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2000 - 2005

2005 | Judas Priest | Angel Of Retribution | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Angel Of Retribution
Release Date: March 2005
Details: Rob Halford returns on vocals. This album kicks ass! Finally! This album is as good as Halford's "Ressurection" or any Priest in it's prime. Features "Judas Rising", "Deal With The Devil", "Demonizer", really the whole album.
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2004 | Velvet Revolver | Contraband | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Velvet Revolver
Album: Contraband
Release Date: June 2004
Details: Ex- Guns n' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum get together with Scott Weiland of the Stone Temple Pilots. The whole album pretty much rocks. Features my favorite "Headspace".
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2003 | Iron Maiden | Dance of Death | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Dance of Death
Release Date: September 2003
Details: Features "Rainmaker" "Dance Of Death" "New Frontier".
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2001 | Slayer | God Hates Us All | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: God Hates Us All
Release Date: September 2001
Details: Features "Bloodline" and "Payback".
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2001 | Judas Priest | Demolition | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Demolition
Release Date: January 2001
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: More of the same with Tim Owens.
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2000 | Halford | Resurrection | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Halford
Album: Resurrection
Release Date: August 2000
Details: Rob rides his Harley down an Arizona highway back to his roots. This album kicks ass plain and simple. The metal god still has his arsenal of weapons readily available.
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2000 | Iron Maiden | Brave New World | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Brave New World
Release Date: May 2000
Details: Features "The Wicker Man" "Brave New World" and "Blood Brothers".
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1990 - 1999 | New Directions

1998 | Slayer | Diabolus in Musica | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Diabolus in Musica
Release Date: June 1998
Details: Features "Stain Of Mind", "Perversions Of Pain" and "In The Name Of God".
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1998 | Iron Maiden | Virtual XI | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Virtual XI
Release Date: March 1998
Details: Features "The Clansman", inspired by the film "Braveheart", and "Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger".
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1998 | Van Halen | Van Halen III | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Van Halen III
Release Date: February 1998
Details: The one and only album with Gary Cherone, formerly of Extreme, on vocals. Poor choice of title. This album didn't do very well. Features "Neworld" and "One I Want".
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1997 | Judas Priest | Jugulator | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Jugulator
Release Date: January 1997
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: The first album without Rob Halford on vocals. The breakup inspired the movie "Rock Star" starring Mark Wahlberg. Features Tim "The Ripper" Owens, who Priest signed after seeing a video of him singing in a Priest cover band. He's great, but no one can ever replace Rob. Features "Jugulator" and "Blood Stained".
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1995 | Iron Maiden | The X Factor | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: The X Factor
Release Date: October 1995
Details: Features "Sign Of The Cross" "Fortunes Of War" "The Edge Of Darkness".
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1995 | White Zombie | Astro Creep: 2000 | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: White Zombie
Album: Astro Creep: 2000
Release Date: April 1995
Details: Features "More Human Than Human". Horror Movie Hippie Cult Metal with a groove.
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1995 | Van Halen | Balance | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Balance
Release Date: January 1995
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: This album cover was banned in Japan because apparently the Japanese are very sensitive to birth defects. Features "Can't Stop Lovin' You" and "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)".
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1994 | Slayer | Divine Intervention | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Divine Intervention
Release Date: October 1994
Details: Features "Fictional Reality", "Divine Intervention" and "Mind Control".
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1992 | Alice in Chains | Dirt | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Alice in Chains
Album: Dirt
Release Date: September 1992
Details: Along with Soundgarden, one of the heavier bands to come out of the Seattle Grunge scene of the 90's. You won't find any power ballads on this album, just hard driving and often melodic songs like "Dam That River", "Rooster" and "Would?". Most of the songs are about Layne Staley's achilles heel, heroin.
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1992 | Faith No More | Angel Dust | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Faith No More
Album: Angel Dust
Release Date: June 1992
Details: Followup to commercially successful "The Real Thing". This album is just as good, maybe better. A little darker and less poppy, but the songs are just as well crafted. Features ""Midlife Crisis", "Everything's Ruined", "Kindergarten" and "A Small Victory".
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1992 | Iron Maiden | Fear of the Dark | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Fear of the Dark
Release Date: May 1992
Details: Features "Be Quick or Be Dead" "The Fugitive" and "Fear of the Dark".
