians can conjure up so much feeling in their work.
That kind of emotive talent also translates very well to film which explains his eventual foray into soundtracks.
Wow said exactly what I wouldve said if I was any good with words. 100% agree
The Fragile is criminally underrated and I agree arguably their best project. TDS is also a zeitgeist album, listening to some of those tracks in 1994 as a teenager was life changing because nothing else sounded like them at the time, and nothing really does now either. Year zero is also amazing from the standpoint of how creative it is. I also agree their eps are very high quality. My least favorite are the broken ep and with a teeth uhhhhh
UHWITHATEETHUH
The Fragile is my favorite NIN album.
Yeah, this is one of the most controversial NIN album rankings I've seen, lmao. It's cool though, because it just shows how much diversity there is NIN's discography where everyone will find something different to like and appreciate.
It was nice to see the majority of the trilogy in A (Add Violence and Bad Witch) because I think that is some of Trent's best material to date and I also think The Slip is pretty underrated. Corona Radiata is hands down one of the best ambient/drone tracks I've ever heard.
Yes, this is what I love about Nine Inch Nails! All of their albums are so different that everyone has their own opinion about them. So glad you agree about Corona Radiata! I never hear people talk about that track but it is SO GOOD!
For me, Broken is NIN's one of the flagship and finest releases. Too bad Trent didn't record a crossover album in 96 or 97 like combination of Broken and The Perfect Drug/Driver Down stuff.
Yeah broken goes hard, it's short and to the point.
Broken is a masterpiece
I got so excited when i heard her start praising Add Violence, I love that EP, i feel like it just kinda gets brushed over but i think it’s amazing.
Yay, another Add Violence fan! I agree, it's a really fantastic project by them.
If the Downward Spiral is not number 1, we riot.
YES
Hmmmm. The Fragile. Mhmmm
Good but slightly overhyped. The Fragile is his best work til this day.
The Fragile is Trent’s magnum opus in my opinion
you riot. i could put any of them at number 1 depending on my mood
The Fragile is a masterpiece. Also, Year Zero is pretty good. Wouldn't rank Yero Zero as my second favorite but I struggle with where to rank this one as well. I think I like the first Ghosts album slightly more than With Teeth because I absolutely love instrumentals and thought it worked well for Trent Reznor. Hesitation Marks wasnt a bad album to me but it's my least favorite of his. Bad Witch was really amazing and I think I like it more than Broken. But Broken is also amazing. I consider Bad Witch more of an EP. Yea, I'm a huge fan of NIN. lol
Yeah, it's so hard to rank their albums because they're all so good and completely different. Glad you ranked Ghosts higher, most people (myself included lol) rank that one low but it honestly has some incredible instrumental and super experimental tracks on it.
Although I fell out of my chair when I saw you put Downward Spiral in B tier, I still loved the video and was so happy to see someone have a different list and an honest opinion! I love seeing how different people’s tastes in music are, so I get where you’re coming from with the placements. Great vid, keep up the great work!
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Downward Spiral #1.... Masterpiece... end of conversation
Interesting. Without Broken there’s no TDS, although I can’t ignore how many forget about PHM, such a classic record that still stands strong.
I'm so glad you appreciate the Fragile. It's such an underrated album. The instrumentation and musical arrangements are great.
The Fragile is just something else. The more I listen to it the more I appreciate it, one of my all time favorite albums for sure!
Great video! I find it very interesting to see what others think about each album
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :)
The Frail into The Wretched is magical and I love how you can find some motifs all over the album like the synth melody on Into the void is the same as the piano melody in La Mer or the piano melody of The Frail is the guitar solo for The Fragile.
The Fragile is my favorite project they have ever released and it is even more shocking that it is a double album that is actually Godly. Also, your downward spiral ranking got me in a downward spiral Molly!
I know, the fact that The Fragile is a double album and yet every track works perfectly is so impressive. No filler at all in my opinion. And yeah, I know my Downward Spiral ranking is a bit controversial... I've actually gotten into that album over the past year and a half since filming this video and it's finally clicked for me. I can easily put TDS in A+ now, above Pretty Hate Machine but still below the Fragile.
@@mollyesanborn "Just below The Fragile," Exactly how it should be! *High Fives* 😁
With Teeth really grew on me over time, when he recorded it he was financially ruined by his manager and had just sobered up... so it kind of sounds more rock and radio friendly IMHO but it works. I like to joke that it's Trent being like Bono from U2 because the first half sounds like all singles, but that isn't even a legit comparison.
