10 Hard Rock Albums That Changed Music History

As soon as the alternative movement started to really hit its stride, there weren't any rules to be found in the rock world anymore. Once the grunge scene flipped everything on its head, it was time for all of the oddballs to make their way onto MTV, the weirder the better. Since there was no parameters anymore, Trent Reznor vanished into the dark hills of California and unpacked the pitch black side of his mind on The Downward Spiral.

For all of the amazing albums on this list, this might be one of the few true hard rock records that doesn't really have a guitar as the lead instrument most of the time. Playing like a pseudo concept album about Mr. Self Destruct getting more and more chaotic, a lot of the appeal comes from the raw noise coming from the record, with Trent sounding like he's losing grip with his sanity in multiple spots on the record. Though there are some straight ahead rock moments like March of the Pigs or some sections of Mr Self Destruct, the album is at its darkest when it's really laying the ambience on thick.

You can blast people with raw aggression all you want to, but Trent also knows the importance of subtlety, and having a song like Hurt close out the album reveals just how far gone this character has become during the course of this record. It's far from a pick me up even at the best of times, but there are still modern metal bands that can't equal this kind of inner turmoil.