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1991 | Soundgarden | BadMotorFinger | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Soundgarden
Album: BadMotorFinger
Release Date: October 1991
Details: Nirvana may have killed Metal, but Soundgarden kept it alive at the same time. Chris Cornell's undertones of Dio and Sabbath and Kim Thayil's undertones of Zeppelin and The Cult and a non-stop pulse of aggressive energy give this album a sophisticated very metal edge. Features "Jesus Christ Pose". Matt Cameron's drumming is also notable, as he may be one of the most underrated drummers of the 90's.
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1991 | Metallica | Metallica | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Metallica
Album: Metallica
Release Date: August 1991
Details: Features "Enter Sandman" "Nothing Else Matters" "Sad But True" "Wherever I May Roam". Metallica's first commercial success. This album marks a new direction for Metallica.
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1991 | Van Halen | For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Release Date: June 1991
Details: Get It? It stands for... Features "Poundcake" with Eddie using a drill instead of a pick on the intro and "Right Now" as seen in the Pepsi Clear commercial.
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1990 | Skid Row | Skid Row | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Skid Row
Album: Skid Row
Release Date: October 1990
Details: Skid Row's first album. Much heavier than the glam metal of the time. Features "18 and Life" and "Youth Gone Wild". I recently had the great pleasure of meeting Sebastian Bach at a downtown NYC diner. Despite my interrupting his dinner, he was most gracious to me and geniunely flattered that I stopped by. This guy is the real deal and a class act.
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1990 | Iron Maiden | No Prayer for the Dying | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: No Prayer for the Dying
Release Date: October 1990
Details: Features "Holy Smoke" "Bring Your Daughter...To the Slaughter" "Mother Russia".
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1990 | Slayer | Seasons in the Abyss | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Seasons in the Abyss
Release Date: October 1990
Details: Very possibly my favorite Slayer album. They're all so good though. Features "War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask" and "Seasons In The Abyss". Really every song is great.
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1990 | Judas Priest | Painkiller | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Painkiller
Release Date: September 1990
Details: Last album with Rob before the breakup. At this point Metal was all over the place and they went Speed Metal on this one. Features "Painkiller", "Metal Meltdown" and "A Touch of Evil".
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1990 | Warrant | Cherry Pie | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Warrant
Album: Cherry Pie
Release Date: September 1990
Details: Ah, yes Cherry Pie, the album featuring the cheeseball title track that Jani Lane wishes he never wrote. This is Warrant's biggest album and they were certainly one of the biggest hair metal bands of the time. This album contains the hits "Cherry Pie" and "Bed of Roses". This album also happens to contain nice a little hidden gem too in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which just so happens to be a kick ass song and one of my all time favorites.
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1980 - 1989 | The Golden Years

1989 | The Cult | Sonic Temple | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: The Cult
Album: Sonic Temple
Release Date: January 1989
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features "Sun KIng" "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)".
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1988 | Metallica | ...And Justice For All | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Metallica
Album: ...And Justice For All
Release Date: September 1988
Details: First album without bassist Cliff Burton, who died and was replaced by Jason Newstead. Maybe the last non-commerical Metallica album. It's really odd that my pal in HS, Pete Brown, predicted that Metallica would be one of the biggest bands ever back when Ride The Lightning was their current album. He was right.
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1988 | Slayer | South of Heaven | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: South of Heaven
Release Date: July 1988
Details: A classic. Features "South Of Heaven", "Mandatory Suicide" and "Ghosts Of War".
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1988 | Van Halen | OU812 | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: OU812
Release Date: May 1988
Details: Second Album with Sammy Hagar. Features "When It's Love", "Cabo Wabo" (Cantina in Cabo San Lucas owned by Sammy Hagar) and "Finish What Ya Started".
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1988 | Judas Priest | Ram It Down | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Ram It Down
Release Date: May 1988
Details: Features "Ram It Down", "Heavy Metal" and "Johnny B. Goode".
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1988 | Iron Maiden | Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Release Date: April 1988
Details: Features "Can I Play With Madness" "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant".
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1988 | David Lee Roth | Skyscraper | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: David Lee Roth
Album: Skyscraper
Release Date: January 1988
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Second album of original songs from with the lineup of Steve Vai on Guitar and Billy Sheehan on Bass. Again, not van Halen, but some well written and produced rock. Features "Just Like Paradise", "Skyscraper" and "Hina".
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1987 | Def Leppard | Hysteria | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Def Leppard
Album: Hysteria
Release Date: August 1987
Details: Def Leppard's fourth album. More pop than Pyromania. Features "Pour Some Sugar On Me".
