Best Heavy Metal Albums
662 albums
| Rank | cover art | Artist name | Album title | Rating | Votes | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Painkiller (1990) | 97 | 222 | 14 | |
| 2 |  |
Powerslave (1984) | 95 | 95 | 5 | |
| 3 |  |
Defenders of the Faith (1984) | 93.9 | 113 | 6 | |
| 4 |  |
The Number of the Beast (1982) | 94.3 | 94 | 8 | |
| 5 |  |
Paranoid (1970) | 94.1 | 82 | 7 | |
| 6 |  |
Operation: Mindcrime (1988) | 94.2 | 80 | 4 | |
| 7 |  |
Heaven and Hell (1980) | 93.5 | 76 | 4 | |
| 8 |  |
Blizzard of Ozz (1980) | 92.6 | 79 | 5 | |
| 9 |  |
Screaming for Vengeance (1982) | 92.1 | 85 | 4 | |
| 10 |  |
Rising Force (1984) | 92.5 | 69 | 5 | |
| 11 |  |
Ace of Spades (1980) | 95.2 | 34 | 3 | |
| 12 |  |
Tribute: Randy Rhoads (1987) [Live] | 93 | 50 | 2 | |
| 13 |  |
Priest... Live! (1987) [Live] | 92.4 | 55 | 5 | |
| 14 |  |
II : Remember (1987) | 93.6 | 40 | 4 | |
| 15 |  |
Holy Diver (1983) | 91.3 | 64 | 8 | |
| 16 |  |
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) | 92.9 | 43 | 4 | |
| 17 |  |
Firepower (2018) | 90.9 | 68 | 1 | |
| 18 |  |
Transcendence (1988) | 91.7 | 56 | 4 | |
| 19 |  |
Master of Reality (1971) | 92.2 | 43 | 4 | |
| 20 |  |
Blue Blood (1989) | 90 | 71 | 5 | |
| 21 |  |
Black Sabbath (1970) | 91.3 | 52 | 4 | |
| 22 |  |
91.5 | 47 | 3 | ||
| 23 |  |
Crimson Glory (1986) | 91.3 | 42 | 4 | |
| 24 |  |
Lazenca: A Space Rock Opera (1997) | 89.4 | 65 | 4 | |
| 25 |  |
Countdown to Extinction (1992) | 88.5 | 80 | 3 | |
| 26 |  |
Ram It Down (1988) | 89.8 | 55 | 5 | |
| 27 |  |
British Steel (1980) | 87.4 | 95 | 5 | |
| 28 |  |
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) | 90.8 | 42 | 5 | |
| 29 |  |
Screaming Symphony (1996) | 90.1 | 49 | 7 | |
| 30 |  |
Piece of Mind (1983) | 89.6 | 55 | 4 | |
| 31 |  |
Blue Murder (1989) | 91.3 | 36 | 5 | |
| 32 |  |
Dark Quarterer (1987) | 93.6 | 21 | 1 | |
| 33 |  |
Endgame (2009) | 87.5 | 84 | 8 | |
| 34 |  |
Rising (1976) | 90.2 | 45 | 2 | |
| 35 |  |
Slave to the Grind (1991) | 89.4 | 53 | 7 | |
| 36 |  |
Heading for Tomorrow (1990) | 89.3 | 54 | 5 | |
| 37 |  |
Gutter Ballet (1989) | 91.4 | 33 | 4 | |
| 38 |  |
91.1 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 39 |  |
Don't Break the Oath (1984) | 92.5 | 25 | 2 | |
| 40 |  |
Skid Row (1989) | 88.4 | 63 | 5 | |
| 41 |  |
Love at First Sting (1984) | 92.7 | 23 | 2 | |
| 42 |  |
The Crimson Idol (1992) | 91.6 | 29 | 3 | |
| 43 |  |
Sting in the Tail (2010) | 90.6 | 36 | 2 | |
| 44 |  |
Iron Maiden (1980) | 90 | 40 | 3 | |
| 45 |  |
To Hell With the Devil (1986) | 89.8 | 40 | 5 | |
| 46 |  |
High Power (1983) | 93.7 | 16 | 2 | |
| 47 |  |
Marching Out (1985) | 90.9 | 30 | 1 | |
| 48 |  |
Vol 4 (1972) | 91.5 | 26 | 2 | |
| 49 |  |
Lovedrive (1979) | 92.4 | 21 | 1 | |
