Top 10 Best Metal Albums of All Time

The Top Ten

Metallica - Master of Puppets

This album has the best of all worlds. James's lyrical composition is pure genius, and Cliff's Orion is an absolute opus that meshes sounds that shouldn't sound good together. Kirk nails it with his solos in songs like Master of Puppets, Damage Inc., and Battery.
This album was foreshadowed a little by songs like Fade to Black from Ride the Lightning. Orion and Master of Puppets also hint at what is to come with the amazing composition of ...And Justice for All. The lyrics are deep and meaningful, unlike the popular rap music of today, which only talks about drugs, sex, and money.
I think this is definitely the greatest album, not only in metal but of all time. Keep on headbanging, everyone.
Megadeth - Rust in Peace

We most certainly had to include this one on the list. It's definitely Megadeth's most intense album from the '90s. I like both the original and the remixed/remastered versions, although I have a slight preference for the original. The re-recorded vocals on the remastered version are underrated. They're quite unique to listen to, especially if you have the original version to compare them with.
5 Magics, Take No Prisoners, Lucretia, and Rust in Peace... Polaris are the songs that have different vocal tracks from one edition to the other, just to let you know. I absolutely love singing along to either version of 5 Magics every time. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due was also amazing. I got to see that song performed live, and it was their closing number. Rock on!
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

It's truly disappointing that this album is not number one.
Invaders is a mad, yet brilliant, album to start it all off. Children of the Damned features a great song with a powerful chorus. The Prisoner offers some epic vocals and a fantastic chorus.
22 Acacia Avenue goes a bit too far, and the content is questionable. The Number of the Beast boasts an incredible opening, along with the best scream in metal history. It's such a misunderstood gem.
Run to the Hills features one of the greatest riffs of all time and an addictive chorus. Gangland is full of awesome screams. Total Eclipse showcases some of Maiden's hardest vocals. Hallowed Be Thy Name is the greatest of all. It has four or five great riffs, an amazing opening, stunning wordplay, and it's the best 7 minutes and 14 seconds you will ever spend in your life.
Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Although there are albums more commercially successful than this one in the massive metal genre, Paranoid should be number one because it's the most important metal album. Whether you think this is Black Sabbath's best album or not, it put metal on the map with classics such as War Pigs, Paranoid, and Iron Man.
There are other awesome tracks on this album that often get overlooked, such as Planet Caravan, Electric Funeral, and Hand of Doom. Without this album, metal most likely would not be a prevalent and formidable force in music, or even a genre at all. This album is responsible for inspiring many people to pick up the guitar and aim for that metal sound.
If there were no Paranoid or Sabbath, there would be none of the bands we enjoy today, such as Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains, Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Overkill, Opeth, etc. Think of all these artists and remember that if it wasn't for Sabbath, they would not be around. Then you will vote for them to be number one.
Metallica - Ride the Lightning

This album is amazing. When you look at thrash metal albums, this is the best hands down because of efforts like Ride the Lightning and Creeping Death. The just-as-legendary For Whom the Bell Tolls shows off just how good Cliff Burton was on bass.
The greatest instrumental of all time is The Call of Ktulu, which instills a creepy atmosphere that words can't even describe. Escape and Trapped Under Ice, which are the weaker songs on the album, are still masterpieces.
Then you add a dose of the insanely fast Fight Fire with Fire and the ultimate power ballad (besides One), Fade to Black, which makes this album the best metal album of all time.
Slayer - Reign in Blood

The best Slayer and thrash metal record. It's got a dark, heavy atmosphere and chaotic, intense tempos, which I like. There's not a single bad song.
There's no joking around, no ballads - just 30 minutes of pure, ass-kicking thrash. This album is my cure for depression and bad moods. It's unfortunate that they abandoned this particular style of songwriting, but they came close on some songs on South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss. But I get it - there should be only one Reign in Blood.
The best metal album for me. 10/10. Flawless. You love it, or you hate it.

Do you want to know what it feels like to have your ears bleed and be shredded to pieces? If you answered yes to this question, then listen to Reign in Blood. It is easily one of the most intense metal albums of all time.
It absolutely mutilates you in under 30 minutes. Everything happens so fast that you won't even be able to make sense of what you just heard. Violent, frenetic, and brilliant.
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

When we're talking about the best album, Vulgar Display of Power takes the title. Master of Puppets had epic songs from front to back, but Pantera put together a listening experience that flowed like none of these other entries. It hits hard and takes you on a vicious ride, but it does so with style - angry, angry style.
You can't listen to This Love without expecting to hear Rise blast in right after! Hollow leads back into Mouth for War so seamlessly, you'd never think the album ended.

