100 Metal Albums -- How Many Have You Heard?

I own 44 ... and listened to four more in the past. I am not so into the black or speed metal stuff.

 

A big fat ZERO. I'm always surprised I never listened to Black Sabbath in high school as that's when they came out.

 

I stand by my view that this is a very good list of entry points into various metal subgenres, but upon reviewing it, I was reminded of something which I have personally found to be true time and time again. Since metal has so many subgenres, some of which are significantly far apart in terms of sound and the resulting atmosphere, these lists work much better if divided along those lines.

So, it is probably more instructive to have a top 5 (10, 20, 50...) black metal albums, top 5 speed metal albums, etc. Sometimes I find myself listening to an album that I have first heard 10 or 15 years ago and realise that I'm still deriving a lot of enjoyment out of it, so I naturally think that, well, this must be one of my favorite albums. Upon which, I promptly start thinking about what other albums might also qualify based on that criterion.

As my fellow music nerds, you of course understand that this serves as an incentive to make yet another list. We all love doing those, right? And so, when I sit down and make it, it of course spans subgenres and it always ends up looking really funny and just plain wrong. So it inevitably ends up getting divided into subgenres, which makes a lot of sense to me. After all, Pretty Maids are not going to hold the same appeal as Impaled Nazarene, are they?

Anyway, just some thoughts. As I said, the list, as it is, is very, very good, and I think this is a fun thread, thanks to Jason for opening it. I must say I am pleasantly surprised by how many of you are familiar with at least the acknowledged classics of the genre. Several members here are bona fide metal fans, and we tend to congregate around the same handful of threads, but it's very cool to see how many of you have listed relatively high numbers without really being metal fans at all.

 

This is funny. I see a lot of these lists on Facebook and usually it is about books read or countries visited. Anyway I got 22 and my post 1987 score was dismal. Surprised to see High and Dry on there over Pyromania or Hysteria. I must admit I find lists like these addictive.

 

I heard 57 and own probably 50

 

2 for me, of which I own 0.

 

43

Now how many of these I actually like it's another story

 

46. Owned most of these at one point. Still have the Priest, Metallica, Sabbath, Maiden, Slayer and Rainbow ones, the others were gone by my late teens. I had the Venom ones a long time ago and heard them again about 3yrs back but not really interested. Never bothered with Megadeth, so never heard them. Always thought they would never be as good as the first 3 Metallica albums or Reign in Blood so never bothered.

 

If you like the first three Metallica records, I definitely suggest you check out Killing Is My Business, Peace Sells, and Rust in Peace. They are, IMO, every bit as good as the first three Metallica records and, arguably, have better musicianship. I think they would be worth your time.

 

I am shocked. You must have hundreds most of us never heard of.

 

For me, Rust In Peace, Peace Sells and So Far So Good So What destroy the first three Metallica albums. I love the first three Metallica albums. Sorry, this debate is for another thread.

 

Yeah, it probably is, but we're doing it anyway . I always thought So Far So Good So What was a bit of a step down from the first two and Peace was a return to form. Just my opinion, though!

 

That is the conventional opinion. Because... it's true. Megadeth were just not in a good place in terms of personnel stability and production for their sophomore slump record.

Ok so here's my Metallica vs Megadeth album breakdown, for the hell of it:

1st album- Metallica "Kill 'Em All" vs Megadeth "Killing Is My Business"
Winner: Kill 'Em All
Reason: Well maybe not fair 'cause Mustaine actually contributes material as a founding member of Metallica. This doomed his next project to default 2nd rate status. Megadeth's 1st record is a nice statement of purpose and a fun listen but it doesn't hold a candle to Metallica's stunning, perfect debut.

2nd album- Metallica "Ride the Lightning" vs Megadeth "Peace Sells..."
Winner: Peace Sells
Reason: Punchier, more fun. But it's only a winner by a tiny margin and personal enjoyment factor, as Lighting is an amazing record my any measure. This is more of a "tie" here.

3rd album- Metallica "Master of Puppets" vs Megadeth "So Far So Good"
Winner: Master of Puppets
Reason: Common pick for greatest thrash record of all time, and the single greatest American metal record ever made IMO. It is obviously a classic. Megadeth meanwhile slumped hard. Metallica was just more stable and at the high point of their career as a group at this point.

4th album- Metallica "And Justice For All" vs Megadeth "Rust In Peace"
Winner: Rust In Peace
Reason: Justice suffers from inferior production, and the group unity that made them excel above their peers suffers, as does the sound, with the loss of Cliff Burton. Also- and I know most disagree with me on this point- some of the tracks are a bit too long and plodding, and they go beyond "epic" and occassionally into tedious. Megadeth meanwhile finds their best and only stable lineup and records their masterpiece.
This is both bands stretching their muscles as hard as they can, but Megadeth happens to time it with their best material, as if they were waiting for this moment.

5th album- Metallica s/t vs Megadeth "Countdown To Extinction"
Winner: Metallica
Reason: Their "sell-out" albums, so whatever, you have to judge them by their own parameters. Metallica "sold out" better, and an album that was designed to be BIG could not have been bigger.

The rest of their stuff- winner: Megadeth.
Reason: I like a couple of songs here there by Megadeth after this point, like Almost Honest and Washington Is Next, and I like nothing Metallica has done since.

 

67 of which I own 65. Only checked those I heard all the way through. It's mostly the newer stuff I'm missing.

 

I hung out with a ton of metalheads so I've probably heard the collective output of '80's Maiden/Slayer/Metallica/etc., but I only own 10 of these albums, and most of those 10 are by Black Sabbath.

 

Maybe one or two - I forget. Not planning on making a big project out of hearing the rest of them...

 

35 for me. most of them older stuff like priest and sabbath

 

71 for me.

 

Counted 78...
...not sure about 2-3 more (listened something from the band back in the days and did not get too excited, so can't even tell today which exactly album it was).

 

Some good comments and observations. I am in the minority but IMO, Megadeth never again played with the ferocious abandoned they played with on So Far So Good So What. The guitar solos and songs got better technically and were smoother and flashier but not in terms of wrath. The album suffers from poor production but "slumped hard"? Where is the evidence for that?
I have analyzed and played most of the guitar parts on the first five Megadeth albums and without a doubt, So Far So Good So What is at the top of the heap IMO. Play the chords along with this album and be prepared for the most hair raising lesson in thrash guitar ever.
Highlights...the intro guitar chords to 502. Insanely fast and intense.
The almost classical arrangement in the intro to My Darkest Hour.
The incredibly fast and powerful chords in the verse section of Liar. A lesson in palm muting.
Slumped hard in production and maybe accessibility of songs but not in terms of what thrash is all about.
Just my two cents.

 

14
Sabbath counted for half of them.

 

52 or 53. Not sure about one of the Slayer albums.

 

Very valid points re the riffs on SFSGSW. The problem is the songs as a whole just aren't very good and many of Young's leads, although technically good, don't fit. Add to that some very middle of the road drumming - Samuelson was a monster on Peace Sells - and you've got a real letdown of an album. IMO

 

74/100

 

I agree the songs do not have many good hook riffs like many of their other songs do. The production is putrid with all of the echo and reverb. The drumming is not as interesting as Peace.