| 50 |  |
Somewhere in Time (1986) | 90.4 | 33 | 6 | |
| 51 |  |
Brave New World (2000) | 90.3 | 32 | 4 | |
| 52 |  |
Live After Death (1985) [Live] | 90.7 | 29 | 2 | |
| 53 |  |
The Last in Line (1984) | 90.4 | 31 | 4 | |
| 54 |  |
Metallica (1991) | 84 | 135 | 5 | |
| 55 |  |
Rock in Rio (2002) [Live] | 92.7 | 18 | 2 | |
| 56 |  |
Overkill (1979) | 92 | 21 | 2 | |
| 57 |  |
Abigail (1987) | 90.1 | 32 | 2 | |
| 58 |  |
Streets: A Rock Opera (1991) | 90.4 | 28 | 5 | |
| 59 |  |
Stand in Line (1988) | 87.9 | 49 | 4 | |
| 60 |  |
Bound to Break (1987) | 91.8 | 19 | 2 | |
| 61 |  |
Rust in Peace Live (2010) [Live] | 88.6 | 39 | 1 | |
| 62 |  |
Lightning to the Nations (1980) | 92.7 | 15 | 0 | |
| 63 |  |
Speed Metal Symphony (1987) | 90.2 | 26 | 5 | |
| 64 |  |
A Relative Coexistence (2011) | 87.8 | 45 | 4 | |
| 65 |  |
Trilogy (1986) | 89.5 | 30 | 4 | |
| 66 |  |
Unbreakable (2012) | 91 | 21 | 2 | |
| 67 |  |
Fear of the Dark (1992) | 88.1 | 41 | 5 | |
| 68 |  |
Live Insurrection (2001) [Live] | 91.4 | 19 | 4 | |
| 69 |  |
Dirt (1992) | 88.3 | 38 | 3 | |
| 70 |  |
Crazy World (1990) | 92.2 | 15 | 1 | |
| 71 |  |
Headless Cross (1989) | 90.9 | 20 | 3 | |
| 72 |  |
Youthanasia (1994) | 86.3 | 57 | 6 | |
| 73 |  |
Blackout (1982) | 90.6 | 21 | 2 | |
| 74 |  |
Dystopia (2016) | 86.6 | 53 | 2 | |
| 75 |  |
III (1986) | 96.6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 76 |  |
Court in the Act (1983) | 92.7 | 12 | 1 | |
| 77 |  |
City of Evil (2005) | 87.6 | 39 | 3 | |
| 78 |  |
Berserker (2017) | 86.3 | 51 | 2 | |
| 79 |  |
The Seventh Sign (1994) | 89.9 | 22 | 0 | |
| 80 |  |
Alive in Athens (1999) [Live] | 91.8 | 14 | 3 | |
| 81 |  |
Odyssey (1988) | 88.5 | 30 | 1 | |
| 82 |  |
Performocracy (2011) | 91.8 | 14 | 0 | |
| 83 |  |
Days of Defiance (2010) | 88.6 | 29 | 2 | |
| 84 |  |
Holy Hell (2005) | 89.1 | 25 | 1 | |
| 85 |  |
An Overdose of Death... (2008) | 89.1 | 25 | 1 | |
| 86 |  |
Diary of a Madman (1981) | 88.3 | 30 | 2 | |
| 87 |  |
Hell Bent for Leather (1978) | 87.6 | 35 | 3 | |
| 88 |  |
91.1 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 89 |  |
Stained Class (1978) | 87.3 | 36 | 3 | |
| 90 |  |
Hunting Time (1989) | 93.8 | 8 | 1 | |
| 91 |  |
Cryptic Writings (1997) | 85.8 | 50 | 4 | |
| 92 |  |
Sailing Out (1990) | 91.3 | 14 | 0 | |
| 93 |  |
Fear (1999) | 90.2 | 18 | 3 | |
| 94 |  |
Jealousy (1991) | 87.8 | 31 | 2 | |
| 95 |  |
Mob Rules (1981) | 89.9 | 19 | 2 | |
| 96 |  |
Nightmare (2010) | 84.9 | 60 | 4 | |
| 97 |  |
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) | 89.4 | 21 | 4 | |
| 98 |  |
Steel (2011) | 88.3 | 27 | 1 | |
| 99 |  |
The House of Atreus: Act I (1999) | 92.1 | 11 | 3 | |
| 100 |  |
Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991) | 85.8 | 47 | 2 |