I understand albums like The Number of the Beast, Master of Puppets, and Rust in Peace being the top three, but this really should be in the top five. Every song is a masterpiece, and when combined, they make the greatest heavy metal album ever.
Iron Maiden - Powerslave

I would've voted for The Number of the Beast, but then I remembered how fantastic this album is. After all, you can hardly beat classics such as 2 Minutes to Midnight or Flash of the Blade. And who can forget the legendary Rime of the Ancient Mariner? It's the album's big 13-minute track. It's the best 13 minutes you'll ever experience.

Every Maiden album is not only a masterpiece but also an important piece of heavy metal history. There's literally no other band, not even Black Sabbath, that can say that.

Classics like Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Powerslave, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner all in one.
Metallica - ...And Justice for All

Kirk delivers explicit work, and everything we love about Metallica and the heavy/thrash genre in general is combined into what I believe is the greatest album of all time. Everything is just perfect and beautiful.
The album is filled with awesome songs, including some of the most underrated ones like "Harvester of Sorrows," "Dyers Eve," and "...And Justice for All" (the song). I believe that "To Live Is to Die" is the most beautiful music ever created. It's like Mozart to me.
As I mentioned before, Kirk has done some amazing work, featuring amazing solos and generally awesome guitars. Hetfield has never been this impressive. I loved Cliff. His passing was a huge loss to metal, but I believe that Jason "Newkid" is totally awesome too. And this might be the best work we've seen from Lars.
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

Great album. It sounds more experimental than the rest of their albums, and it's very different from how traditional heavy metal sounded in the '70s. But it's great for all doom metal lovers.

This album is the Bible of Metal, the Ten Commandments of metal, the darkness. It's the album that gave birth to all other great metal recordings, the father of Metal.

This is the number one heavy metal album of all time. Deal with it. Iron Maiden and Metallica may be better than Sabbath now, but Black Sabbath just invented metal.

The Newcomers

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Crowbar - Sonic Excess in Its Purest Form
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Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops

The Contenders

Judas Priest - Painkiller

What? Metallica's MOP is first? What the hell is Paranoid or The Number of the Beast doing here? Have you even listened to something other than Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath, guys? Painkiller would destroy your ears, kill your brains, and then rip out your hearts!
Can't stop the Painkiller!

The other albums on this list are all great, but they barely come close to Priest's 1990 outing. Halford truly shines here. Every song is fantastic, and I highly recommend listening to Painkiller if you have time.
I'm not exactly a fan of Metallica, but there are more of their fans than there are of JP's.
Opeth - Blackwater Park

I'm so glad this album is ranked so high! I have never heard an album that's so harsh yet beautiful at the same time. It has a perfect atmosphere, and it's all done with guitars and Steven Wilson's amazing production.
Albums like this usually don't stay in my rotation for long, but Blackwater is different. It keeps me interested, and I keep discovering something new every time I hear it.

I love all of Opeth's albums, even the much softer ones. My favorite is probably one of the first three: Orchid, Morningrise, or My Arms, Your Hearse. My favorite songs are In the Mist She Was Standing from Orchid and April Ethereal from My Arms, Your Hearse.
I think either this album or My Arms, Your Hearse should still be number one. Opeth is a great underrated band, very underrated indeed.
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

A masterpiece in metal. This will always be entertaining, even after the end of time. Mr. Crowley and Crazy Train first appeared on this album, I believe. This album is extremely heavy, especially if you listen to the copies with the original bass and drum tracks.

This is definitely one of the greatest music masterpieces in world history. This is also probably the only album of metal (Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion II is hard rock) that I am literally crazy for every song. Young Ozzy with guitar legend Randy Rhoads is nothing less than perfect.
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance

Priest's biggest seller is filled with awesome riffs, starting from the classic Hellion intro. It takes you to a future not so unlike our own until you soar through the heavens, riding like the wind. Honestly, I think Defenders of the Faith is even better.
Don't get me wrong, though. I put Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, and Painkiller in the top 20 metal albums of all time.

Not too crazy, not too mellow, amazing intro song "The Hellion," and all the songs on here are masterpieces. It's the best heavy metal album ever because its music is suitable for anyone to love it.
Dio - Holy Diver

I love Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead, Priest, Testament, and Anvil. Dio nailed something here. Holy Diver should have its own category. No disrespect to the other artists or voters - this album is important.

How come this isn't at the top? Holy Diver is one of the best albums by one of the best metal bands of all time, Dio! Just listen to the title track, and you'll see why this album rocks.

What is this doing down here? Metallica is way overrated. This should be second. Number of the Beast should be first. This album is so underrated!
Metallica - Metallica (The Black Album)

As a fan of Metallica outside of the US, I think it's important to look at the Top Ten metal album list on opinion polls, as they cover the opinions of Metallica's albums globally. This album is now regarded as better than Ride the Lightning. The world is finally starting to understand how great it always was.
The so-called sell-out album is now gaining the reputation and recognition it deserves.

