Tales from the Jugular

The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal/Hard Rock CDs of All Time

We've been dodging that bullet here for quite a while now, but after enough badgering in our forums, we finally caved in. The difficulty of such an endeavor was always the same--how do you compare and rank metal of different genres? Sure, you can look at skill, quality, production, influence and any number of factors, but opinion is always going to be a sticking point. Also, can you trust that any judge has a keen critical ear and is fairly free of bias?

After enough debate, we decided to keep it personal and let our staff create their own Top 50 list of favorite CDs no matter what they were.  Points were assigned for each CD: #1=50, #2=49 and so on down to #50=1 point. All the CDs were then put into a Master List to determine the final total per CD. With 12 staffers taking part (and not separating by ties!), here it is :

Maximum Metal's 50 Greatest
Heavy Metal/Hard Rock CDs of All Time

RANK	YOR	POINTS	BAND--CD
50	1996	61	Marilyn Manson--Antichrist Superstar
49	1979	66	Judas Priest--Hellbent for Leather
48	1987	67	Anthrax--Among the Living
47	2001	67	Summoning--Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame
46	1982	67	Venom--Black Metal
45	1974	68	Deep Purple--Burn
44	1987	68	Dokken--Back for the Attack
43	2003	68	Moonsorrow--Kivenkantaja
42	1982	68	Scorpions--Blackout
41	1983	69	KISS--Lick It Up
40	1980	70	Iron Maiden--Iron Maiden
39	1983	70	Motley Crue--Shout at the Devil
38	1983	72	Metallica--Kill 'Em All
37	1996	73	Sepultura--Roots
36	1981	74	AC/DC--For Those About To Rock
35	1981	74	Iron Maiden--Killers
34	1972	78	Deep Purple--Machine Head
33	1978	78	Van Halen--Van Halen
32	1971	80	Led Zeppelin--IV
31	1992	80	Pantera--Vulgar Display of Power
30	1976	81	Rainbow--Rising
29	1986	82	Slayer--Reign In Blood
28	2003	83	Kamelot--Epica
27	1994	83	KORN--Korn
26	1991	83	Metallica--Black Album

View the Top CDs from 25-2

RANK	YOR	POINTS	BAND--CD
25	1984	84	Dio--Last in Line
24	1988	84	Manowar--Kings of Metal
23	1994	85	Megadeth--Youthanasia
22	1995	94	Iced Earth--Burnt Offerings
21	2001	97	System of a Down--Toxicity
20	1983	99	Iron Maiden--Piece of Mind
19	1988	100	Iron Maiden--Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
18	1990	102	Megadeth--Rust in Peace
17	1980	111	Ozzy Osbourne--Blizzard of Ozz
16	1970	112	Black Sabbath--Black Sabbath
15	1990	114	Slayer--Seasons In The Abyss
14	1992	127	Megadeth--Countdown To Extinction
13	2006	130	In Flames--Come Clarity
12	1984	130	Jag Panzer--Ample Destruction
11	1980	131	Motorhead--Ace of Spades
10	1988	138	Queensryche--Operation Mindcrime
9	1979	144	AC/DC--Highway To Hell
8	1984	148	Metallica--Ride The Lightning
7	1980	149	Black Sabbath--Heaven & Hell
6	1987	183	Judas Priest--Painkiller
5	1990	195	Guns N Roses--Appetite for Destruction
4	1986	206	Metallica--Master of Puppets
3	1983	217	Dio--Holy Diver
2	1980	221	AC/DC--Back in Black

And Our #1!!!

#1: IRON MAIDEN
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
Year of Release: 1982
Total Votes: 285

QUICK STATS
Total CDs: 599 (one repeat removed)
Total Different: 430
Ave/Mean Years (Top 50): 1986.10
Most per Year (Top 50): 1980/83 (5)
Years Range (Top 50): 36 (1970-2006)

TOP CDs with STAFF VOTES (of 12)
8   Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
7    Dio - Holy Diver
7    AC/DC - Back in Black
6    Motorhead - Ace of Spades
5    Metallica - Ride The Lightning
5    Metallica - Master Of Puppets
5    Judas Priest - Painkiller
5    Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction

MOST CDS PER BAND (TOP 50)
5   Iron Maiden
4    Metallica
3    AC\DC
3    Megadeth
2    Dio
2    Black Sabbath
2    Deep Purple
2    Judas Priest
2    Slayer

MOST CDS PER BAND (Overall)
7    Black Sabbath
7    Iron Maiden
6    AC/DC
6    Judas Priest
6    Led Zeppelin
6    Megadeth
6    Metallica
5    In Flames

TOP BANDS BY TOTAL VOTES (at least 200 points)

1	Iron Maiden	666
2	Metallica	573
3	AC\DC	564
4	Black Sabbath	441
5	Judas Priest	402
6	Megadeth	358
7	Led Zeppelin	319
8	Dio	301
9	Ozzy Osbourne	235
10	In Flames	228
11	Slayer	228
12	Queensryche	225
13	Deep Purple	211
14	Pantera	209

IRON MAIDEN CD POINT BREAKDOWN
48    Iron Maiden--Iron Maiden
22    Iron Maiden--Iron Maiden
22    Iron Maiden--Killers
10    Iron Maiden--Killers
42    Iron Maiden--Killers
48    Iron Maiden--Piece of Mind
34    Iron Maiden--Piece of Mind
17    Iron Maiden--Piece of Mind
5      Iron Maiden--Powerslave
29    Iron Maiden--Powerslave
28    Iron Maiden--Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
5      Iron Maiden--Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
21    Iron Maiden--Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
46    Iron Maiden--Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
40    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
40    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
46    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
37    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
47    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
9      Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
20    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
46    Iron Maiden--The Number of the Beast
4      Iron Maiden--X Factor

666 Total Points!!!

In conclusion, you could say that of our staff, Iron Maiden rules the metal scene taking honors with the Top CD and the Top Band Points in many categories. The old guns ruled the top slots. Maybe the most amazing stat of them all is the total points of all Maiden CDs scoring an amazing 666 points. We didn't fix any of these stats and you can see the breakdown above. If you would like to know how your favorite CD(s) fared on our poll, just drop us a email. Special thanks goes out to Neekoy and Kristan for the hard work compiling!


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