For years now I’ve had a beef with VH1 over their Behind The Music series. My problem with it? No Iron Maiden. After countless episodes featuring crap like Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi, Leif Garrett, Nick Lachey, Ricky Martin and even Twisted Sister and Ratt, I can’t fathom why they have continued to neglect Iron Maiden.

Granted, Maiden is not alone. There is no Led Zeppelin episode. There is no Black Sabbath episode (although Ozzy has his own). They have managed episodes of other heavy metal greats, such as AC/DC, Judas Priest and Metallica. But Maiden continues to be left out.

Perhaps Maiden’s downfall has been too few controversies and tragedies. The biggest controvesy they have going for them is being accused of Satanism in the U.S. when their 1983 album The Number of the Beast was released, which, of course, was nonsense. And, there was a small feud between Bruce and the rest of the band when he left, as well as the Blaze Bayley debacle of the 90’s.

But I guess those were not enough to warrant a tell-all BTM episode. No members have died of drug overdoses or committed suicide. No major band feuds or splits. No accidents that caused a drummer to go from two arms to one. You know, the stuff BTM is made of.

However, the news is not all bad. I saw a 4-part series called Heavy: The Story of Metal listed to air on VH1 this past weekend, and promptly set my DVR. Last night I watched the first episode, and half of the second. The first (”Welcome to my nightmare”) chronicled the beginnings with Sabbath and Zeppelin, then moved into the “shock” acts like Alice Cooper and KISS, then finished with AC/DC.

Part two (”British Steel”) began with the NWOBHM featuring Judas Priest and Iron Maiden (and, evidently, will later include Def Leppard and the non-British Van Halen, although I haven’t gotten that far yet.) I was pleased to see the appropriate place given to Maiden as one of the featured bands in the show, and the commentary on their importance to heavy metal’s revival in the early 80’s and to heavy metal in general through the years. At least VH1 got something right. Perhaps one day they’ll get their act together and give us an Iron Maiden BTM, as they should have done years ago.

Watching this series on the history of heavy metal prompted me to consider this - what are the greatest metal albums of all time? What albums have stood the test of time over the last 35+ years or so? Well, I’m not going to provide that list, necessarily, because I am, as everyone is, biased in my opinion, and I’m not going to research which albums are commonly held to be the best. So, instead, I’ll give you my favorite albums of all time that may (or may not) be considered metal, some of which I expect would be agreed upon by many.

A few notes:

• I chose to limit the list to one album per artist/band. Otherwise, I’d have a list that only included 3 or 4 artists/bands.
  
• “Heavy Metal” is a term applied to many bands, some of which are not heavy metal. For the purpose of this list, I’m considering both heavy metal and hard rock albums, both of which are often called metal. (For example, in my opinion, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are heavy metal, Def Leppard and Van Halen are hard rock, but both were considered for this list.)
  
• You’ll notice only one post-80’s album on the list. I readily admit that I haven’t listened to as much modern metal, and so you won’t see anything on the list from the last 15 years or so. I’ve largely stuck with the music I grew up listening to when it comes to hard rock, and just can’t speak to modern stuff because I haven’t listened to enough of it.
  

So, with those things considered, here’s my list, with a few honorable mentions as well.

Honorable Mentions

• Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper (1973)
  This one is from back when Alice Cooper was a band and not a solo artist, and is often considered their/his best. It was a hard call for me between this one and Welcome To My Nightmare, but this one only slightly edged out Nightmare. Features the title track, “Elected” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy”.

• Blizzard of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne (1980)
  This was Ozzy’s first solo album after leaving Black Sabbath, and I think it was the best he ever did. Some prefer his second, Diary of a Madman, but I’d much rather listen to Blizzard. Includes “Crazy Train”, “Suicide Solution” and “I Don’t Know”.

• Pyromania - Def Leppard (1983)
  The best Def Leppard album without question, and the one that launched them into superstardom. I had a cassette of this in 11th grade and literally wore it out. Includes “Rock of Ages”, “Foolin’” and “Photograph”.

