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Rolling Stone's Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time

Andrew Korenchkin

Andrew Korenchkin

Member
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-metal-albums-of-all-time-w486923

Here's the top 25. It seems sporadic I guess, and you could argue about inclusions and exclusion. Personally, I don't think the list is arguable in some spots, but once you get out the top ten, it gets super iffy.

25) Metallica – “Metallica”
24) Rage Against The Machine – “Rage Against The Machine”
23) Danzig – “Danzig”
22) Mötley Crüe – “Too Fast For Love”
21) Metallica – “…And Justice For All”
20) Anthrax – “Among The Living”
19) Megadeth – “Rust In Peace”
18) Tool – “Ænima”
17) Mercyful Fate – “Melissa”
16) Dio – “Holy Diver”
15) Ozzy Osbourne – “Diary Of A Madman”
14) Black Sabbath – “Vol. 4”
13) Iron Maiden – “Iron Maiden”
12) Judas Priest – “Screaming For Vengeance”
11) Metallica – “Ride The Lightning”
10) Pantera – “Vulgar Display Of Power”
09) Ozzy Osbourne – “Blizzard Of Ozz”
08) Megadeth – “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?”
07) Motörhead – “No Remorse”
06) Slayer – “Reign In Blood”
05) Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath”
04) Iron Maiden – “The Number Of The Beast”
03) Judas Priest – “British Steel”
02) Metallica – “Master Of Puppets”
01) Black Sabbath – “Paranoid“

I'm just glad MOP is NOT No. 1. Its a great album....but insanely overrated.
 
Andrew Korenchkin

Andrew Korenchkin

Member
IMO, Sad Wings of Destiny should be second, and no way does British Steel deserved to be ranked above that album.

And yeah, Pantera has no business being in any top ten. Terrible band.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Grym said:
Motley Crue's Too Fast for Love is metal?
Click to expand...

Yes. So is Shout at the Devil (the better album of the two, IMO). Plenty of non-metal on that list though. :p Anyway, any lists like these are gonna be full of crap, don't know why their list is more worth discussing than any random joe's...

Andrew Korenchkin said:
IMO, Sad Wings should be second, and no way does British Steel deserved to be ranked above that album.

And yeah, Pantera has no business being in any top ten. Terrible band.
Click to expand...

Agreed, British Steel is actually one of the weakest Priest albums. I'd be OK with Pantera being on the list if it's Power Metal. ;)
 
S

Shadow2222

Member
I'm shocked that Dream Theater and Nightwish are on this list. Great album choices though, but both should be much closer to the top 25.
 
blanchot

blanchot

Member
i never could listen to metal but i don't feel like i am missing out on anything. a cool list to those who do like metal nonetheless.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
Cool for all the Sabbath love, but no Master of Reality? I'd argue it's their first "Metal" album, in the traditional sense. My favorite Metal album is and always will be Vol. 4, so I'm happy that charted.

Also, Powerslave > NotB any day of the week.
 
G

Grym

Member
Huh...i was big on the Crue and always considered them glam rock along with poison, cinderella, slaughter, etc. I guess Too Fast for Love was different from later stuff though
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
Saw this earlier, its about what I expected from Rolling Stone.

It would be nice if any of these lists my major publications could keep Master of Puppets or Paranoid from the top spot, though. Not that I dislike them or anything, but both bands have better albums.
 
K

kris.

Banned
genuinely surprised at some of the albums on here like Kvelertak and Pig Destroyer but once you get down to the lower half, it turns into butts like most Rolling Stone lists do.

Jane Doe at 61? what the fuck.
 
V

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
No Remorse seems a strange choice for Motorhead, but I guess it does have a lot great songs on it.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Timeaisis said:
Cool for all the Sabbath love, but no Master of Reality? I'd argue it's their first "Metal" album, in the traditional sense. Also, Powerslave > NotB any day of the week.
Click to expand...
MoR is the better album but what is this nonsense about their first "metal album"? :p Agreed on Powerslave though.

Grym said:
Huh...i was big on the Crue and always considered them glam rock along with poison, cinderella, slaughter, etc. I guess Too Fast for Love was different from later stuff though
Click to expand...
Indeed, their first two albums are heavy metal, then they moved into a glam rock direction.

Same with Def Leppard. Little known fact that their debut is pure NWOBHM, then they immediately went into pop rock.

Selddon said:
not a single non american or british band I see
Click to expand...
Mercyful Fate is Danish, but your point has merit. This list is ridiculously shallow both in terms of locale, and styles (no black, death, doom, folk or power metal at all, for instance, just traditional, thrash, and nu-).
The variety increases a bit if you extend to the top 100 vs the top 25, but sadly, the quality gets even worse. Somehow.

maruchan said:
No chaos ad in top 25 bullshit...
Click to expand...
You mean Beneath the Remains ;)
 
P

pablito

Member
JeTmAn81 said:
I like this list. Good bands. But...what's the most recent record on it?
Click to expand...

An Isis album, some Mastodon I think and Blackwater Park. Checks out. I got like one album I'd put in my personal metal all time list that's from the 10s. Great stuff coming out, but not goats.
 
T

Timeaisis

Member
Morrigan Stark said:
MoR is the better album but what is this nonsense about their first "metal album"? :p Agreed on Powerslave though.
Click to expand...

Eh, sure debatable, I just see MoR as the album that really sounds like "OK heavy metal started here". Maybe it's me putting to much weight in Children of the Grave, though.

