In the Judas Priest thread there has been a fair bit of discussion lately over the relative merits of various Judas Priest albums. It got me wondering how much I differ from other fans of the band. What I'd like to see here is a list of Judas Priest studio albums with Rob Halford in your order of preference.

This isn't about which album is better than which other album, but about the order you personally like them in, not necessarily the order you'd list them in critically.

For example, Sreaming for Vengeance is on the top of my because of its nostalgic value to me, having been the album that got me into JP. However, if I were making a list based on which album I think is better musically than another, Screaming would be fourth or fifth on my list.

My list:

1 Screaming for Vengeance
2 Sad Wings of Destiny
3 Nostradamus
4 Sin After Sin
5 Painkiller
6 Defenders of the Faith
7 Killing Machine (Hell Bent for Leather for any North Americans who don't know better)
8 Stained Class
9 Angel of Retribution
10 Ram It Down
11 Rocka Rolla
12 British Steel
13 Point of Entry
50 Turbo

The order of 6-8, as well as 9-11 is a little arbitrary as those are two sets of albums I hold to be pretty equal. I numbered Turbo 50 because I believe I would like an album that featured nothing more than the five members of JP snoring better than it.

What we shood discuss here

1. Stained Class
2. Painkiller
3. Sad Wings Of Destiny
4. Defenders Of The Faith
5. Angel Of Retribution
6. Screaming For Vengeance
7. Killing Machine
8. British Steel
9. Nostradamus
10. Sin After Sin
11. Ram It Down
12. Point Of Entry
13. Turbo
14. Rocka Rolla

I was very tempted to put "Painkiller" top, for it's nostalgia value, as well as being a great album. "Sad Wings..." is their most creative album, and the one I get most out of. But I went with Stained Class because it's more consistent than "Sad Wings..." and for it's immense influence on metal as a whole. I knew my top 3, but found it very difficult to decide which order to put them in! "Rocka Rolla" was an easy decision for last place, as it only has 2 tracks I really like. Far less than any other Priest album. That was the only decision which I found easy!

My personal fav. is Jugulator.

Written by Hermann Langke on 12.11.2009 at 17:16

My personal fav. is Jugulator.

Pay attention, the topic clearly state the order of preference of the albums that feature Rob Halford on vocals; well, Rob didn't sing on Jugulator, Ripper Owens did that.

well, in my case, 70s JP would make the top of my list, then come British Steel and Point of Entry, Screaming for vengeance and Defenders...; Turbo and Ram It Down are my least favourite 80s JP so they come at the bottom of the list. So does Nostradamus which I did not find interesting at all. So after Defenders comes Painkiller and Angel of retribution.

Am I making any sense?

14.rocka rolla(too weird for me, though i like Never Satisfied)

13.point of entry(sure, 3 great songs but the rest doesn't stick with me, sorry Glenn and KK)

12.nostradamus(sorry but i have to listen to the whole album in one take, and i can't do that most of the times)

11.turbo(definitely not the last on my list, but there are some boring songs on there, i LOVE Out in the Cold, the title track and Locked In)

10.angel of retribution(great record apart from the obvious filler songs, hellrider, demonizer, wheels of fire)

9.stained class(not getting higher because i find some songs a bit repetitive, mostly Invader, Savage and Heroes End, still its influence on metal is undeniable, in just the title track i hear WASP(general epic and rock-and-roll art feel, and of course the screaming), Motley Crue(in-your-face verse and riff followed by small solo, repeat), Iron Maiden(harmonized solo's and the triplet riffs) and Candlemass(yeah that little bit in the middle sounds totally trad-doom to me), all somehow playing a jam for 5 minutes), also i love the over-the-top ending of Exciter Rob does when they play the song live.. "stand by for exciter... stand by for exciter... STAAAANND BY FOR EXCITEEEEEEEER!!!"

8.sin after sin(innovative and some tracks are extremely heavy and fast, especially Call for the Priest and Dissident Aggressor, also the 2 ballads rule and it has the best cover song in history, Diamonds and Rust)

7.british steel(the record that pretty much hooked me to Priest, especially Rapid Fire, Living After Midnight and Breaking The Law)

6.sad wings of destiny(extremely innovative, heavy and fast though weird at times, still, one of the first albums to feature hard-hitting heavily distorted guitars in some fast harmonized solo, like on Tyrant, something a certain british band also decided to use extensively 4 years later...)