Rolling Stone Magazine's opinion polls cover global opinions of metal albums. The Black Album is now ahead of Ride the Lightning. I don't usually give much credence to opinion polls, but outside of the U.S., this is one of the greatest albums ever made.
It always has been, but people are starting to understand it now.
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

It seems that this masterpiece is really underrated. It has by far the most melodic and epic songs of the whole series of Maiden albums. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" feels like an update of "Somewhere in Time" to me, and I like it much better. There is no really bad song on this album.
Right now, "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is my favorite Maiden album ever, even better than the almost unbeatable "Powerslave."

I am so disappointed in all the metalheads who chose other albums over this. This is Iron Maiden's best album so far. Even the worst song on it, The Prophecy, is still amazing. Compared to Number of the Beast's Gangland, it is vastly superior.
This is Maiden's brightest hour.
Death - Symbolic

This is on par with "Master of Puppets" in terms of catchy riffs, "Rust in Peace" in terms of technicality, and "The Number of the Beast" in terms of pure epicness. This album really should be in the top 5. I think the only reason it's not is because many people haven't heard it before and think that just because its genre is "death" metal, it will sound like Cannibal Corpse, but it doesn't. If anything, it's more like progressive thrash metal. It really is sort of like a mix between the three albums I stated above, with very little actual death metal in it. At least, that's my opinion.
If anyone here is new to Death and this album, you should listen to "Crystal Mountain," "Empty Words," and "Without Judgement" first, as those are (in my opinion) the best songs on the album. But they are all great.
Rest in Peace, Chuck Schuldiner.
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Dead Skin Mask
War Ensemble
Blood Red
Seasons
This album is the most well-rounded, complete Slayer album. And they are "arguably the most metal band of all time" (Brian Posehn's "Fart and Wiener Jokes" - hilarious bit of stand-up, download it now).
Every track takes over your mind. Reign in Blood has the two best Slayer tracks, but Seasons in the Abyss is the greatest album of all time.

Where do I begin? The best Slayer album is so underrated. Along with "And Justice for All," "Rust in Peace," "Paranoid," "Reign in Blood," "Tomb of the Mutilated," and "British Steel," this is the best metal album of all time. Or at least for me.
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?

The great Peace Sells. You won't regret listening to this. I love how the drums are on this album - loud and heavy. It's a great piece of history, no doubt. Good Mourning/Black Friday is amazing, despite the sinister lyrics. Peace Sells is one of the most well-known songs of metal to date.
The Conjuring is mysterious and crazy. Overall, I recommend this to anyone, especially Megadeth fans. The remixed/remastered edition is not bad at all - I love the intense bass - but make sure you don't miss out on the original pressing, where the drums are even more booming.

It's thrash blues.
Who else can do that?
This album has been woefully ignored. It outshines everything by every other thrash metal band. It makes Metallica look wooden, Slayer look messy, and Anthrax look like chumps.
As for these other bands listed:
Some, like Maiden, Sabbath, Priest, and Pantera, deserve honorable mentions, but ultimately do not belong above Peace Sells.
Other bands like Linkin Park and Korn don't even deserve my scathing insults.
Judas Priest - British Steel

You know it's good when several sources call it one of the best metal albums of all time. And why shouldn't it be? Every single song was a hit, and it officially put Judas Priest on the map.

Every song on this album is a hit. Simply perfect, even 25 years later.
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

I thought this was widely considered the greatest metal album. What is wrong with the voters here? How is it not even in the top 20?

Master of Puppets over Master of Reality? I think not. Not even close.

Number 48? What the hell? It should at least be in the top five.
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

An album that has been with me all my life. Since I was little, songs like In the End, Crawling, and Points of Authority played a lot on TV. Everything about it and around it is great. I love the demo tapes even more. Pictureboard, So Far Away, And One, She Couldn't, and Carousel are all among my favorite Linkin Park songs.
Exodus - Bonded by Blood

Of course it's a thrash masterpiece. Don't argue with idiots because they'll beat you with experience. A Lesson in Violence, Piranha, Strike of the Beast, you name it, are great.

Yes, Pleasures of the Flesh, Fabulous Disaster, and Impact Is Imminent are all excellent. Zetro was rocking his excellent Bon Scott-esque vocals big time! And let's not forget the unforgettable Tempo of the Damned.

Lol at the guy saying this is power metal. This is pure thrash metal at its finest. The only flaw is that it's the only good Exodus album.
Anthrax - Among the Living

It's great, but it's humorous. Is that a good thing? Actually, yes, perhaps it is. Maybe we all take metal too seriously.

I have both the Black album and Among the Living. I often listen to both at the exact same time.

The most underrated band to exist, to be honest. This is easily top 10. Metallica is amazing, but there's no way And Justice for All is better than this. Reign in Blood is stupidly overrated. This is much better than that mediocre at best album.