Yeah I agree, definitely a more "mainstream" rock sound to With Teeth. Definitely an album that grew on me!
Ruiner is my favorite NIN track but the Fragile is my favorite album
I was panicking when I saw the title of this video, but then when I heard what you said about the fragile I had a sigh of relief hahaha. I feel like Saturday Night Wrist by Deftones is their version of The Fragile, they were all in a dark place and disjointed. It's also a good album for a broken heart I guess. Nice review!
Saturday Night Wrist reference, on point
@@la213blanco Thanks! Deftones are my favourite band :D NIN is probs second fave haha
@@Bulk_eats good taste
The Fragile is honestly The Downward Spiral, but expanded upon. More variety of tracks, and more variety in atmosphere. Ripe with Decay is such a disturbing ending for an album; more so than Hurt. It has everything NIN has built itself upon at the time. I feel the same way with the Triology albums, although I wish they put them all in one album instead of splitting itself up into 3 parts.
YES!! I love seeing NIN discourse in my recommended 😄 they’re one of my absolute favorites 🖤
Yeah, they're pretty awesome! :)
Unbelievable that you didn’t put Downward Spiral in the A+ category, you should give that another listen for sure.
I've listened to it a lot more in the time since filming this, and yes, it has grown on me immensely.
I can actually agree with the Broken and TDS rankings lol, the only thing i can really disagree with is the Hesitation Marks/NTAE ratings, those two are so good man
Interesting rankings. I agree with your D tier. The rest is cool, what you like is cool with me. Just glad to see you have good taste and listen to NIN. In these days people seem to have forgot about one of the best of all time!
what are your skips for tds? personally i skip big man with a gun pretty much every time i listen to it
Probably very unpopular opinion but Piggy has always been a skip, also March of the Pigs and Big Man with a Gun. Not bad tracks at all, I just prefer others on this album.
If the fragile is not #1 we can’t be friends anymore.... lol ❤️
Ok, we can still be friends... lol
:D
@@mollyesanborn would love to hear your opinion on the Social Network soundtrack 🏆
Stay tuned, I have a video coming about this! :)
@@mollyesanborn
Honestly for me the whole 3 album trilogy is my favorite from NIN ever. It has the perfect balance between their older sound and newer sound, with experimentation on top of it all.
Yup The Fragile is the best 😁
Okay, so… very interesting. I went from finding you on the Deftones rankings to this one as NIN is another of my favorite artists ever. Seeing Broken at the absolute bottom, I was like whoa alright but I get it. Not for everyone I suppose. Then seeing The Downward Spiral so far down: oof. But it can be quite abrasive at times. The Fragile is obviously a masterpiece. The Frail into The Wretched is definitely a chef’s kiss moment. And THEN you happened to single out the tracks Me, I’m Not and This Isn’t the Place which are both my favorite tracks on their respective releases. A roller coaster of emotions in this review lol. Great job on this one as well
I know, perhaps a bit of a controversial ranking. I will say though that this video is a bit old, Broken has grown on me and I'd certainly put it in B at this point. And The Downward Spiral has FINALLY clicked with me, a tremendous album that took me some time to fully appreciate. It's A+++ for me now, even above Pretty Hate Machine. The Fragile is still my #1 though, I think it always will be tbh.
@@mollyesanborn I think for the overwhelming majority of NIN fans, it always comes down to The Downward Spiral or The Fragile for best album. They’re both absolutely amazing in their own way
I asked for the fragile for Christmas of 99, I was 14 and when I opened it up on Christmas I ran to my garage to hear the whole cd...... it is and will always be my favorite nine inch nails album🤘🤘🤘
Thanks for the amazing tips. I'd missed Less Than totally and I love it.
I kind of dropped off with With Teeth, but my ranking of Pretty Hate through The Fragile matches yours exactly! I’ll have to give the ones you put in the A tier a listen
The Fragile being at the top is all that matters
What editing software did you use and how did you make the ranking system?
In case I missed a comment regarding this, any thoughts on "Still"? I know there are a few acoustic versions of older tracks, but I think it has enough to stand on its own. I feel like it's what the "Ghosts" project would eventually take on.
I love Still, it's so cold and bleak sounding. And All That Could Have Been and Leaving Hope are amazing, two of my favorite tracks from Nine Inch Nails! I agree that it works really well as a standalone album but since it's "technically" not an EP or LP I didn't include it in this video. It's amazing though, probably in A if I had to rank it.
Came to the comments for this.@@mollyesanborn
WOW. I can't believe how similar it is to my own ranking. Thoroughly impressed with everything you said.
