Originally Posted by
Xen
Main Albums:
----- Masterpiece -----
1. Fragile - The quintessential NIN album, best combo of heavy/light and complex/minimalist. Band lineup, arrangement, and production was at the peak.
2. Downward Spiral - This album sets them apart from the rest of the alternative acts of the time. Absolutely no filler, and nobody could match the band's raw energy.
----- Excellent -----
3. Still - Best aural representation of depression/hopelessness, contains 3 of Trent's best instrumentals.
4. Broken - Best aural representation of rage/nihilism, contains best cover done by NIN.
----- Very Good -----
5. Year Zero - Great follow up to a lackluster comeback album (in my opinion), most singularly focused and complete post-Fragile album.
6. Ghosts I-IV - Great experimentation and concept, proves that Trent doesn't need lyrics to make evoke emotions from the listeners.
----- Good -----
7. With Teeth - Great start, average middle, and good finish to the album. First album on my list to contain filler tracks in my opinion, but still lots of classic songs.
8. Pretty Hate Machine - Several good/great songs, surprisingly catchy, but with some of the cheesiest lyrics in the entire catalog.
9. NTAE/AV/3rd EP Trilogy - Some good impressions at first, especially after the let down I had after hearing Hesitation Marks. Not complete grade due to the third EP being unreleased so far.
----- Average -----
10. The Slip - A couple of great songs, some other good tracks, but overall sounds like B-sides from WT and YZ sessions.
11. Hesitation Marks - My hopes were pretty high after hearing Came Back Haunted, but this album was a let down for me because of the generic sounding slower sections (unlike the slow songs from Fragile/WT/YZ which were unique and sounded nothing like the other).
Remix Albums
1. Further Down the Spiral - Best collabs/remixes and awesome experimentation
2. Closer to God - Ditto
3. March of the Pigs - See 1 and 2 but kinda short
4. Year Zero Remixed - Some great remixes, similar in theme to YZ but different enough as well.
5. Things Falling Apart - Very good remixes but also some filler and crappy ones too.
6. Fixed - I like the effort but way too noisy and weird for me.
7. The Perfect Drug - Wasn't feeling it, most remixes seemed half-baked to me.