#122 Nine Inch Nails, 'The Downward Spiral' (1994)

The second studio album by Nine Inch Nails was sonically groundbreaking. A concept album about the downward spiral of a man, ‘Mr. Self Destruct’ to his eventual death by suicide. The album built on the sound Trent Reznor had pioneered on debut, ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ (#453), taking industrial music into the mainstream.