The Downward Spiral (studio album) by Nine Inch Nails

The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
Year: 1994
Overall rank: 153rd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,220 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1994 (6th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1990s (33rd)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (153rd)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
NINE INCH NAILS DOWNWARD SPIRAL VINYL 2LP DEFINITIVE EDITON 180G SEALED MINT
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral [New Vinyl LP] Explicit
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails (Record, 2017)
Condition: New


  My favourite store:  

Nine Inch Nails bestography

The Downward Spiral is ranked as the best album by Nine Inch Nails.

Nine Inch Nails album bestography « Higher ranked This album (153rd) Lower ranked (503rd) »
-The Downward SpiralPretty Hate Machine

Upcoming concerts

May
22
Thu
20:00
Nine Inch Nails & Rage Against the Machine Tributes by NAILS & Babes Against the Machine (Under 18 Require Accompanying Adult)
Canyon Club-CA, Agoura Hills, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Aug
06
Wed
19:30
Nine Inch Nails - Peel It Back Tour 2025
Oakland Arena, Oakland, United States. United States
Tickets from $49.50 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Aug
08
Fri
19:30
Nine Inch Nails - Peel It Back Tour 2025
Moda Center, Portland, United States. United States
Tickets from $45.50 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to The Downward Spiral on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

The Downward Spiral track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Rating: 87 (254 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
3.
Rating: 86 (242 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
5.
Track pick
Rating: 92 (395 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
6.
Rating: 87 (235 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
7.
Rating: 85 (207 votes)Comments: 3
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
10.
Rating: 87 (216 votes)Comments: 4
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
11.
Rating: 85 (208 votes)Comments: 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
12.
Rating: 87 (219 votes)Comments: 2
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
14.
Track pick
Rating: 92 (405 votes)Comments: 7
  • Amazon Music
  • iTunes
  • Spotify

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Downward Spiral rankings

The Downward Spiral collection

The Downward Spiral ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 1,220 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,220 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
02/15/2025 01:57 AbsurdCheesecake  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 27588/100
 
40/100
 Report rating
02/07/2025 19:07 gmessian  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46062/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
02/05/2025 17:38 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,08281/100
 
80/100
 Report rating
01/16/2025 19:40 AlexBMUFC  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 25376/100
 
95/100
 Report rating
01/07/2025 17:46 MaxStorm98  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,71191/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.5/100, a mean average of 81.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.6.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

The Downward Spiral comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 85 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
40/100
From 12/20/2024 20:10
Last track, Hurt, is an absolute gem. It's just a shame I had to listen to an hour of barely intelligible noise to get to that point. Thought I would like this album but it just didn't work for me. Far too much distortion on the guitar for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 10/26/2023 20:09
For me listening to this album is very hard in every meaning of this word, instrumentals are harsh and lyrics are depressing, so while I'm not sure if I enjoyed it very much, I can clearly say that I appreciate how much effort they put in here to creat this album, especially with this creative production.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/10/2023 04:17
Drugs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/01/2023 16:16
A fantastic lyrical album that is let down by the music in my opinion. If the music was up to the same level as the lyrics then this would be amongst the greatest of all time but they don't achieve this with a lot of the songs falling a bit flat for me. The tracks just don't seem to have the energy or infectiousness that would make me come back that often and even though I have revisited this album a lot of times it is only because it gets such high praise. Most of the acclaim comes from the unique style of music and the lyrics as they are so full of depth and they have enough quality that they deserve and demand to be heard. I don't think I have heard anything that similar to the music on here either and that alone makes it an interesting and fun listen. They create a great atmosphere as well that suits the lyrical tone perfectly. Overall, this might not be my style of music or maybe this record hasn't clicked for me yet as I do think it is over rated but it is still a strong release.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 02/19/2023 11:07
Obra-prima
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/31/2022 03:49
Solid album
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/29/2022 14:37
Album Rating: 80.29
(1,124/14)

1.Mr. Self Destruct. 84
2.Piggy. 83
3.Heresy. 71
4.March Of The Pigs. 83
5.Closer. 97
6.Ruiner. 76
7.The Becoming. 73
8.I Do Not Want This. 79
9.Big Man With A Gun. 78
10.A Warm Place. 92
11.Eraser. 72
12.Reptile. 73
13.The Downward Spiral. 65
14.Hurt. 98
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 03/08/2022 06:18
Beyond the border of my musical taste. I can live without this..
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/20/2021 10:01
Está bien, es innovador,... Pero es para prestar atención. Es un disco que cuesta asimilar y al que hay que dar varias escuchas
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/26/2020 10:17
I like the music very much the first song is not so good but that is Industrial. I understand the Story of The Downward Spiral. It is the way of how a person goes to the bottom of life. And I can say I like Close and Hurt very much March of the Pigs and A Warm Place are also nice tracks.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for The Downward Spiral

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1994
1. Grace by Jeff Buckley
2. Illmatic by Nas
3. Dummy by Portishead
4. Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer
5. Definitely Maybe by Oasis
6. The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
7. MTV Unplugged In New York by Nirvana
8. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement
9. Superunknown by Soundgarden
10. Parklife by Blur
11. Dookie by Green Day
12. Ready To Die by The Notorious B.I.G.
13. The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers
14. Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
15. Dog Man Star by Suede
16. Bee Thousand by Guided By Voices
17. The Division Bell by Pink Floyd
18. Jar Of Flies (EP) by Alice In Chains
19. Vitalogy by Pearl Jam
20. Live Through This by Hole
Back to Top