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1987 | Guns N Roses | Appetite for Destruction | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Guns N Roses
Album: Appetite for Destruction
Release Date: July 1987
Details: Ok, so the band never put out another good album and Axl Rose turned out be to an insane asshole. This album is great and really shook up the rock world. At the time this came out, most metal albums were slick, overproduced and poppy (see Whitesnake, Def Leppard) or longwinded and pompous (see Iron Maiden, Queesryche). This album was raw sounding, sang about fucking, doing drugs, and driving drunk. And the guitarist didn't do finger tapping!
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1987 | Whitesnake | Whitesnake | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Whitesnake
Album: Whitesnake
Release Date: April 1987
Details: This was Whitesnake's breakthrough album and probably the most popular. Born from blues influences, they crafted a very commercial pop metal sound that got them tons of radio play from songs like "Still of the Night", "Is This Love" and "Here I Go Again". Singer David Coverdale's girlfriend at the time, Tawny Kitaen, also helped to get them lots of video play on MTV at the time by rubbing herself all over a car.
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1987 | The Cult | Electric | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: The Cult
Album: Electric
Release Date: January 1987
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features "Love Removal Machine" and "Born To Be Wild". Much heavier and less dreamy than 1985's "Love". Boot stompin' Rock n' Roll.
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1986 | David Lee Roth | Eat 'Em and Smile | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: David Lee Roth
Album: Eat 'Em and Smile
Release Date: July 1986
Details: Roth's first solo album of original work after leaving Van Halen. He previously released "Crazy from the Heat", an album of covers. Roth's band on this album includes guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan. It's not Van Halen but it comes pretty close. Some highlights include "Yankee Rose", "Shy Boy" and "Tobacco Road".
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1986 | Judas Priest | Turbo | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Turbo
Release Date: April 1986
Details: Priest jumps the shark. This is one of the reason the 80's sucked. Features "Turbo Lover". I love Priest, but I was so let down by this album.
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1986 | Van Halen | 5150 | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: 5150
Release Date: March 1986
Details: First Album featuring Sammy Hagar on Vocals. Sammy and Eddie got together through their Ferrari mechanic. Features "Why Can't This Be Love?", "Best of Both Worlds" and "Love Walks In".
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1986 | Metallica | Master Of Puppets | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Metallica
Album: Master Of Puppets
Release Date: February 1986
Details: Last Album with Cliff Burton and one of Metallica's best. End of an era. Features "Battery" "Master of Puppets" "The Thing That Should Not Be" "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" "Disposable Heroes" "Leper Messiah" "Orion" "Damage, Inc.". Pretty much every song rocks, so Ive listed them all.
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1986 | Slayer | Reign In Blood | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Reign In Blood
Release Date: January 1986
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Produced by Rick Rubin. One of the finest and heaviest albums of all time. Features "Angel of Death" and "Jesus Saves". See these guys live if you can. It's like being in hell and you'll love every Hieronymus Boschian minute.
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1986 | Iron Maiden | Somewhere In Time | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Somewhere In Time
Release Date: January 1986
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features "Wasted Years" "Stranger in a Strange Land". This album is very similar in style to Powerslave with long form, yet catchy songs.
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1985 | Slayer | Hell Awaits | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Hell Awaits
Release Date: August 1985
Details: Slayer's second full length album. Features "Hell Awaits", "At Dawn They Sleep" and "Necrophiliac".
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1985 | Accept | Metal Heart | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Accept
Album: Metal Heart
Release Date: January 1985
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: German Metal band featuring Udo Dirkschneider on vocals. Shot haired, diminutive, camo wearing frontman belts it out with his gravely voice over churning guitars. Features "Metal Heart". Not as good as "Balls To The Wall".
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1984 | Ratt | Out of the Cellar | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Ratt
Album: Out of the Cellar
Release Date: December 1984
Details: This album features what was probably Ratt's biggest hit "Round and Round". Although Ratt came from the 80's LA Glam Metal scene, they were a bit more technically sophisticated than many of their peers in terms of songwriting. Certainly not in the same class as Motley Crue or Guns N Roses, they were probably the best of the "B Movie" bands.
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1984 | Dokken | Tooth and Nail | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Dokken
Album: Tooth and Nail
Release Date: September 1984
Details: Features "Into the Fire" and the hit power ballad "Alone Again". Although the album could use some serious remixing, George Lynch's guitar work is the driving force behind this band.
