The Greatest Metal Albums Ranked By Fans!

[burningspear]

Damn that shows you how last century metal was.

 

[Kaybee]

Dude Carcass is a real metal band. They started as a grindcore band but the Heartwork album is considered a pioneering melodic death metal album.

lol yeah I know. I'm questioning why it is ranked so hilariously low on the list

 

[Kforcer]

Good to see Powerslave getting some love

It is a great album. Definitely a 10/10 album. Every song is great. Somewhere in Time and Brave New World are my favorites, but Powerslave is up there. It used to be between Powerslave and Somewhere in Time for me, but I love the refined sound that SiT and BNW have. And the songs off those albums just really resonate with me. 'The Duelists',and 'Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner' are two of my all-time favorites though.

 

[Kforcer]

I saw Dio back in the early 2000s. You could tell he genuinely loved performing. One of the best shows I've been to.

I feel like he only got better as he went along. I agree with you 100%; his passion for performing was just amazing. I guess when he was in the throes of cancer, he told Lizzy Hale that he couldn't take it easy on any show he went to, because each show might be a fans first or only time seeing him. So to him that meant he had to give 100% every time out.

 

[scorpiorising]

Hahaha Hell Bent For Leather by Judas has the cover for one of my favourite albums, same album name by Frankie Lane

 

[Halifax]

“Peace Sells but Whos Buying” from Megadeth Is legendary

Yes it is. And Dave Mustaine is one fantastic guitarist.

I can forgive his vocals although I am not a fan of his voice, because it's incredibly hard to sing and play that shit at the same time

 

[Halifax]

https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/shreddits-top-metal-albums

I've been listening to each album by order and am having a great time!

I'm currently on piece of mind by iron maiden.

The trooper is the song that got me hard-core into Iron maiden

 

[Halifax]

Number one is legit the actual number one.


Metallica is by far the greatest metal band of all time.

Their first 5 albums were back to back classics. There’s no other run that compares in metal.

In thrash and mainstream sure.

Iron maiden is better for my tastes. But I prefer technical guitarists. I was able to play every Metallica song at age 15 a year after I got a guitar so it kills a bit of the MOJO. But they have some great songs to be sure

 

[DavidsGhost]

In thrash and mainstream sure.

Iron maiden is better for my tastes. But I prefer technical guitarists. I was able to play every Metallica song at age 15 a year after I got a guitar so it kills a bit of the MOJO. But they have some great songs to be sure

I’ll have to listen to them, I only dabble in metal slightly. By slightly I mean a lot, just not as much as punk, which is my main squeeze

 

[Halifax]

absolutely
they are quite a bit more technical and lyrically complex than antiquated metal groups like panTierra(sp?)
so that may be why they are often looked by old guys

Linkin Park is industrial rock.
Paramore is just plain rock

 

[Halifax]

I’ll have to listen to them, I only dabble in metal slightly. By slightly I mean a lot, just not as much as punk, which is my main squeeze

Metallica was easier for the mainstream to listen to than most metal bands. Which isn't a bad thing. Same with avenged sevenfold, although they had way more radical sound changes from their inception to wanting to be mainstream.

Their first album is badly produced. Their 2nd album was fantastic metal core if you liked bands like trivium and atreyu. 3rd album they decided to go with an iron maiden meets Metallica style and clean vocals and that blew them up mainstream. 4th album was the same, but with more money and pop lyrics and some experimentation. 5th album was a mix of stuff and tribute to the band member who died. 6th album was a lol ripoff of metallica, megadeth, guns and roses and every metal band from the 80s and early 90s. Their newest album was a lot more progressive

 

[n...not crazy]

The Black Album in the top 1,000 immediately invalidates this list

 

[Halifax]

Gosh. That's a lot of thrash metal. I guess my dislike of thrash and most forms of extreme metal disqualifies me from objectively judging (though I like Megadeth, Metal Church, Metallica and probably some others as well). But Holy Diver should clearly be in the top 10 at least. No doubt higher than that, really. And Somewhere in Time, of course, is at least top 10. It's number 1 in my book, but it's at least top 10. It's basically the synthesis of everything that was great about traditional metal fused with the strongest elements of 80's pop and glam metal and AOR in one awesome package. Brave New World is also top 10, in my book. Nightfall on Middle Earth should probably rate higher and I'm sure there should be more Saxon. I didn't see RIOT anywhere either.

As good as holy diver is, I'd still take at least 2 rainbow albums ahead of it. Rainbow was Dio's best work

 

[Kforcer]

As good as holy diver is, I'd still take at least 2 rainbow albums ahead of it. Rainbow was Dio's best work

I love Rainbow, especially "Stargazer", "Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Kill the King." And of course, many, many more. But I don't know that I like them better than Dio. They're just very different entities to me. I can't really say that I like Rainbow better than Dio, because Dio has produced so many songs that are among my absolutely favorite and just move me to my core every time I hear them.

