PRETTY HATE MACHINE

While not technically a prog rock album, Trent Reznor's debut Nine Inch Nails album is a brilliant blend of angst ridden pop music and hard edged industrial noise music. Sometimes criticized for not being as hard core as Einstürzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle and the like, Reznor managed to create a near masterpiece, for being able to combine hard-edged metallic sounds with enough finesse to make it listenable to a wide audience.

The bass is pumped and the beat is emphasized, making this album a club favorite at the time, yet still, there is enough going on in each song to bring me back for a listen when I feel I need that sort of attitude adjustment.