5.ram it down(near perfect 80s epic speed/power metal, Hard As Iron, I'm A Rocker, some epic shit right there)

4.killing machine/hellbent for leather(setting the stage for 80s metal before they went commercial with british steel, their most "ahead of its day" record i believe, starting to shed away the blues and prog-rock from their sound)

3.screaming for vengeance(epic, heavy, screaming, etc., easily their best at the time they released it)

2.painkiller(so many words have been said of this album i don't think i need to add something else), the picture i get when i listen to the title track is simply a gargantuan rain of meteors with the cross symbol of Priest slowly rises from the molten lava while the Painkiller appears on the Metal Monster, fist clenched in the air and screams his chilling cry of dark salvation.

1.defenders of the faith(imo their best, because it has some of the best tracks Priest ever did, Sentinel, Jawbreaker, Freewheel Burning etc. but also highly unknown tracks like Eat Me Alive, Love Bites or Night Comes Down(still rivaled only by their recent version of Diamonds and Rust as my favorite Priest ballad)), i even love the last 2 songs(and they're fused perfectly imo), it's pretty much a 99.9% perfect album for me.


also if i had to add the Ripper albums somewhere in there, i'd place Jugulator between 6 and 7 and Demolition between 13 and 14.

Written by Guest on 12.11.2009 at 19:57

Written by Hermann Langke on 12.11.2009 at 17:16

My personal fav. is Jugulator.

Pay attention, the topic clearly state the order of preference of the albums that feature Rob Halford on vocals; well, Rob didn't sing on Jugulator, Ripper Owens did that.

well, in my case, 70s JP would make the top of my list, then come British Steel and Point of Entry, Screaming for vengeance and Defenders...; Turbo and Ram It Down are my least favourite 80s JP so they come at the bottom of the list. So does Nostradamus which I did not find interesting at all. So after Defenders comes Painkiller and Angel of retribution.

Am I making any sense?

Did I mention JP with Rob or Ripper?I didn't.So I am simply listing my best record.I am a fan of Priest from the post Painkiller era.But I do like Ram it Down.

Written by Hermann Langke on 13.11.2009 at 13:30


Did I mention JP with Rob or Ripper?I didn't.So I am simply listing my best record.I am a fan of Priest from the post Painkiller era.But I do like Ram it Down.

You can't list Jugulator here cause the topic asks for albums of Judas Priest with Rob.
So posting that as your fav JP record in this thread is TOTALLY off -topic. Now go back read the topic titles and the orignal post. And then come back and post something appropriate to the question or don't post here at all.

Written by Valentin B on 12.11.2009 at 20:57

10.angel of retribution(great record apart from the obvious filler songs, hellrider, demonizer, wheels of fire)

Whoa! You see "Hellrider" as a filler? To me that's probably the best song on the album, could have been taken from the "Painkiller" album.

Written by Warman on 13.11.2009 at 15:39

Written by Valentin B on 12.11.2009 at 20:57

10.angel of retribution(great record apart from the obvious filler songs, hellrider, demonizer, wheels of fire)

Whoa! You see "Hellrider" as a filler? To me that's probably the best song on the album, could have been taken from the "Painkiller" album.

yeah, i don't really like it, i consider it part of some "Jugulator/Demolition" session residue with Halford's corny "I'ma beat yo ass!"-style lyrics, though i do love Judas is Rising, Revolution, Angel and Worth Fighting For. it's been ages since i listened to Lochness and Eulogy(reminds me of the 2 piano-only tracks on Sad Wings of Destiny)

that being said, i don't like Demolition but the ballads(Close To You and Lost and Found) are excellent.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 13.11.2009 at 15:28

Written by Hermann Langke on 13.11.2009 at 13:30


Did I mention JP with Rob or Ripper?I didn't.So I am simply listing my best record.I am a fan of Priest from the post Painkiller era.But I do like Ram it Down.

You can't list Jugulator here cause the topic asks for albums of Judas Priest with Rob.
So posting that as your fav JP record in this thread is TOTALLY off -topic. Now go back read the topic titles and the orignal post. And then come back and post something appropriate to the question or don't post here at all.

My bad.

1- Painkiller
2- Ssd Wings of Destin
3- Defenders of the Faith
4- British Steel
5- Screaming for Vengeance
6- Stained Class
7- Sin After Sin
9- Ram It Down
10- Turbo
8- Point of Entry
11- Rocka Rolla
12- Killing Machine

I still need to hear the two more recent albums so I'll edit this post when I do.

I don't own Rocka Rolla, Sin After Sin or Sad Wings of Destiny, though I've heard two of those. I'm probably the ONLY one here who lists the album at #1 at that ranking, but I do so love it... (everything after 1 pretty much changes, depending on my mood, though).