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1984 | Metallica | Ride The Lightning | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Metallica
Album: Ride The Lightning
Release Date: September 1984
Details: May be Metallica at thier prime. Fast, aggressive and loud. Pretty much every song rocks. Features "Fight Fire With Fire", "Trapped Under Ice", "Fade To Black" and "Creeping Death". Oh, how the mighty will fall.
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1984 | Queensryche | The Warning | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Queensryche
Album: The Warning
Release Date: September 1984
Details: Queesnryche's first full length album featuring the hit "Take Hold of the Flame". I always thought they we're a little nerdy and sounded like operatic heavy prog rock. It was hit or miss with these guys. Some of the of the stuff is great, I like the earlier stuff, but then you have the sleepers like "Silent Lucidity", ugh. This album is really good though. Also features "Warning" and "NM 156".
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1984 | Motley Crue | Shout At The Devil | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Motley Crue
Album: Shout At The Devil
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Quintessential Motley Crue. The LA "Glam" metal scene was born from this band, but no one was ever as good. They looked like chicks, but they kicked ass. Poison is a weak substitute.
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1984 | Scorpions | Love At First Sting | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Scorpions
Album: Love At First Sting
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: This German band got the rock anthem and power ballad down to a science. Features "Rock You Like A Hurricane", which may be thier most popular song if not 1990's "Wind Of Change" from the album "Crazy World".
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1984 | Van Halen | 1984 | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: 1984
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Van Halen's 6th album and last with David Lee Roth. Features "Jump", "Panama" (one of VH's finest), "Drop Dead Legs" and "Hot For Teacher".
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1984 | Iron Maiden | Powerslave | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Powerslave
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features "Aces High" "2 Minutes To Midnight" and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner". Songs are getting longer and more epic on this album.
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1984 | Judas Priest | Defenders of the Faith | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Defenders of the Faith
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: The follow up to "Screaming for Vengeance", and they still got it. Features "Freewheel Burning", "Rock Hard Ride Free" and "Love Bites". Priest is still very much at thier peak here.
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1984 | W.A.S.P. | W.A.S.P. | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: W.A.S.P.
Album: W.A.S.P.
Release Date: January 1984
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: The first album by W.A.S.P. and probably the best. Supposedly the name stood for "We Are Sexual Perverts)". This album, despite the less than great production is actually very good. You wouldn't expect such melodic songs from a guy who wears a metal codpiece with a buzz saw blade coming out of it. Features "I Wanna Be Somebody", "L.O.V.E. Machine" and "School Daze".
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1983 | Slayer | Show No Mercy | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Slayer
Album: Show No Mercy
Release Date: December 1983
Details: The birth of um, death... metal. Slayer's first ablum. Features "Die By The Sword", "Tormentor" and "Show No Mercy".
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1983 | Def Leppard | Pyromania | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Def Leppard
Album: Pyromania
Release Date: September 1983
Details: This is the album that brought Def Leppard into the limelight. Features "Photograph".
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1983 | Metallica | Kill 'Em All | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Metallica
Album: Kill 'Em All
Release Date: July 1983
Details: Features "Hit The Lights" "Seek and Destroy" and "Whiplash". Very fast. Metallica's first album.
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1983 | Quiet Riot | Metal Health | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Quiet Riot
Album: Metal Health
Release Date: January 1983
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: I saw these guys at my first ever concert, warming up for Iron Maiden at Madison Square Garden. "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" was a huge commercial success and this album helped to make Metal radio-friendly. Not much else to say about this band except the are "currently residing the 'Where are they now?' file.
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1983 | Iron Maiden | Piece Of Mind | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Piece Of Mind
Release Date: January 1983
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Second album with Bruce Dickinson on Vocals. Great followup to Number Of The Beast. This is the first album (cassette actually) I ever bought and I still love it. Features "Where Eagles Dare", "Die With Your Boots On" and "The Trooper".
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1982 | Iron Maiden | Number of the Beast | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Number of the Beast
Release Date: May 1982
Details: First album with Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals. He replaced Paul Dianno. Features "Run to the Hills".
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1982 | Van Halen | Diver Down | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Diver Down
Release Date: April 1982
Details: Van Halen's fifth album. Features "Pretty Woman", "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" and "Dancing In The Streets". Also features the quirky "Big Bad Bill" and "Happy Trails".