• Blackout - Scorpions (1982)
  Scorpions produced some good stuff in the 80’s. Most in the U.S. remember them for “Rock You Like A Hurricane” from their follow-up to this one, Love At First Sting. But this one was my favorite. Includes title track, “No One Like You” and “Dynamite”.

• Holy Diver - Dio (1983)
  Dio was great. I was a huge fan when his first two solo albums were released during my high school years. It was a hard call here, too, between this and The Last In Line. However, I think this is his best, if only by a little. Includes “Straight Through The Heart”, “Rainbow in the dark” and title track.
  

The Top 10

• 10. Alive! - KISS (1975)
  I almost left this off simply because it’s a live album, which is just another type of a “greatest hits” album. However, this was the album that made KISS a household name and is truly one of the great live albums of all time in my opinion. Includes “Deuce”, “Black Diamond” and “Rock and Roll All Nite”.

• 9. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N’ Roses (1987)
  If these guys hadn’t been so screwed up, they might’ve ended up with a string of great albums. Instead, this debut is pretty much the list for them. However, it was a great one. Includes “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City”.

• 8. British Steel - Judas Priest (1980)
  I had several Priest albums and wasn’t sure which one I’d consider the best, but I decided to go with this one. Priest was one of the greats of the 80’s, and this is one example of why. Includes “Metal Gods”, “Living after midnight” and “Breaking the Law”.

• 7. Paranoid - Black Sabbath (1970)
  Sabbath’s self-title debut announced the arrival of a new kind of rock music (featuring the song “Black Sabbath”, one of the creepiest songs ever.) However, Paranoid was their best album and the title track probably their most memorable song. Includes “Iron Man”, “War Pigs” and title track.

• 6. Operation: Mindcrime - Queensryche (1988)
  Once again, a hard decision. I love Empire equally, but in the end went with this one because I like the concept album approach as well as the fact that this pre-dated Empire. This was when Queensryche went from good to great, IMO. Includes “Revolution Calling”, “Eyes of a Stranger” and title track.

• 5. Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)
  I’ve always said Van Halen’s debut was their best and I still believe it. I thought 5150, the first post-Roth album, was very good, too, but nothing tops this one. And a new guitar god was born in Edward Van Halen. Includes “Jamie’s Cryin’”, “Running with the Devil” and “Ain’t talkin’ ’bout love”.

• 4. Metallica - Metallica (1991)
  “The black album” was when Metallica moved from a heavy metal sound closer to a hard rock sound, IMO. I was not a fan before this album, but quickly became one upon it’s release. Many consider Master of Puppets their best, but while I appreciate it now, I still prefer this one. Includes “Sad but true”, “The unforgiven” and “Enter sandman”.

• 3. IV - Led Zeppelin (1971)
  I had a hard time placing this album below anything, because it’s always been one of my favorites. I have actually never been a huge Zeppelin fan overall, but this album I love. “Stairway to heaven” is one of the greatest rock songs ever, IMO. Includes “Black Dog”, “Rock and roll” and “Stairway to Heaven”.

• 2. Back in Black - AC/DC (1980)
  After the death of Bon Scott, AC/DC regrouped to create their very best album by far. Brian Johnson did a great job as Scott’s replacement, and I actually prefer his sound (at least on his early albums). There is not a bad song on this album. Includes “Hells Bells”, “Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” and title track.

• 1. The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden (1982)
  No doubt that I’d pick a Maiden album as number one. I’d have had at least 2 more in the list if I hadn’t imposed the 1-album per band limit. This album was Bruce Dickinson’s debut with the band, and despite the talent that already existed in the band, his voice is probably what launched their career into the stratosphere. (Note the decline during the Blaze Bayley years, and their return to 80’s form since Bruce rejoined.) Di’Anno was good, but Bruce took them to the next level, and it started with Beast. This album is clearly their best and is a metal classic, and contains some of their very best songs. This, in my opinion, is the best ever. Includes “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Run To The Hills” and title track.
  

Feel free to point out any glaring omissions.