Thanks for watching :)
How dare you not like things I like. 😡
Also different albums represent different times of my life; I was listening to The Downward Spiral at one point nonstop, listening to Year Zero another, etc. So these albums have different effects and importance to me. Regardless, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on them. If I was greedy I'd hope that one day you listen to them all, track by track, and talk about them. But I'm, uh, not greedy...at all.
I'm the same, I go through phases with their albums. First it was their trio of EP's, then I got sucked into With Teeth and Year Zero. Then when I discovered The Fragile I was floored. TDS took me so long to come around to but it did finally click for me, and now I'd put it in A+.
I got into their music late, I knew of Closer and a handful of their popular tracks but I'd say my real introduction to their music was in 2017 with their EP Add Violence. Maybe that's why I like it so much... so I kinda started with their later, more ambient projects and Atticus and Trent's movie scores and worked my way backward. But I will definitely have to do some more NIN related videos, I absolutely love their music. They've got something really special.
Anyway, sorry for the long reply. This is what happens when NIN is brought up. Thanks for watching the video! Oh and btw, if you're at all interested I did a video a while back breaking down Pretty Hate Machine, kind of a track by track review.
@@mollyesanborn How did I miss that? I'll look it up next. Sorry to keep it going, but I just was listening to a random one hit wonder from the 2000's - Taproot - Poem. Maybe because I've been watching you recently, I thought it would be cool to hear your thoughts on some "one hit wonders" from that era.
Regardless, I like your videos and will keep watching, thanks!
@@skillz4realz1 Taproot isn’t a one hit wonder by any means imo. Look up their album Gift. Tracks like Smile, Again & Again and b-side Day By Day are all great tracks.
Out of curiosity, which songs do you skip while listening to The Downward Spiral?
Also, it's great to see someone giving The Fragile the appreciation that it deserves. I remember when I first started getting into Nine Inch Nails, I kept hearing people raving about The Downward Spiral and how it's an absolute masterpiece, whereas nobody-and I mean nobody-had much to say about The Fragile. It gave me the impression that the album must be a step down from everything that came before it. I eventually got around to giving it a spin, but my expectations were lowered.
Not even The Downward Spiral blew me away from the very first listen the way The Fragile did.
Piggy, March of the Pigs, and Big Man With A Gun have always been the tracks that I'm less drawn to listen to. I've got to say though that I pick up on new stuff with each listen to The Downward Spiral which makes me appreciate it way more than I did when I first heard it.
But yeah, The Fragile is just on another level in my opinion, definitely my favorite album from them.
@@mollyesanborn Oh wow, really? March of the Pigs is one of my favorites from TDS, and I love the drum solo near the end of Piggy. Big Man with a Gun, though? Too short.
I think TDS is still my overall favorite, but The Fragile and Broken are both very, very close to it for me.
I love how different people can have such vastly different experiences with the same exact works of artistic expression. It's always interesting to hear others' perspectives on things, even when I disagree with their take.
Yes, I love how two people can have vastly different opinions/interpretations of the same album, it's honestly what I love about music. And I also find that songs I initially am not too fond of end up becoming my favorites later on, so maybe that'll happen with those tracks I mentioned, haha!
The Great Below and the Background World are so haunting.
Yes, two of my favorites!
Personally its With Teeth....then Downward Spiral...The story behind it is just legendary
I think With Teeth and The Fragile are the most accessable. The Downard Spiral, Hesitation Marks, Broken and Pretty Hate Machine are for those who like heavier music. And Year Zero is for Trent.
I love Year Zero too! Glad someone agrees. My top 3:
1.) Pretty Hate Machine
2.) Downward Spiral
3.) Year Zero
The Fragile is my all time fave album EVER! just everything on it blows me away on every listen. I have had a few listens "under the influence" and every time I have picked up something interesting from the experience. For With Teeth, that album is great, but what elevates it is the run at the end from Sunspots to RWIB, like holy shit that is amazing, such an incredible sound and probably my favourite consecutive run of tracks on any NIN album. TDS is great, often considered the best, and I would agree, if not for The Fragile, the 2 are just an amazing listen and both are mindblowing, incredible works of art that Trent Reznor would never do again but the guy is a genius, I don't think there's an album I don't like.