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1982 | Judas Priest | Screaming for Vengeance | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Screaming for Vengeance
Release Date: January 1982
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: This is arguably the album where Priest hit their peak. They had lost all traces of their bohemian past and honed their Metal to fine edge. Unfortunately this album was also the beginning of the end. Only one more decent Priest album would follow until 2005. Features "Electric Eye".
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1982 | Accept | Restless and Wild | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Accept
Album: Restless and Wild
Release Date: January 1982
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Hugely influential album from German rockers. Extremely hard and heavy, some songs, like "Fast as a Shark" have to be called speed metal. Other standout cuts include "Restless and Wild", "Flash Rocking Man", and "Ahead of the Pack".
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1982 | Led Zeppelin | Coda | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Coda
Release Date: January 1982
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Zeppelin's last studio album. Released after drummer John Bonham's death and contains previoulsy recorded music. Features "Poor Tom" "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "Bonzo's Montreux".
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1981 | Black Sabbath | The Mob Rules | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Black Sabbath
Album: The Mob Rules
Release Date: November 1981
Details: Black Sabbath's first album with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. This album kicks ass. Seriously.
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1981 | AC/DC | For Those About to Rock We Salute You | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: For Those About to Rock We Salute You
Release Date: November 1981
Details: Followup to Back In Black. Second album featuring Brian Johnson on lead vocals who replaced Bonn Scott after his untimely death. Though this album does feature the anthemic title track, it's no Back In Black, but, in all fairness, what is? Features "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)", "C.O.D." and "Night of the Long Knives".

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1981 | Ozzy Osborne | Diary of a Madman | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Ozzy Osborne
Album: Diary of a Madman
Release Date: November 1981
Details: Ozzy's second solo album. Just as good as his first, Blizzard of Ozz. This is the final album with Randy Rhodes who died in a plane crash in 1982. Apparently the album was reissued in 2002 and has remastered drum and bass with different musicians. I'd recommend the original release. Features Ozzy classics "Over the Mountain" and "Flying High Again" and "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll".
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1981 | Motorhead | No Sleep 'till Hammersmith | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Motorhead
Album: No Sleep 'till Hammersmith
Release Date: June 1981
Details: GREAT live album with all of the bands best songs from the early years. Called "the best live rock album ever" by the mainstream English rock press.
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1981 | Iron Maiden | Killers | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Killers
Release Date: May 1981
Details: Last album with Paul Dianno on vocals.
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1981 | Van Halen | Fair Warning | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Fair Warning
Release Date: May 1981
Details: VH's hardest rocking album. Probably Eddie's best playing, both riffing and soloing. Not a lot of hits, but "Unchained", "Mean Streets", and "Sinner's Swing" are standouts.
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1981 | Journey | Escape | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Journey
Album: Escape
Release Date: January 1981
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Although Journey may not really be a "Metal" band per se, they do have enough kick ass songs to qualify. Neil Schon's guitar solo on "Stone in Love" is enough to get them through the door. This album also contains the classic "Don't Stop Believin'".
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1981 | Motley Crue | Too Fast For Love | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Motley Crue
Album: Too Fast For Love
Release Date: January 1981
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Motley Crue's first album. This was supposed to be just a demo but turned into a full fledged ablum. Raw, yet clean and professional considering. Features "Too Young To Fall In Love" and "Live Wire".
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1981 | Judas Priest | Point of Entry | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Point of Entry
Release Date: January 1981
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features computer paper laid on salt flats on the cover. Also features the quintessential Priest classic "Heading Out to the Highway", "Hot Rockin'" and "Desert Plains". Seems like Rob's Arizona interest started here. He eventually moved there.
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1980 | Motorhead | Ace Of Spades | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Motorhead
Album: Ace Of Spades
Release Date: November 1980
Details: Features "Ace Of Spades" and "(We Are) The Road Crew".
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1980 | Ozzy Osbourne | Blizzard Of Ozz | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Ozzy Osbourne
Album: Blizzard Of Ozz
Release Date: September 1980
Details: Ozzy's first solo album. Guitar by the late great Randy Rhodes. On this album, Rhodes influenced the LA metal sound more than Eddie Van Halen ever did.