1. Turbo
2. Defenders of the Faith
3. British Steel
4. Point of Entry
5. Stained Class
6. Screaming For Vengeance
7. Painkiller
8. Nostradamus
9. Ram It Down

I've bought every JP album besides Rocka Rolla and have listened to them all tons of times, but I'm not really confident in my rankings.

1. Screaming for Vengeance
I've overplayed this album so much that I'm completely tired of it, but overall it ranks first, but very close to Sad Wings.

2. Sad Wings of Destiny
Probably my current favorite - never get tired of it

3. Painkiller
Another album that I'm sick of, but overall it's one of my favs. Definitely not their best though

4. Stained Class
BEYOND THE REALMS OF DEATH \m/

5. Ram It Down
Sure it has some pretty horrible songs, but the good ones make me forget about the failures

6. Angel of Retribution
This is one of the biggest surprises ever for me. I heard it the day it came out and wasn't expecting anything good, but it knocked me on my ass. I love this album, and even though there are a handful of bad songs, I think it's one of the best comeback albums ever. I might even rank it higher sometime...

7. Killing Machine
It's been at least two years since I played this album, so I honestly don't remember it much at all, just thinking that it's only "pretty good". I'll play it again soon.

8. Point of Entry
Desert Plains is amazing and Don't Go, I think, is also really awesome. Most of the other songs are just average

9. Defenders of the Faith
Never really clicked with it - I think my expectations were too high prior to listening to it

10. Turbo
An album I like less with every listen, but Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days is one of my favorite songs by them. But damn, there is some horrible shit on this album...

11. Sin After Sin
Every time I've played this, something bad happens, so fuck it

12. Rocka Rolla
Not as bad as most people say it is, but it's in no way a mandatory JP album

13. British Steel
I don't have anything nice to say about this overrated piece of shit.

14. Nostradamus
I want my money back.

Oh, crap, I forgot about Hellbent For Leather and Angel of Retribution in my list. I think I'd rank HFL at #2 and AoR between Painkiller and Nostradamus.

God, I started writing a list but then I just could not choose between some of these great albums. I will not choose because I love these albums so much, some I would say are tied in first place for me.

Hmm an interesting idea, Judas Priets have always brought something different in with each album. For me...

Painkiller
Screaming For Vengiance
British Steel
Angel of Retribution
Sad Wings of Destiny
--------------
The rest are fairly close for me, but if I could add Juguator to this list I would, I think Ripper is great on that one.

1. Sad Wings of Destiny
2. Stained Class
3. Sin After Sin
4. Screaming for Vengeance
5. Painkiller
6. Defenders of the Faith
7. Killing Machine
8. British Steel
9. Rocka Rolla
10. Ram it Down
11. Angel of Retribution
12. Nostradamus
13. Turbo
14. Point of Entry

1. Painkiller-The title track is about a man who rides a metal monster and is faster than a lazer bullet.
2. Screaming For Vengeance-Electric Eye, Riding On The Wind, YGATC, Bloodstone... So many great songs here.
5. Stained Class-The title track, Exciter, and BTROD are mandatory classics, the rest of the album is great also.
3. Defenders Of The Faith-The first 4 songs are mandatory classics, but the remaining songs are much weaker.
5. Sin After Sin-Wear speed metal really took off.
4. Hell Bent For Leather-HELL BENT! HELL BENT FOR LEATHER!!! *doo do do doo do do doo do do doo do do*
5. Sad Wings Of Destiny-Historically important, has some classics, but too bluesy for me to really get love
6. Ram It Down-Got some speed metal classics, but also some generic boring rockers.
7. British Steel-All around solid, just not quite as good as the ones aboveit.
8. Turbo-Meh. Decent

Don't care enough about the others for me to judge them.

1. Sad Wings of Destiny
2. Sin After Sin
3. Stained Class
4. Killing Machine
5. British Steel
6. Painkiller
7. Rocka Rolla
8. Defenders of the Faith
9. Screaming for Vengeance
10. Point of Entry
11. Turbo
12. Ram It Down

Hm.. Have not listened many JP albums, but I will say just one thing: TURBO is amazing

1 Sad Wings of Destiny
2 Sin After Sin
3 Nostradamus
4 Stained Class
5 Painkiller
6 Defenders of the Faith
7 Screaming for Vengeance
8 Angel of Retribution
9 Rocka Rolla
10 Hell Bent for Leather/Killing Machine
11 British Steel
12 Point of Entry
13 Ram It Down
14 Turbo