Welcome to what I consider the "1980s Metal Bible" or in other words, a list of records of various genres in the arrays of Metal and Hard Rock that I deem essential or at least very recommended to listeners of hard and heavy music. In this second part we conquer the mighty decade that many deem as the classic decade of Metal. This and the other parts of this journey through the decades may be a very overwhelming list. I essentially try to collect all albums in the History of Metal that strike me as worthwhile. May this be a guideline for people that seek for an entrance to a particular genre or certain bands. In no means I am saying, that this list is indisputable by any means. I consider these my personal picks for albums that should be listened to by die-hard metal fans at least once. Hopefully you can discover some new music or relate with my picks. If I missed something that you would include in such a list, please tell me in the form of a comment. Enjoy! \,,/

1.Tygers Of Pan Tang - Wild Cat

2.Krokus - Metal Rendez-Vous

3.Witchfynde - Give 'Em Hell

4.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

5.Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz

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1.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

2.Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

3.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

4.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

5.Slayer - Show No Mercy

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1.Accept - Balls To The Wall

2.Dio - Holy Diver

3.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

4.Journey - Frontiers

5.Manowar - Into Glory Ride

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Just a list of classic thrash albums I really enjoy, since thrash has had such a good year this year. They are in no particular order.

1.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

2.Anthrax - Among The Living

3.Anthrax - Spreading The Disease

4.Artillery - By Inheritance

5.Assassin - The Upcoming Terror

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1.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

2.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

4.Dream Theater - Images And Words

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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This is a list of my favourite debut albums.
I'm sure there are some years that will have multiple great debut albums but I'm limiting to only putting one band per year.
The ones that I put in the list is (in my opinion) the best debut album of that year, while the rest are put in honourable mentions.

1.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

2.AC/DC - T.N.T.

3.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

4.Venom - Welcome To Hell

5.Witchfinder General - Death Penalty

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Well, I can't afford every album I want so I'm going off of my August 2013 count of about 700 albums. First time I've ever done this so it may be quite scattered.

This is personal and not like a Rust in Peace, then Black Sabbath, then Painkiller type of list. Time to destroy.

1.Stratovarius - Visions

2.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

3.Yes - Close to the Edge

4.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

5.Ayreon - 01011001

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Just a top 5 of the most ingenious album covers of the 80's in the field of thrash metal...

1.Mordred - Fool's Game

2.Testament - Practice What You Preach

3.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

4.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

5.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

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Just a list of debut albums. From Heavy Metal to Black Metal.

1.HammerFall - Glory To The Brave

2.Dio - Holy Diver

3.Angra - Angels Cry

4.Slayer - Show No Mercy

5.Galneryus - The Flag Of Punishment

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The albums that got me into metal in chronological order (in which i first listened to them). These are the first album(s) of different styles that i listened to and made me like those styles. Not my first 10 albums...

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Helloween - Treasure Chest

3.Iron Maiden - Dance Of Death

4.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

5.Paradise Lost - Icon

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1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

3.Paradise Lost - Draconian Times

4.Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction

5.Paradise Lost - One Second

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**Trigger warning**

Albums and EPs rated 8.6+ from 100+ votes which I've given an 8 or lower to.

I've listened to and rated every album on MS that meets this criteria (at time of most recent update) - some of them multiple times - so I feel I can give my honest opinion.

The purpose of this is to list and order the albums that I simply don't "get" and to try re-listening to them in the hope of understanding why they've received so many 9 and 10 votes.

Ordered by my rating then MS rating then number of votes.

Updated: 03-Jan-24

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Anathema - Judgement

2.Paradise Lost - Draconian Times

3.Anathema - Alternative 4

4.Motörhead - Ace Of Spades

5.Motörhead - Overkill

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"CALENDAR MADE OF METAL"
August = Thrash Metal
Listening to as many albums as possible in said genre during said month and listing them here as I go. Suggestions welcome.

1.Devastation - Idolatry

2.Sacrifice - Forward To Termination

3.Infernäl Mäjesty - None Shall Defy

4.Razor - Violent Restitution

5.Tankard - Chemical Invasion

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1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

3.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

4.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

5.Metallica - Metallica

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Metal albums that blow me away every time I hear them. Loosely ordered... list gets less organized as it goes on. My favorite song from each album is included.

1.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

2.Faith No More - Angel Dust

3.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

4.Tool - Ænima

5.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

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