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Cover of The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails
Cover: The Downward Spiral

Song · Nine Inch Nails

“Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails

From the album The Downward Spiral (1994)

“Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails appears on 74 radio countdowns from 31 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album The Downward Spiral. Its best result is #2 on the Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #34 alternative song of 1995, #284 alternative song of all time and #145 of the '90s.

74countdowns
31stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
2top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Nine Inch Nails: Hurt (live) (1995)

Video from YouTube (Nine Inch Nails). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Hurt" closes The Downward Spiral, the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album, and after all that noise it ends in a whisper. Trent Reznor wrote it, arranged it, produced and mixed it, and played bass, guitar, piano and synthesizer himself, with Chris Vrenna on drums.

It plays like numbness and regret set to music, Reznor's voice barely above a murmur as the arrangement creeps forward, fragile and bruised, then swells into a distorted roar before collapsing back into static. It sounds like somebody taking stock of the damage after the party is over.

Released to radio as a promotional single on April 17, 1995, it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song, and in 2020 Kerrang! and Billboard placed it second and third on their rankings of Nine Inch Nails songs. Johnny Cash's cover in 2002 gave it a second life, and Reznor said the song no longer felt like his after hearing it, but this original remains the rawer, more claustrophobic thing.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 17 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1995 10 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 107
1995 32 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995 91
1995 2 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 101
1995 82 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 100
1995 68 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104
1995 24 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1995 50
1995 45 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 95
1995 54 WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 37 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 146 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 52 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 165 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 99 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 406 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 42 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1505 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 111 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1505 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1497 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 1495 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 369 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 278 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 1474 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 78 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1474 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 89 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 81 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 58 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 1472 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 73 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 63 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 43 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 221 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 328 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 109 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 1323 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 259 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 1185 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 148 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 245 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 1075 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 111 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 938 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 917 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 905 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 105 KBPI KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time 200
2014 906 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 386 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 477 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 369 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 20 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 464 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 387 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 41 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 82 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 99 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 130 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 68 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 470 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 646 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 486 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 327 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 73 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 124 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 56 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 207 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 37 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 369 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 351 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 12 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 250 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 202 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 354 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 259 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Charting alongside it in 1995

Best songs of 1995 →
  1. 1You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette
  2. 2LumpThe Presidents of the United States of America
  3. 3Lightning CrashesLive
  4. 4Bullet With Butterfly WingsThe Smashing Pumpkins
  5. 5NameGoo Goo Dolls
  6. 6My FriendsRed Hot Chili Peppers

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