Pretty Hate Machine
by Nine Inch Nails

Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
Year: 1989
Release date: 1989-10-20
Overall rank: 505th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 713 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1989 (8th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (77th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (505th)

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Nine Inch Nails bestography

Pretty Hate Machine is ranked 2nd best out of 24 albums by Nine Inch Nails on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nine Inch Nails is The Downward Spiral which is ranked number 152 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 9,162.

Nine Inch Nails album bestography « Higher ranked (152nd)
The Downward Spiral
This album (505th)
Pretty Hate Machine
Lower ranked (668th) »
The Fragile

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Pretty Hate Machine track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 84 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Pretty Hate Machine rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 505th | 1980s rank: 77th | 1989 rank: 8th

Pretty Hate Machine collection

Pretty Hate Machine ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 713 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help 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 713 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
03/24/2026 22:09 melisandre  Ratings distribution  28479/100
 
70/100
 
03/13/2026 13:01 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,84970/100
 
55/100
 
03/01/2026 18:43 Rhyner  Ratings distribution  1,70459/100
 
95/100
 
02/28/2026 19:20 ExTeaSea  Ratings distribution  5,18283/100
 
100/100
 
02/13/2026 03:00 evstratios  Ratings distribution  18097/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 79.1/100, a mean average of 78.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 79.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.8.

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Pretty Hate Machine comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 45 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
85/100
From 05/06/2023 18:31 | #296693
Very good debut album, they brought some fresh stuff to the table mixing alternative dance with industrial sounds and punk delivery. Not consistently great, there are some really bad tracks here (Down In It), but good ones overshadow them and are pretty catchy - Head Like A Hole, Sin and Terrible Lie are anthemic bangers. There is also surprisingly good slower-paced emotional Something I Can Never Have with grim tone to it and great lyrics, which is not always the case. The Only Time sounds great, but I can't say the same about lyrics.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 03/29/2023 22:32 | #295584
A pegada dance é mto foda!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 07/20/2022 04:48 | #287623
Debut Album from Trent Reznor and is a 100/100
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/15/2022 08:59 | #287438
Album Rating: 82.00
(820/10)

1.Head Like A Hole. 83
2.Terrible Lie. 83
3.Down In It. 79
4.Sanctified. 78
5.Something I Can Never Have. 92
6.Kinda I Want To. 80
7.Sin. 86
8.That's What I Get. 85
9.The Only Time. 77
10.Ringfinger. 77
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/25/2021 18:32 | #275385
I've liked this album since its release. Very interesting.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/11/2021 06:25 | #268436
Excellent album. Head like a hole is a great opener setting the tone for the rest of the album. A brilliant track one side one. The rest of the album is really solid, no filler tracks. Succinct and to the point.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/16/2021 04:47 | #266360
I definitely seem to get more personal enjoyment out of this synth-pop sound than what comes in the albums thereafter.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/08/2020 04:55 | #246538
A terrific and really hard to categorize debut.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/27/2019 18:07 | #238478
Really good debut album.

Favorites: Head Like A Hole, Terrible Lie, Down In It, Something I Can Never Have, Sin.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/22/2019 18:12 | #232390
Lyrics from angsty/edgy Trent are little corny, but I really liked synth-pop music and dancy beats.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1989
1. Doolittle by Pixies
2. Disintegration by The Cure
3. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
4. Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
5. 3 Feet High And Rising by De La Soul
6. On Fire by Galaxie 500
7. Bleach by Nirvana
8. Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails
9. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty
10. New York by Lou Reed
11. Technique by New Order
12. Like A Prayer by Madonna
13. The Real Thing by Faith No More
14. Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson
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18. Hats by The Blue Nile
19. Oh Mercy by Bob Dylan
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