Also Year Zero isn't the best, but it's such a great record, like the whole project in one piece, from the album, to the ARG at the time, just felt so exciting to me back in 2007 when I was 14 and it was wholly unique, I was incredibly engaged with the entire concept and it captured my imagination, groundbreaking art for sure. The Slip is easily overlooked but still has some banging tracks, straightforward for much of it until the end and then becomes something more experimental, a direction that Hesitation Marks would go, I was so hype for that and it's great, but at times feels like the most accessible NIN album to me. Still a more unique experience and focuses more on the soundscapes again and feels a lot like PHM and the EBM type dancey sound.
I definitely prefer NTAE to HM, dunno why, maybe it's the shorter track lengths leaving me hungry, but it did a lot more in 20 minutes for me than the entirety of HM, it just felt more hungry and revitalised, the songs were way more desperate and vital and NTAE and Bad Witch are probably my fave NIN materials since Year Zero, the trilogy works so good as a cohesive unit, I appreciate all 3 eps/albums, they're just such an interesting and unique sound and I love it. The Ghosts albums feel like a seperate entity to all other NIN works, I feel like NIN really showcases the sound of the band/project with them albums and it's pretty awesome to hear that progress, same goes for the Quake OST and Still, definitely captures the progression of Trent and NIN in their time period and expands on the dense layers of sound.
YES, so glad you agree! The Fragile is also my top album from any band, not just NIN. Such a masterpiece, like you said I am always picking up on new sounds and elements with each listen. For having such a long runtime and being a double album it always amazes me how I'll start listening to it and always be completely transfixed until the very end. I never seem to get bored of it.
😓 I'm so glad The Fragile made it. That is also my favorite from Trent. Loved your take on these.
Good ranking!
I actually can't see how any personal preference list can be controversial, taste is so subjective and we all love different things! I'm curious where you'd put "Deviations 1" in your list, considering The Fragile was number one.
Also, completely unrelated, but since you mentioned you liked the looping part (and I guess some droning) I wonder if you like the band Godspeed You! Black Emperor? And if you haven't heard them, I think the go-to album is "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven".
I completely agree about your point on personal rankings, everyone's got their own taste and music really can't be judged as good or bad in my opinion. Certain artists/songs just strike a chord with some people and not others. As for Deviations 1, I haven't heard the entire project so I can't fairly rank it. I love hearing The Fragile in its rawer instrumental state though, it's really interesting to listen to. I'd say a solid A at least! And I know that Godspeed You album has been suggested before, I'll definitely have to give that one a listen.
@@mollyesanborn Deviations 1 is a fun listen, since it's not only instrumental but may also have some slight variations. But I must say that I do miss having vocals on many of the tracks, personally.
About that GY!BE album: It has only 4 long songs, but each song is divided into movements. There is one upload here by Stoned Nerve who has made the movements into their own chapters in the video instead of just the 4 songs. That might make the album less intimidating for some people 😄 (and also in case you would be making a video, maybe you'd want to take time between the movements to talk instead of after 20+ minutes of music).
I’m currently going through their discography, so I am looking forward to watching this video again, when I get to know all NIN albums
Boy, wish I could go back and listen to their discography for the first time, what an experience!
@@mollyesanborn yeah I feel you. However, I have already listened to the first three albums and the broken EP, so I am really looking forward to hearing what weird turns Trent took after those!
Honestly your ranking is pretty close to mine, I'm just curious but what are your top 5 nin songs?
Oh man, that's very difficult to answer. For sure The Frail/The Wretched (probably my #1). Also The Great Below, Mr. Self Destruct, Closer, Ruiner, and Less Than are extremely high up on my list. I love the funkiness of Down In It too. And I think The Mark Has Been Made and Corona Radiata are BRILLIANT instrumental tracks that are often overlooked. But yeah, I knew this comment would turn into a paragraph, haha! They've got such a great discography it's really impossible to pick just five tracks. These are certainly some of my favorites though.
@@mollyesanborn yeah thinking about it, that is a tough awnser..lol I probably should have raised that number. I have alot myself a couple of mine are somewhat damaged and gave up, they are amazing songs to see Trent play live! I also love the wretched, me I'm not, the great destroyer, ruiner, sunspots and copy of a, and ring finger
I legit let out a gasp when I saw Broken ranked in D, other then that I are with everything you said, except Downward Spiral would be A lol
I know, my ranking is a bit unconventional... Broken has significantly grown on me in the year and a half since I filmed this video, as well as TDS. Broken is at least a B, TDS is A+ for me now. They both just took me some time to really start to appreciate I guess.
