Rank the NIN albums...at least the ones from PHM to The Fragile

This is hard because, to me, The Fragile is a great album, but I somewhat agree with you. Did you mean The Downaward Spiral or Further Down the Spiral?

Further Down the Spiral is just remixes. They put out more remix albums than real ones. If you want to include all Trent Reznor albums, Anti Christ Superstar, and the soundtracks for Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway were all pretty damn good.

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Did you mean The Downaward Spiral or Further Down the Spiral?

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You got it. I guess I was thinking of that remix album they did. Nails...they messed with every original, didn't they?

BROKEN would be my #1, but it only has 8 total songs. I love the remake of "Physical". I love the start with "Pinion". Then, "Wish" is just bad arse...but who else thinks the following track is just heavy as it gets with with "Last"? Wow, did I used to jam that song as loud as my vlume controls would go. "Help Me I'm in Hell" I could do without...a very "ummmm....what was that?" instrumental (with a creepy video) Then, "Hapiness in Slavery" is a very original song that has some kiler riff. "Gave up" is awesome and the video for it is simply a studio recording, but it's Reznor, Manson, Richard Patrick, Wooley, and Clauser I believe. I don't think Vrenna, Fink, or Lohner were in the band yet (R. Patrick was still in it). Then, the hidden tracks..."Physical" and "Suck". It took me a year to figure out "Physical" was even on there because I had seen hidden track 99's before, but not 98's.

I would almost go as fra as saying Broken plays out like a full length album, but it doesn't due to "Pinion" being a very short intro instrumental and "Help me I'm in Hell" being what it is...along with two hidden tracks.

Broken deserves a lotta credit because it was such a drastic change from PHM. Much like Ministry progressing from The Land of Rape and Honey to two albums later, Psalm 69, keyboards and over sampled drums gave way to a still industrial, but very guitar-driven collage. I think "The Downward Spiral" when it came out two years later was a perfect mix of ryhthmic dance tunes (Closer, Big Man with a Gun ) to melancholie instrumentals (A Warm Place) to very, very heavy and angry tracks (Heresy, Mr. Self Destruct) to dark and lyrically mystifying pieces (Piggy, Eraser, and Hurt)to songs that had some very cool, almost throwback guitar solos ("Ruiner", "The Downward Spiral"). It's very cool to hear a meshed sound like that of The Downward Spiral.

The Fragile? I was the first person in baton Rouge to buy it, as I remember the old cd store next to Place du Plantier had a midnight sale of it in early September of 1999. Think about how much anticipated that it was...5 years since Nails had put out a real album. Hell, I was stoked just to knoow that "The Perfect Drug" was released in late '96. Anyway, at 12:02 (says so on my receipt), I walked out with the double-disc and I assume I was the firt person in BR to own. Wahoo. I was somewhat satisfied. I had only heard 3 songs before its release - "The Day the Whole World Went Away", which I will never figure out how that was leaked out. Then I heard "We're in this Together Now" and was floored. Great song. Then, remember the MTV Video Awards that fall? I was hoping to hear Wer're in this..." and instead, they played "The Fragile" after a poor introduction by Johnny Depp. It was not a good version either (unlike later when they OWNED it on the excellent dvd All that Could Have Been). Still, The Fragile had some great tunes. "la Mer" was brilliant. "The Frail" and "The Wretched" were a terrific combo. "Into the Void" was one of the catchiest songs they ever did, in my opinion. "The Way Out..." made for a killer opening track on disc right. Sound wise, it was a masterpiece. There were some major fillers, I thought in "No You Don't", "Where is Everybody?", and "Complication". Perhaps the most underrated song of all was "The Big Comedown" which HBO used for a commercial for season 6 of The Sopranos. Overall, very solid album, but did it live up to most fans' standards? Not really. 5 years was too long to wait and why we were all thanful for the double album, it wasn't a masterpiece. Expectations were as if the newage "The wall" was on its way.

Finally, the concert dvd, "All that Could Hve Been" was just un-fricking-believable. Incredible and I want to get it on Blu-Ray...not the last dvd with a 230 pound steroided and bald Trent. This dvd was so good with sound and the frenzied crowd. The ending with "Closer" and "Head Like a Hole" were bad arse. I bought on Blu Ray the concert they did from 2006 (also caught that tour), but it just wasn't the same. I didn't like the lineup as much and every guy from 2003 tour was gone and replaced. I believe former Manson bassist, Jordie White aka Twiggy Ramirez was one of them.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I just have a lot to say when it comes to Nails and I know some of you were as big a fan as I usd to be back in the 1990's.

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The Fragile had some great tunes. "la Mer" was brilliant

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agreed.

All albums up to With Teeth are excellent.

After that, Trent sucks.