EDIT: I guess what I mean to say is, Paranoid feels like it belongs on a best of hard rock albums list, while MoR belongs on a top 5 best Metal albums, if you get me. Just my two cents, though.
 
Andrew Korenchkin

Andrew Korenchkin

Member
TwntyOneTwlv said:
Four Metallica records in the top 25? Really?
Click to expand...

Metallica continues to get too much credit for "influencing" metal. They aren't as important as people give them credit for. Most egregious is when I heard people say they influenced Extreme Metal more than any other band, which is bullshit to the nth degree. Death, for example, was influenced by Watchtower more than Metallica.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
mnannola said:
Peace Sells over Rust in Peace? WTF?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't know about that. That strikes as more them giving it to Peace Sells simply because of how big a mainstream hit it was than judging it by its technical and artistic merits. It sure as hell ain't better than Ride the Lightning, that's for damn sure.
 
B

bennywhatever

Member
Kind of sad to see the only Dream Theater album back at 95 (though I am happy it's Images and Words). I guess this makes sense, since they're more "prog" than "metal."

Also I've never been a Black Sabbath fan. I think their music, with few exceptions, is just not good.
 
R

RMI

Banned
kind of weird to see Marilyn Manson on this list and not see Nine Inch Nails. I'd put Broken above any Manson album on any list for any genre.
 
I_Am_CC

I_Am_CC

Member
Pretty respectable top 25. Danzig, Rust in Peace and Screaming for Vengeance are there so I can't complain.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Here's my list of 10/10 metal albums, cross-posted from another thread, since it seems more on-topic here... note, this is in no particular order because, well, fuck orders, they aren't metal ;) I basically typed these in a stream-of-consciousness style and it covers a vast variety of sub-genres as well. I also limited myself to 1 album per band, but as I said in the other thread, many of these bands have more than one great album.

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath
Judas Priest - Stained Class
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
Summoning - Minas Morgul
Skyclad - The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
Manilla Road - Crystal Logic
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Overkill - The Years of Decay
Rotting Christ - Non Serviam
Therion - Theli
Deströyer 666 - Phoenix Rising
Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane
Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery
Samael - Blood Ritual
Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side
Jag Panzer - Thane to the Throne
Pentagram - Relentless
King Diamond - Abigail
Bathory - Hammerheart
Sepultura - Beneath the Remains
Helloween - Walls of Jericho
Running Wild - Black Hand Inn
Accept - Restless and Wild
Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion
Absu - Tara
Death - Symbolic
Venom - Black Metal
Pagan Altar - Lords of Hypocrisy
Pantera - Power Metal (hehe)
Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes
Anacrusis - Screams and Whispers
Virgin Steele - Invictus
Moonspell - Wolfheart
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses
Melechesh - Emissaries
Helstar - Nosferatu
Satan - Life Sentence
Metal Church - Metal Church
Kreator - Pleasure to Kill
Sodom - Agent Orange
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Artillery - By Inheritance
Tiamat - Wildhoney
In the Woods - Heart of the Ages
Storm - Nordavind
Einherjer - Blot
Falkenbach - ...magni blandinn ok megintíri...
Moonsorrow - Voimasta ja kunniasta
Ancient Rites - Dim Carcosa
Hollenthon - With Vilest of Worms to Dwell
Varathron - His Majesty at the Swamp
Natur - Head of Death
Sabbat - Envenom
Loudness - Thunder in the East
Testament - The Legacy
Anthrax - Among the Living
Dio - Holy Diver
Saxon - Denim and Leather
Angel Witch - Angel Witch
Immortal - At the Heart of Winter
Behemoth - Satanica
The Kovenant - Animatronic
Arkona - Vo Slavu Velikim!
Cruachan - Tuatha na Gael
Mithotyn - Gathered Around the Oaken Table
Falconer - Falconer
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
Exodus - Bonded by Blood
Nocturnus - The Key
Obliveon - Nemesis
Demons & Wizards - s/t
Stillborn - Necrospirituals
Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings
Vektor - Black Future
Tormentor - Anno Domini
Torture Squad - Horror and Torture
Solstice - New Dark Age
Deceased - Fearless Undead Machines
Luciferion - Demonication (The Manifest)
Grand Magus - Iron Will
Grave Digger - Excalibur
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
Rainbow - Rising

[edit: added a few]

pablito said:
KEA > MOP

who's with me

therearedozensofus.gif
Click to expand...

I am entirely with you. For some reason I thought it was in my original list -- added. KEA is awesome.
| Praxis | said:
KEA is my favourite Metallica album, so yeah.

Edit: I'd put RTL above MoP as well.
Click to expand...
Definitely. KeA > RtL > MoP > AJfA > everything else
 
Andrew Korenchkin

Andrew Korenchkin

Member
Looking at the list makes me realize, looking at the Rolling Stone list...that neither Altars of Madness or Epicus Doomicus Metallicus are NOT on the list.

What the fuck? How in god's name did you miss that. Rolling Stone?
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Andrew Korenchkin said:
Looking at the list makes me realize, looking at the Rolling Stone list...that neither Altars of Madness or Epicus Doomicus Metallicus are NOT on the list.

What the fuck? How in god's name did you miss that. Rolling Stone?
Click to expand...

They picked Covenant instead, I guess (but then they had more than 1 album for many other bands so w/e). And yeah no Candlemass is a shame but hardly surprising. What do you expect from fluff piece from a lamestream rag? ;)
 
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