10 Best Rock Music Album Closers Of The 1990s
1. Hurt - The Downward Spiral (Nine Inch Nails)
How could you even debate this being number one?
In terms of album closers, it's one of the best ever, as well as being one of the finest examples of song craftsmanship that the rock genre has ever seen. Scratch that, that music has ever seen.
Mad genius Trent Reznor needed something big to round out Nine Inch Nails' second album, The Downward Spiral. He could have gone with the monstrous Closer, which would have been fine, but the answer was obvious.
Hurt was made to sound intentionally off-key, to add to the sense of disorientation caused by its disturbing lyrics. The whole thing is about someone causing themselves pain to see if they're still capable of feeling something, which is pretty damn dark.
It steadily builds to a wild, climactic ending, as the song and its multiple meanings swirl around listeners' heads like a dark storm cloud. The experience is unsettling, it's deranged, it's Nine Inch Nails at their very best, and it is simply a glorious piece of painful art. What better way to round off one of the '90s' best albums.
Also, obligatory Johnny Cash mention.
Has to be done.