Fascinating rankings. I've got The Fragile at #1 personally. Although I can't listen to it these days. Brings back a lot of painful stuff. I have Year Zero at #2. I'm still amazed at the melding of the concept and the music for it. There are moments Trent hits the nerve of something far bigger inside here. And #3 for me is Hesitation Marks. I find myself gravitating back to this one more than any other NIN project. I just think it keeps the through line from Downward Spiral artistically, lyrically and even musically. The exception being he's far older and wiser, somewhat embarrassed and humbled by what he once was. I suppose at my age now and my age when it was released i needed that from him. Afterwards, #4 With Teeth, #5 The Slip, #6 Downward Spiral, #7 Pretty Hate Machine. I'll save the effort of ranking the EP's.
IMO for me I love
" The Fragile " this to me is great.
I'd say the fragile was the best. Downward spiral next. Then with teeth. Then year zero. Then Still. Then hesitation marks. Then pretty hate machine. Then the slip. Then add violence. Then Ghosts. Then bad witch. Those are the top ones for me.
Here's my ranking:
S/A+: The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, Bad Witch
A: Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, With Teeth, Year Zero, Not the Actual Events
B: The Slip, Ghosts (all of them), Hesitation Marks, Add Violence
No NIN album is C tier or lower imho
Just curious, what are your least favorite tracks from downward spiral
At the time I filmed this ranking I would have told you Piggy, March of the Pigs, and Big Man With A Gun. Now a year later I can honestly say zero. This album has grown on me immensely.
This is a fascinating rank. I couldn't even wrap my head around the things you like and you don't.
For me:
Downward Spiral
Pretty Hate Machine
Hesitation Marks
The Fragile (because starf*uckers is awful)
With Teeth
Broken
Year Zero
With Teeth is their best album hands down! The sheer creativity and talent put into this one is beyond unique
Your placement of TDS makes sense based on your descriptions of the tiers prioritising albums without any week tracks. While this definately matters to me, it isn't the primary criteria for me. I want an album to take me on a journey and the Downward Spiral has the best journey in the nin Discography. And while pretty hate machine is full of great songs it feels a bit like a complication to me rather than a cohesive experience.
I actually get that, I've given TDS more listens than I probably should since filming this ranking and can finally say... I get the hype. I'd put it in A+ now. Totally takes you on a journey, I agree with you 100%. Now when I listen to it I don't hear any weak points, it all fits together so well.
It's great finding someone who loves NIN more than me. I think Broken sounds better live, so with you there.
YESSS NIN FOR LIFE! ❤️
There is no wrong answer to music. You put a great amount of time to listen to all these albums. I admire that. That said, Broken was instant attraction to me because it was so noisy. Lol
I just love how you know all NIN discography. Please marry me 😍
I am with you The Fragile is the best NIN album. I would argue one of the best albums of all time.
You like what you like and that's cool. I really despise it when people dumb on people for their own personal tastes in music and it happens way too much in the comment section here on UA-cam.
Fight for Pretty Hate Machine
Good god she ranked with teeth higher than the downward spiral. I've gotta go outside and re-sew the fabric of reality
Radiohead, Bjork, and NIN are in my top 5 bands. Babadook also one of my favorite recent horror movies.... lol, anyways great rankings
My top 3 are Fragile, Downward Spiral, and Hesitation Marks, no particular order. I also looooove chillin with the Quake game soundtrack, and their more recent movie soundtracks are really amazingly beautiful.
Yes, their movie soundtracks are fantastic. Recently filmed a video talking about their soundtracks, so stay tuned!
Id say that my ranking would be (top 5)
1/2: The Fragile or the Downward Spiral
My favorite songs are on the Downward Spiral but I would listen to The Fragile more. Both are such a bop.
3. Pretty Hate Machine
This album is a really good album, I really haven't listened to this album in a while so I'd have to listen to it to put my opinion.
4. Broken
I listen to this album a lot and this is a good album. My favorite songs would probably be (ranked best to worst out of my favorites) Last, Wish, Physical (You're So), Suck, etc.
5. With Teeth
I like listening to this album but I don't really go back to this album a lot. I really only listen to the top 4 albums and don't really re-listen to the other albums. This album has some good songs but I just don't really listen to them. I really like Only and Sunspots though.
Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band (above Megadeth, Metallica, etc.) And I find that I listen to this band the most. Trent Reznor is amazing.
I forgot to include the 2017 ep album (I forgot what it was called.) This album is kinda... eh. Polybus is probably my favorite. The 11 minute song is probably my second favorite off of this album.
Its funny how you can tell which albums I listen to less and more.