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1980 | Iron Maiden | Iron Maiden | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Iron Maiden
Album: Iron Maiden
Release Date: April 1980
Details: Maiden's first album. Features the classic "Running Free", "Charlotte the Harlot" and later, on the US release "Sanctuary". Paul Dianno sings on this and Maiden's second album, Killers, to be replaced by Bruce Dickinson on Number of the Beast. Both vocalists do a great job and Dianno being replaced shouldn't be taken as a sign that he lacked any talent, nor should Dickinson be see as second fiddle.
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1980 | Van Halen | Women And Children First | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Women And Children First
Release Date: March 1980
Details: Van Halen's third album. Nothing fancy here. Down and dirty. Features "And the Cradle Will Rock..." "Everybody Wants Some!!"
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1980 | Judas Priest | British Steel | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: British Steel
Release Date: January 1980
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Features "Breaking The Law".
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1980 | AC/DC | Back In Black | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: Back In Black
Release Date: January 1980
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Maybe their best album. This album is a tribute to Bonn Scott, AC/DC's lead singer who had died from alcohol related asphyxiation. It features the debut of their new singer Brian Johnson and contains such AC/DC classics as "You Shook Me All NIght Long", "Hells Bells"and "Back in Black".
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1980 | Black Sabbath | Heaven and Hell | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Black Sabbath
Album: Heaven and Hell
Release Date: January 1980
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Dio on vocals on this one. Great album. Features "Neon Nights" and "Children of the Sea". This ablum is practically pop for Sabbath. Love the album cover. Angels smoking.
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1970 - 1979 | Arena Rock Rules

1979 | Led Zeppelin | In Through The Out Door | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: In Through The Out Door
Release Date: August 1979
Details: Features "Fool In The Rain" and "All My Love" as well as one of my favorites "Carouselambra". This is Zeppelin's last studio album. Drummer John Bonham died in 1980 and the band split up.
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1979 | AC/DC | Highway to Hell | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: Highway to Hell
Release Date: July 1979
Details: This was the band's last album with Bonn Scott. The album is chock full of great swaggering hard rock songs about partying and women. Practically ever song is classic and this album should definitly be a staple of any Metal collection. Includes "Girls Got Rhythm", "Touch Too Much", "Highway to Hell"...
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1979 | Van Halen | Van Halen II | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Van Halen II
Release Date: March 1979
Details: Van Halen's second album. Features "Beautiful Girls", "Dance The Night Away" and Eddie flamenco style acoustic guitar solo "Spanish Fly".
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1978 | Judas Priest | Hell Bent For Leather | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Hell Bent For Leather
Release Date: November 1978
Details: Features "Hell Bent For Leather" and "Green Manilishi". Last Priest album released in the 70's and sort of crosses over from the old to new honed metal Priest sound.
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1978 | Judas Priest | Stained Class | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Stained Class
Release Date: February 1978
Details: Priest's first truly "Metal" album. Features "Exciter", "Better By You, Better Than Me", "Invader" and "Beyond the Realms of Death". Another great Priest album.
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1978 | Van Halen | Van Halen I | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Van Halen
Album: Van Halen I
Release Date: January 1978
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: The age of the guitar gods begins. Deciding to not take Gene Simmons offer to join Kiss, Eddie Van Halen forms his own band with brother Alex on drums, Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth on lead vocals.
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1977 | Kiss | Love Gun | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Kiss
Album: Love Gun
Release Date: July 1977
Details: Last album with the original lineup. Features "Love Gun" and "Christine Sixteen".
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1977 | AC/DC | Let There Be Rock | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: Let There Be Rock
Release Date: June 1977
Details: More classic Bonn Scott and the boys. This album features the hit "Whole Lotta Rosie", which won me and my buddies a "Most Outrageous" award for an Air Guitar Contest when we were in Junior High. Also features the hits "Let There Be Rock" and "Problem Child".
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1977 | Judas Priest | Sin After Sin | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Sin After Sin
Release Date: April 1977
Details: Features the Joan Baez song "Diamonds and Rust", "Sinner" and "Dissident Aggressor".
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1976 | AC/DC | Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Release Date: November 1976
Details: Features "Big Balls" and "Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round To Be A Millionaire)".
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1976 | AC/DC | High Voltage | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: High Voltage
Release Date: May 1976
Details: AC/DC's first album in the US. There we're 2 previous albums released in Australia including an earlier version of this one with a few differnt tracks. This album is a Heavy Metal classic and a must have, along with every other AC/DC album. Features some rockin' bagpipe on "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (Motorhead does a great cover version of this song), the slow churning "The Jack", and "High Voltage".