They're hard to compare to me. I feel like they're basically two of the best bands of all-time from periods that are, while closely linked, different enough that you can't really compare them fairly. I mean, "Stargazer" might be the greatest rock song ever. But the same could be said of "Rainbow in the Dark." I love a lot of Dio's later stuff, like "Push" as well. Or even the title track off that album, "Killing the Dragon." I actually like a lot of post-Dio Rainbow as well, though the connection between all those incarnations, with 17 different musicians IIRC, is perhaps a little tenuous.

 

[Halifax]

I love Rainbow, especially "Stargazer", "Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Kill the King." And of course, many, many more. But I don't know that I like them better than Dio. They're just very different entities to me. I can't really say that I like Rainbow better than Dio, because Dio has produced so many songs that are among my absolutely favorite and just move me to my core every time I hear them.

They're hard to compare to me. I feel like they're basically two of the best bands of all-time from periods that are, while closely linked, different enough that you can't really compare them fairly. I mean, "Stargazer" might be the greatest rock song ever. But the same could be said of "Rainbow in the Dark." I love a lot of Dio's later stuff, like "Push" as well. Or even the title track off that album, "Killing the Dragon." I actually like a lot of post-Dio Rainbow as well, though the connection between all those incarnations, with 17 different musicians IIRC, is perhaps a little tenuous.

I love Dio.
The title track Holy diver is such a rip off of eye of the tiger that I laugh hard every time I hear it.

I do love that whole album.

But long live rock and roll is just front to back my favorite dio vocals album. Richie Blackmore was in awesome shape on guitar and outshines anyone in Dio's solo efforts. His style was immediately "that's Blackmore!"

I agree man on the silver mountain is my #1 from the first album. Stargazer is easily #1 on rising.

Light in the black and catch the rainbow are amazing from the first album. So is temple of the king. Love tarot woman and starstruck from 2nd album too.

But long live rock and roll, lady of the lake, gates of Babylon, l.a connection, sensitive to light, kill the king, Rainbow eyes, just love that album front to back.

I also loved heaven and hell with sabbath. Better than mob rule easily to me

Guilty pleasure, I also liked some Rainbow songs post dio and try to imagine him singing them. Eyes of the world In particular

 

[Halifax]

It is a great album. Definitely a 10/10 album. Every song is great. Somewhere in Time and Brave New World are my favorites, but Powerslave is up there. It used to be between Powerslave and Somewhere in Time for me, but I love the refined sound that SiT and BNW have. And the songs off those albums just really resonate with me. 'The Duelists',and 'Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner' are two of my all-time favorites though.

Seventh son of a seventh son is my favorite maiden album.

But like all their albums were great until no prayer for the dying, which was merely good.

I do love brave new world. I was all unexciting when I heard maiden was doing a tour in 1998. Then I heard Bruce and Adrian were back and I flipped out. I was front row center standing on the one row of chairs that didn't get cleared out of the front in their first show back in 5 years with Bruce in st John new brunswick

 

[Kforcer]

Seventh son of a seventh son is my favorite maiden album.

But like all their albums were great until no prayer for the dying, which was merely good.

I do love brave new world. I was all unexciting when I heard maiden was doing a tour in 1998. Then I heard Bruce and Adrian were back and I flipped out. I was front row center standing on the one row of chairs that didn't get cleared out of the front in their first show back in 5 years with Bruce in st John new brunswick

I think there's some great stuff on Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying, not the least of which are the respective title tracks, but I hear what you're saying. Both albums have legitimately silly songs in "Holy Smoke" and "The Apparition", which is a rarity with Iron Maiden, unless you're getting into deliberately goofy b-sides like "The Sheriff of Huddersfield' or "Message from 'Arry." "Public Enema Number One" is a real cool song that sounds awesome, but the disgusting title is hard to get past.

I can definitely sympathize with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as a top pick. It is a terrific album. It has a lot in common with Somewhere in Time, but I prefer the guitar synths over the keyboard synths and 'Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' is just one of those very, very special tunes for me. It's a great, great album though.

Yeah, Brave New World and Dance of Death were both awesome IMO. And Rock in Rio was a crazy live album; I can't believe that the crowd was able to sing along to songs that weren't even singles, that hadn't been out for even a year at that point. That was a great example of a band and a crowd feeding off of each other to create a classic live performance.

I love Dio.
The title track Holy diver is such a rip off of eye of the tiger that I laugh hard every time I hear it.

I do love that whole album.

But long live rock and roll is just front to back my favorite dio vocals album. Richie Blackmore was in awesome shape on guitar and outshines anyone in Dio's solo efforts. His style was immediately "that's Blackmore!"

I agree man on the silver mountain is my #1 from the first album. Stargazer is easily #1 on rising.

Light in the black and catch the rainbow are amazing from the first album. So is temple of the king. Love tarot woman and starstruck from 2nd album too.

But long live rock and roll, lady of the lake, gates of Babylon, l.a connection, sensitive to light, kill the king, Rainbow eyes, just love that album front to back.