Totally agree about TDS it was groundbreaking for its time, but i cant listen to it from start to finish, their best and my personal favorites are the fragile and PHM
Tiger army - prelude : signal returns / hot prowl . The first 2 tracks on Tiger army 4 - Music from regions beyond
Each of their 6 albums starts with about a minute long instrumental that leads into the first actual song thats usually about 3 minutes long
I'm dreaming here but maybe if you really like this one you could rank the beginning of all 6 records 🐯 Either way Nice to find a new channel I can binge watch , thanks !
At least the Fragile is properly credited as the very best
Hi Molly! We seem to have similar taste in music - NIN is my favorite band (A Warm Place is probably my favorite song of all time). I'm glad to see you exploring more Deftones - huge fan of them and Radiohead as well. I'm curious if you've ever listened to How to Destroy Angels or Puscifer (their latest album, Existential Reckoning is phenomenal, imo). Also, if you're interested, I make my own music and covers on my channel if you'd like to check it out! Thanks 😊
Yeah, Nine Inch Nails is just on another level. I've listened to a bit of How To Destroy Angels, haven't dived too deep into their music though. Same with Puscifer. I'll have to check out more of their stuff!
Pretty Hate Machine and Fragile are indeed Trent's masterpieces. Good call. Downward Spiral never did much for me. I can't get into that "angry purely for the sake of being angry" sound. I also would put the Social Network and Soul scores in top tier, but I'm biased and like more of his ambient side.
Glad you agree! Although I've gotta admit I've hopped on the Downward Spiral train in the years since filming this video. Now I love it, although still not quite as much as PHM and The Fragile. I almost see it now as his anger and rage being poured out on TDS, and The Fragile is the remnants of the broken person when all that anger has left him. That's my interpretation anyway. And yes, the ambient side to NIN is amazing!!! I couldn't agree more. Their soundtracks are fantastic, I'd add Gone Girl to that list as well. That score is beautifully eerie, it suits the film perfectly.
@@mollyesanborn Since I made this comment I too went back and listened to Downward Spiral again. My opinion on it hasn't changed much, but I now have Piggy stuck in my head. Please send help.
You should review the Spawn Soundtrack. One of the best concept album to mix Alt rock and electronica from the 90’s.
I'd say everything NIN released up till Year Zero was all listenable.....then everything up to that was weird ambience or full on weird noise that I just can't get into. Hesitation marks was a short return to their traditional sounding form of how Trent used to release albums. But I do like that their music is very diverse and has a wide range of fans. Some like TDS and some prefer albums like the Slip or Ghosts, something for everyone really.
Their later stuff is definitely a different vibe, I know Trent and Atticus got into composing soundtracks and that seemed to spill into their NIN projects as well. Personally it works for me and my taste in music but I can totally understand why it would be a turn off for a lot of fans of their older music.
@@mollyesanborn agreed. Trent also seems to be prepared for this sort of thing before he releases any new music. As you get older music tastes change and as an older fan I don’t find myself going back to their music as much as I used to.
you should do a ranking on all the remix albums as well!
there are some really amazing tracks but also extremely bad ones on there, especially the remix album for broken, that one was such a mess.
i feel like the remix album for the fragile is by far the best one out of them all
You skipped FIxed, I agree with a lot of your ranking with the exception of TDS which I'd put above A+
The Fragile is so damn good
Not a big NIN fan, but The Fragile speaks to me, I adore it so much.
The Mars Volta tier list! This must happen!
I think this video is excellent. While I don't 100% agree with your rankings this video actually got me questioning why. I always felt Downward Spiral was a masterpeice but when I play the album the first 6 tracks I love, I don't mind Becoming but I can take it leave, big man with a big gun, A Warm Place I skip it's really not till Reptile that the magic happens again for me. There's a couple like this on Fragile but for a double album it's near perfect.
The only one I really was sad to see you didn't like was Broken! I listen to that one so much. Wish, Gave up, Happiness in slavery jus tg have the most crunchiest riffs. I love Pinion as an opening track too. Similar to Somewhat Damaged I love the build up intros on NIN albums.
Thank you for watching! I agree, The Fragile is such a perfect album, especially considering it's a double album. I have actually gotten way more into both Broken and TDS since filming this ranking, it took me a little while but I finally understand the hype!
@@mollyesanborn things definitely change over time in taste when it comes to NIN. I used to think Down In It was such a weak track on PHM but now I think it's so groovy and one of the best haha.
Down In It is one of my favorites too! Such a funky sounding track, sort of like industrial hip hop.
Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile. :)
Would you consider a video on Failures album Fantastic Planet? You like a lot of the same music I do and I think that album would really hit hard for you. I love that album.. all killer no filler and fun fact. Maynard loved them and had them tour with him alll the time and even covered one of their songs (Nurse who Loved Me)
Yeah, I'll definitely consider that one! I know some others have recommended Failure to me as well.
1. The Fragile (it doesn’t hurt that it is a double disc)
2. The Downward Spiral (I’m curious which songs you were skipping)
3. Pretty Hate Machine (Something I Can Never Have is one of my favorite songs ever)
At the time I filmed this video the Downward Spiral hadn't quite clicked for me yet. I can say a year later with a lot of repeated listens I'd absolutely put it in A+ now. Not sure why it took so long to grow on me but now I see the brilliance. My ranking is same as yours now, The Fragile first, TDS second, PHM third all in A+
@@mollyesanborn You know, I was thinking you probably just hadn’t had enough good listens yet. I’m happy to see we’re on the same page now. 😂 I’ve been digging your reactions to Tool tonight. It’s too bad you can’t go back in time and do them for Nails. However, you still have A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. My only critique would be to show a little bit more of your reaction. Maybe don’t cut quite so soon. I definitely don’t mind a longer video with your in depth insights and thoughts. I’m looking forward to getting into your Deftones reviews next, as well as Fear Inoculum. Thanks for the response!
Nice, glad you're enjoying the Tool videos! I also would love to go back in time to re-listen to NIN's discography again for the first time. Maybe Trent will release something new for us soon, one can only hope... I'm definitely planning on venturing into A Perfect Circle once I finish up with Tool's discography, a lot of people have been telling me I'll really enjoy it. And I'll keep your suggestion in mind too, lately I've been trying to include a bit more of the songs and reactions in my videos. thanks for the feedback :)
@@mollyesanborn Oh, I’ve been dying for another top tier Nails album for quite some time now. I’m really curious to see which you’ll like better, between APC and Puscifer, considering your feelings about Nails. Puscifer might be a closer match, due to their more experimental song structures and layering. You can’t choose a song that would really encompass Puscifer. They’re just gonna take you to a lot of different places, but I think you’ll really enjoy all of them. If there’s one thing, though, that APC shares with Puscifer, it’s the soft, beautiful, sonic landscapes that envelop you, but there’s still an intensity that ebbs and flows that will remind you of Tool. Three very interesting sides of the wonderful brain of Maynard James Keenan. I was thinking maybe you could do like a Top 5 favorite Nails songs, with like a deep dive into the songs and why they appealed to you so much. Just a thought. 😉
For broken I recommend Last, gave up,suck, and wish. Gotta love those songs
Bless your heart. The ranking system makes no sense. Broken can't be D. But, I love anyone who takes the time to rank the greatest albums of all time.
i have to agree with you about The Fragile. its a very grown up album. Trent isn't just throwing tantrums anymore, he is actually doing real songwriting.
The Fragile was a masterpiece.
Yes, a truly fantastic album!
Nice video,really enjoyed it! Do you like rob zombie? I’d love to see your rob zombie ranking!
Glad you enjoyed the video :)
Not super familiar with Rob Zombie, just know Dragula from The Matrix soundtrack haha! Perhaps I'll give more of it a listen...
You misspelled "is"
Actually pretty spot on..:)
finally someone who gets add violence
Come on Molly! Hesitation Marks a C? :D Anyway, loved the video! :)
You did Broken soooo dirty lol still love ur list and any NIN fan is a friend of mine.
Yeah, I kinda did. What's funny is that Broken has grown on me a bit since filming this video, I'd rank it higher now. My taste in music is always changing so my rankings get outdated pretty quick!
I got to see NIN live in concert with Soundgarden!
Lucky! Now I've gotta give Soundgarden a listen.
Where would you put the Still album?
Honestly at least a B, quite possibly an A. Leaving Hope is one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails tracks. I didn't include it in my ranking just because it's technically not an official album or EP, but I really love it. It's so haunting and bleak.
pretty hate machine is a classic and my personal favorite 👍 downward spiral would be in my opinion 2nd place, a masterpiece 👌
You had me at PHM, lost me at Broken, I hate you at DS
Oof! Sorry bout that... I know my ranking might be a bit controversial. I'll say though that I've given both Broken and TDS tons more listens in the year and a half since I filmed this and both have grown on me tremendously. Broken is a great project, at least a B for me now. And TDS... I'm not sure why it took me so long to appreciate its brilliance but it is absolutely in A+ for me now, above PHM but below The Fragile. I think it is a masterpiece, it just took me some time to realize that.