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1976 | Led Zeppelin | Presence | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Presence
Release Date: March 1976
Details: Zeppelin's 7th album. Featured "Achilles Last Stand" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine".
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1976 | Judas Priest | Sad Wings of Destiny | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Sad Wings of Destiny
Release Date: March 1976
Details: Priest's second album. The cover looks like the Swan Song dude in hell. Features the classics "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" and the lounge band sounding "Epitaph". This album is great.
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1975 | AC/DC | T.N.T. | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: AC/DC
Album: T.N.T.
Release Date: December 1975
Details: Second studio album by AC/DC with Bonn Scott on vocals. Features some of the best early AC/DC work including the classics: "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)", "The Jack" and "T.N.T.".
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1975 | Kiss | Alive | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Kiss
Album: Alive
Release Date: October 1975
Details: The birth of the live album. Yeah, yeah so they added some audience cheers to the mix, big deal. Considering the recording technology back then, it's incredible how good this album sounds.
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1975 | Led Zeppelin | Physical Graffiti | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Physical Graffiti
Release Date: February 1975
Details: Features all kinds of great stuff. "In My Time of Dying", "Houses Of The Holy", "Kashmir", "In The Light", "Bron-Yr-Aur". This double album has 15 classic Zeppelin tunes and is one of their best. If you'd like to see the cover in real life go to 95 St. Mark's Street down New York City's East Village.
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1975 | Rush | Fly By Night | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Rush
Album: Fly By Night
Release Date: February 1975
Details: Rush's second album and the first to feature new drummer Niel Peart, who replaced original drummer John Rutsey. They hadn't yet perfected that progressive rock sound, but you could already hear the complexity in the songs. Features "Fly By Night" and the epic "By-Tor and the Snow Dog"
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1974 | Judas Priest | Rocka Rolla | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Judas Priest
Album: Rocka Rolla
Release Date: September 1974
Details: Priest's first album. Back when they were sort-of hippies. Features "Rocka Rolla".
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1974 | Rush | Rush | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Rush
Album: Rush
Release Date: March 1974
Details: Rush's first album. Very raw sounding compared to later albums when the band perfected the tight pregressive rock sound. Features John Rutsey on drums, who was with the band for only this ablbum to be replaced on the band's next album "Fly By Night" by Niel Peart. Features "Working Man", "What You're Doing" and "Finding My Way".
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1973 | Led Zeppelin | Houses Of The Holy | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Houses Of The Holy
Release Date: March 1973
Details: Features the haunting "No Quarter" with John Paul Jones on keyboards. I found a demo version of this song before Plant even had lyrics and was just voicing sounds for the melody. Its awsome to hear how powerful the song is even in such a raw form. Really shows how talented these guys are. Also features "Over The Hills And Far Away", with it's Hobbit references and "Dancing Days".
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1971 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin IV
Release Date: November 1971
Details: ...and then lord created Hard Rock, and through Led Zeppelin he made it heard. Features "Stairway To Heaven", arguably the greatest rock song ever. Also features "When The Levee Breaks", "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll".
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1970 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin III | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin III
Release Date: October 1970
Details: This album is probably the 'hippiest' of the bunch. Ranges from the soft, acoustic "Tangerine" to hard drving "Immigrant Song".
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1970 | Black Sabbath | Paranoid | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Black Sabbath
Album: Paranoid
Release Date: January 1970
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: Classic Ozzy Sabbath, featuring "Iron Man" and "War Pigs". Tony Iommi;s dark power chords and Ozzy's lyrics were the alternative to the time's feel good hippie music and gave birth to "Goth".
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1960 - 1969 | The Birth Of Metal

1969 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin II
Release Date: October 1969
Details: "Whole Lotta Love"
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1969 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin I | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin I
Release Date: January 1969
(January is used if the exact month is not known.)
Details: The godfathers of Heavy Metal release their first album.
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1967 | The Jimmy Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced | Details | Discography | Amazon.com
Band: The Jimmy Hendrix Experience
Album: Are You Experienced
Release Date: May 1967
Details: Hendrix invented modern guitar rock. His use of feedback and distortion, and untethered solos were all groundbreaking. While not a heavy metal album, heavy metal could not have been born without Hendrix.
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2000 - 2005

1990 - 1999 | New Directions

1980 - 1989 | The Golden Years

1970 - 1979 | Arena Rock Rules

1960 - 1969 | The Birth Of Metal

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