Best Heavy Metal Albums
490 albums
| Rank | cover art | Artist name | Album title | Rating | Votes | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Painkiller (1990) | 96.9 | 222 | 14 | |
| 2 |  |
Powerslave (1984) | 94.9 | 96 | 5 | |
| 3 |  |
Defenders of the Faith (1984) | 93.9 | 114 | 6 | |
| 4 |  |
The Number of the Beast (1982) | 94.3 | 95 | 8 | |
| 5 |  |
Paranoid (1970) | 94.1 | 84 | 7 | |
| 6 |  |
Operation: Mindcrime (1988) | 94.2 | 80 | 4 | |
| 7 |  |
Heaven and Hell (1980) | 93.3 | 77 | 4 | |
| 8 |  |
Blizzard of Ozz (1980) | 92.7 | 83 | 5 | |
| 9 |  |
Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 91.8 | 86 | 4 | |
| 10 |  |
Ace of Spades (1980) | 94.9 | 37 | 3 | |
| 11 |  |
Tribute: Randy Rhoads (1987) [Live] | 93 | 50 | 2 | |
| 12 |  |
Priest... Live! (1987) [Live] | 92.4 | 55 | 5 | |
| 13 |  |
Firepower (2018) | 90.9 | 72 | 1 | |
| 14 |  |
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) | 92.9 | 43 | 4 | |
| 15 |  |
Holy Diver (1983) | 91.1 | 65 | 8 | |
| 16 |  |
Transcendence (1988) | 91.7 | 56 | 4 | |
| 17 |  |
Blue Blood (1989) | 90.1 | 71 | 5 | |
| 18 |  |
Master of Reality (1971) | 91.9 | 45 | 4 | |
| 19 |  |
Black Sabbath (1970) | 91.1 | 53 | 4 | |
| 20 |  |
Crimson Glory (1986) | 91.3 | 42 | 4 | |
| 21 |  |
Ram It Down (1988) | 89.9 | 57 | 5 | |
| 22 |  |
91.3 | 38 | 0 | ||
| 23 |  |
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 90.5 | 45 | 5 | |
| 24 |  |
Screaming Symphony (1996) | 90.1 | 49 | 7 | |
| 25 |  |
The Crimson Idol (1992) | 92.2 | 30 | 3 | |
| 26 |  |
Don't Break the Oath (1984) | 92.8 | 26 | 2 | |
| 27 |  |
British Steel (1980) | 87 | 97 | 5 | |
| 28 |  |
Slave to the Grind (1991) | 89.4 | 55 | 7 | |
| 29 |  |
Piece of Mind (1983) | 89.4 | 55 | 4 | |
| 30 |  |
Endgame (2009) | 87.5 | 84 | 8 | |
| 31 |  |
Somewhere in Time (1986) | 91 | 34 | 6 | |
| 32 |  |
Sting in the Tail (2010) | 90.6 | 36 | 2 | |
| 33 |  |
Iron Maiden (1980) | 89.7 | 42 | 3 | |
| 34 |  |
Live After Death (1985) [Live] | 91 | 30 | 2 | |
| 35 |  |
Dark Quarterer (1987) | 92.3 | 22 | 1 | |
| 36 |  |
Brave New World (2000) | 90.3 | 32 | 4 | |
| 37 |  |
Metallica (1991) | 84 | 137 | 5 | |
| 38 |  |
The Last in Line (1984) | 90.4 | 31 | 4 | |
| 39 |  |
Vol 4 (1972) | 91 | 27 | 2 | |
| 40 |  |
Abigail (1987) | 90.1 | 33 | 3 | |
| 41 |  |
Rock in Rio (2002) [Live] | 92.7 | 18 | 2 | |
| 42 |  |
High Power (1983) | 93.2 | 15 | 2 | |
| 43 |  |
Stand in Line (1988) | 87.9 | 49 | 4 | |
| 44 |  |
Overkill (1979) | 91.3 | 22 | 2 | |
| 45 |  |
Bound to Break (1987) | 91.8 | 19 | 2 | |
| 46 |  |
Rust in Peace Live (2010) [Live] | 88.6 | 39 | 1 | |
| 47 |  |
Lightning to the Nations (1980) | 92.7 | 15 | 0 | |
| 48 |  |
Fear of the Dark (1992) | 88.1 | 42 | 5 | |
| 49 |  |
A Relative Coexistence (2011) | 87.8 | 45 | 4 | |
| 50 |  |
Dystopia (2016) | 86.8 | 56 | 2 |