@@mollyesanborn I kid, of course, but this vid has 100% made me go and retry the fragile.
I agree that Add Violence is considerably better than most make it out to be.
Yeah, Fragile is my favorite too. Some people just don't get it. It's the prettiest album. I listened to that when I was feeling really cut off from other people.
I also like the new trilogy of e.p.s
I'm not super into With Teeth or the Year Zero album. Too generic rock, I feel
Yeah, I love Add Violence. Background World appeared in my dreams a lot
Glad you agree about Add Violence, I really feel like that EP is criminally overlooked. I think it's great. And yeah The Fragile is such a beautiful record, it's got this sort of soft, more vulnerable sound to it compared to The Downward Spiral. It's like Broken/TDS are the explosion and The Fragile he's trying to pick up the pieces. With Teeth definitely embraces a more traditional rock sound, although I'd argue that Year Zero gets pretty experimental with its sound, more electronic leaning for sure.
@@mollyesanborn yeah, Year Zero has some nice electronic grooves, and at least it has a definite vibe-- I also appreciate how Reznor was suddenly sporting a buzz cutt and appeared noticably buff during that period, just bc it was such a break from the past that made sense, y'know, angry junkie gets it together and is focused and muscular and all that.
Something about "With Teeth" turns me off still. That whole early 2000's era wasn't really exciting for music imo.
I agree wholeheartedly about "Add Violence". The music on that has melodies and ambience. I wish it would have received more attention. It's buried within the Singles section on Spotify. No one I talk to is even aware of it. "The Lovers" is a good potential direction, and as I said, "Background World" coincided w/ several trippy surrealist dreams of René Magritte hat type guy holding umbrella, standing on top of cascading chimneys. Reznor was always better suited toward making art rock albums or progressive soundscapes, rather than generic butt rock or nu metal horse sh*t.
Yeah, Fragile is beautiful. Still, Fragile, and then the new instrumental Locusts are really his finest work imo.
I did listen to "Downward Spiral" a lot recently for the first time in a long time while going out running. It's a lot better than I remembered. The tracks on the second half that I never focused on during the 90's are sounding like the better material now that I'm listening to them again
Haha same thing happened with me with The Downward Spiral! That album really took some time to grow on me and now I think it's really incredible. A lot of the tracks I didn't really appreciate at first now have such an impact on the album as a whole. It's almost on par with The Fragile for me now... almost.
@@mollyesanborn yeah, I've been enjoying the heck out of it actually. When I was a kid I first became aware of that album when my cousin had it on CD. He was a computer programmer who read a ton of books and stuff, and I just always remembered that the CD for the Downward Spiral piqued my interest bc of the soft cover, with no pictures of the band, abstract art, and a lyric booklet that seemed basically impenetrable.
I tried listening through it, and Eraser, Ruiner, A Warm Place all freaked me out. I used to always just skim through a song until I found a hook or chorus-- until I found the "song", essentially.
Anyway, fast forward a ton of years, and I find those tracks especially comforting 😂
Finally, some appreciation for Corona Radiata :_)
THANK YOU!!!! Glad to hear that you agree. I absolutely love that track, one of the most unnerving songs I've ever heard (in the best way possible).
@@mollyesanborn exactly! I love how the track is quiet and calm, but unsettling in a way. The way it builds tension up, and the distorted cat scream at the end, it's just perfect! And the way The Four of Us Are Dying picks up right after, ugh I just love this album!
Just Somewhat Damaged to Were In This Together is the best
I keep trying to love The Downward Spiral, but it's just so noisy and chaotic. There's hardly any funky bass or room to breathe on the album, except for Closer, so it's rough on the ears. There's so many dope remixes of each song that I love, tho', so I make my own Spiral. I assume TDS is so beloved because of nostalgia and being something that got people through their dark times when it came out. Guess I lean towards their "quieter" electronic albums, like Pretty Hate, Year Zero, With Teeth. And I absolutely love Hesitation Marks. Can't get enough of that. Different strokes!
You know, I actually would have completely agreed with your feelings on TDS around when I filmed this video. I've given it some time and countless listens and this album has finally clicked for me. I think the noisy, chaotic aspect of it is exactly what they were going for. It's almost like a form of self torture to listen to it because of just how harsh and abrasive its tone is, but I think that's the point. Definitely an A+ album for me now a year later, took me a long time to finally appreciate it.
Mostly on point imho, Fragile might be A++ though. And while The Downward Spiral isn't an album for every day listening, but it's perfect for those depressive / self destructive days... perfect, but maybe not healthy. ;)