I also loved heaven and hell with sabbath. Better than mob rule easily to me

Guilty pleasure, I also liked some Rainbow songs post dio and try to imagine him singing them. Eyes of the world In particular

Oh yeah, Heaven and Hell is way better than Mob Rules or Dehumanizer in my book. I don't think there's any contest. That's an interesting observation about 'Eye of the Tiger'; apparently, according to his bandmates, they were all listening to "Eye of the Tiger" quite a bit during that period. It is interesting how 'Eye of the Tiger' is such an influential song in the metal genre; The Rods--fronted by Dio's cousi--have a song whose opening is clearly inspired by it and Shok Paris is another band I can think of which has some songs with very similar beginnings ('Hot on Your Heels', 'On Your Feet' for two). Have you heard any of the Eye of the Tiger/Holy Diver mashups? Some of them are pretty awesome.

I don't really know who I favor between Blackmore and Campbell. I mean, overall, I Blackmore has definitely done more original work that I love, but I don't really blame Vivian Campbell for lagging in that area, because in Def Leppard Phil Collen has basically admitted to relegating him to a support role. I do like Last in Line quite a bit as well as what I've heard from Sweet Savage, but of course, Ritchie Blackmoore has put out some of the very best stuff in rock history with Deep Purple and Rainbow, stuff that changed music forever. But on the first three Dio albums, I think Campbell was just awesome. He's got some great guitar hooks on those albums.

I think Blackmoore does moody, bluesy and epic better than Campbell but Campbell can often be more immediate and catchier. Some Campbell's guitar tricks, when he really lets loose, are pretty cool too (like during his solo section on Hear'N Aid's 'Starz'). 'Caught in the Middle' is just so beautiful and so catchy, it's one of those songs that's hard not to put on repeat. That said, one of the songs I've listened to the most over the past few weeks is 'Stargazer.'

'Eyes of the World' is an amazing song, but man, now that you've put the idea in my head, I really, really, really wish I could have heard Dio's version. You listen to any Rough Cutt songs from their early demo days, when Dio was producing them? I love what I hear and I feel like "Try a Little Harder" would have made a great Dio tune.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Never considered AC/DC to be metal

Nobody has until now.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Jokes. This list has got to them.

 

[Halifax]

I think there's some great stuff on Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying, not the least of which are the respective title tracks, but I hear what you're saying. Both albums have legitimately silly songs in "Holy Smoke" and "The Apparition", which is a rarity with Iron Maiden, unless you're getting into deliberately goofy b-sides like "The Sheriff of Huddersfield' or "Message from 'Arry." "Public Enema Number One" is a real cool song that sounds awesome, but the disgusting title is hard to get past.

I can definitely sympathize with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as a top pick. It is a terrific album. It has a lot in common with Somewhere in Time, but I prefer the guitar synths over the keyboard synths and 'Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' is just one of those very, very special tunes for me. It's a great, great album though.

Yeah, Brave New World and Dance of Death were both awesome IMO. And Rock in Rio was a crazy live album; I can't believe that the crowd was able to sing along to songs that weren't even singles, that hadn't been out for even a year at that point. That was a great example of a band and a crowd feeding off of each other to create a classic live performance.



Oh yeah, Heaven and Hell is way better than Mob Rules or Dehumanizer in my book. I don't think there's any contest. That's an interesting observation about 'Eye of the Tiger'; apparently, according to his bandmates, they were all listening to "Eye of the Tiger" quite a bit during that period. It is interesting how 'Eye of the Tiger' is such an influential song in the metal genre; The Rods--fronted by Dio's cousi--have a song whose opening is clearly inspired by it and Shok Paris is another band I can think of which has some songs with very similar beginnings ('Hot on Your Heels', 'On Your Feet' for two). Have you heard any of the Eye of the Tiger/Holy Diver mashups? Some of them are pretty awesome.

I don't really know who I favor between Blackmore and Campbell. I mean, overall, I Blackmore has definitely done more original work that I love, but I don't really blame Vivian Campbell for lagging in that area, because in Def Leppard Phil Collen has basically admitted to relegating him to a support role. I do like Last in Line quite a bit as well as what I've heard from Sweet Savage, but of course, Ritchie Blackmoore has put out some of the very best stuff in rock history with Deep Purple and Rainbow, stuff that changed music forever. But on the first three Dio albums, I think Campbell was just awesome. He's got some great guitar hooks on those albums.

I think Blackmoore does moody, bluesy and epic better than Campbell but Campbell can often be more immediate and catchier. Some Campbell's guitar tricks, when he really lets loose, are pretty cool too (like during his solo section on Hear'N Aid's 'Starz'). 'Caught in the Middle' is just so beautiful and so catchy, it's one of those songs that's hard not to put on repeat. That said, one of the songs I've listened to the most over the past few weeks is 'Stargazer.'

'Eyes of the World' is an amazing song, but man, now that you've put the idea in my head, I really, really, really wish I could have heard Dio's version. You listen to any Rough Cutt songs from their early demo days, when Dio was producing them? I love what I hear and I feel like "Try a Little Harder" would have made a great Dio tune.

From front to back, I like fear of the dark . I didn't like no prayer for the dying. Comes down a lot to what I felt when I played it on guitar. I really feel songs like afraid to shoot strangers and quick or the dead.

He'll, I felt songs in the blaze Bailey era more than no prayer.

Yes dance of death had some greats too.

Again I feel Blackmore way more than I feel campbell

something about playing along and just feeling those rainbow songs.