The Cure – Pornography (2-CD)

Released in 1982, *Pornography* marked a kind of breaking point for Robert Smith, a record made under genuine psychological strain that somehow transformed personal collapse into one of post-punk's most suffocating and visceral statements. The wall of distortion, buried vocals, and relentless percussion created a template that generations of dark rock artists have spent decades trying to decode. It's the album that nearly ended the band, and also the one that made them mythic.