During this coronavirus pandemic, one of the things that I have made an intentional effort to do with some of the extra free time I have is to immerse myself into the vast catalogues of rock and heavy metal music, which contain albums and songs that I have loved for years, but which I have only barely began to scratch the surface in hearing. Over the last few months, I have discovered a ton of new albums, which while they now rank among my favorites, I probably would never have heard if I did not make this conscious effort to discover and listen to them. Having gone through the whole summer now of this endeavor, I decided to make a list containing my favorite albums of all time, some of which I have known and loved forever, but many of which I have only discovered recently. I got this idea from one of my favorite Youtube channels, Sea of Tranquility, hosted by music writer and fanatic Pete Pardo who is essentially my go-to for rock music knowledge and information, and who does all sorts of music rankings and lists on his channel. While I anticipate my list to change in the months and years ahead, and I am curious to see how different/similar it may be in the future, here is, for now, my top 20 favorite albums of all time.
20. Holy Diver, by Dio. The debut album from the great heavy metal singer, Ronnie James Dio(who will show up again in my list). Dio was a member of a number of successful bands, and this album from his solo career definitely holds up on its own to any of them. My favorite song on the album: “Caught in the Middle.”
19. Hemispheres, by Rush. I had never listened to very much Rush prior to this summer, mainly because I thought that I really just didn’t like the band all that much. It turns out, I really just hadn’t listened to very much of their music. Haha. Of the several Rush albums I’ve heard now, this one is at the top for me. My favorite song on the album: “Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres.”
18. In Rock, by Deep Purple. One of the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal music alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple are my favorite of the three if for no other reason than they feature Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, and this album is one of their best. My favorite song on the album: “Child in Time.”
17. Rage Against the Machine, by Rage Against the Machine. A longtime favorite of mine, this debut album from Los Angeles rock band Rage Against the Machine is full of outstanding tracks. Although quite a harsh(not sure exactly the word I’m looking for) album, I can’t think of a better list of tracks to get me pumped up and moving no matter how tired I am. My favorite song on the album: “Know Your Enemy.”
16. Stained Class, by Judas Priest. Judas Priest is a band that I have “liked’ for a long time, but only known a handful of tracks from. After listening to several of their albums now, Stained Class is my second favorite album by this British band, and features one of my all time favorite guitar solos by Glenn Tipton on “Beyond the Realms of Death, which is also my favorite song on the album.
15. A Night at the Opera, by Queen. I still haven’t listened to that much of Queen’s catalogue but this album is a favorite of mine regardless. Queen is one of the most unique bands I’ve ever heard, and it is a thrill listening to this album, top to bottom. My favorite song on the album: “Love of my Life.”
14. Vulgar Display of Power, by Pantera. Another longtime favorite of mine, I was hugely into Pantera during my high school and early college years. While I don’t listen to the band very much anymore, this album will always have a special place in my heart(that sounds cheesy for such a heavy album). My favorite song on the album: “This Love.”
13.Greatest Hits, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’ve actually never heard a complete Red Hot Chili Peppers album, but there was no way I could leave them off of this list because some of the songs that I do know are among my absolute favorites. Thus, I had to put this greatest hits album on, all the tracks of which I have heard. My favorite song on the album: “Scar Tissue.”
12. Van Halen, by Van Halen. The debut album by this California rock band, it contains some of my favorite guitar tones ever by Eddie Van Halen himself, and extremely catchy songs all the way through. My favorite song on the album: “Jamie’s Cryin’.”
11. Back in Black, by AC/DC. Second only to Michael Jackson’s Thriller in sales worldwide, this album is the band’s first to feature new lead singer Brian Johnson after the tragic death of Bon Scott. On pretty much all of their albums AC/DC figured out a simple formula that just simply worked perfectly. My favorite song on the album: “Back in Black.”
10. Hall of the Mountain King, by Savatage. One of the lesser known bands on my list, Savatage are a Floridian heavy metal band, and this album is absolutely great. Like a few of these picks as I get higher on my list, it is an album that, in my opinion, does not have a single weak track on it. My favorite song on the album: “Legions.”
9. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, by Rainbow. Notably featuring Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Rainbow achieved their greatest success on the album that preceded this one. However, I enjoy this one ever so slightly more, and of all the albums featuring Blackmore, I like his work on this album the best. My favorite song on the album: “Lady of the Lake.”
8. Force It, by UFO. One of the most underrated bands ever, UFO have in recent years become one of my favorite bands. Led by the prodigious guitarist Michael Schenker, this album contains some of the band’s most stand out hits. My favorite song on the album: “Let it Roll.”
7. Bad Reputation, by Thin Lizzy. Of all the bands that I have come to appreciate more and more in these last few months, no one even comes close to Thin Lizzy. While for most people(including me until recently) the only Thin Lizzy song they’ve heard is “The Boys are Back in Town,” this band has a number of absolutely stellar albums, and Bad Reputation is my second favorite. My favorite song on the album: “Dear Lord.”
6. Sad Wings of Destiny, by Judas Priest. My favorite album by Judas Priest, this album came out early in their career, and features the band in a somewhat more mellow tone, before they developed a heavier sound on their albums to follow. I mentioned Glenn Tipton in pick number 16, and I’ll say here again what an outstanding guitar player he is. My favorite song on the album: “Dreamer Deceiver.”
5. The Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden. The only band that deserves to get three picks on my list, this is my third favorite album from Iron Maiden. It contains many of their most well-known songs, and with the exception of 2 that I don’t care for all that much, it is a landmark heavy metal album that I have loved for many years. My favorite song on the album: “22 Acacia Avenue.”
4. Powerslave, by Iron Maiden. My second favorite Iron Maiden album, I still remember listing to this album from start to finish for the first time and basically deciding right then that this was my favorite band. While I like one of their albums slightly more now, it would be hard to make this one any better. My favorite song on the album: “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
3. Lights Out, by UFO. Featuring some of my favorite guitar work of any album ever, Michael Schenker again makes my list in this album, which is UFO’s most well known one. Whether you’re a fan of rock, heavy metal, or anything else, it’s hard to imagine someone couldn’t find something on this album that they like. My favorite song on the album: “Try Me.”
2. Piece of Mind, by Iron Maiden. My favorite album from my all time and long time favorite band, I can’t get enough of these songs. This is the second album to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and the third for guitarist Adrian Smith, and it is evident that the band completely found their stride with this perfect album, start to finish. My favorite song on the album: “Revelations.”
1. Jailbreak, by Thin Lizzy. Right now it is about 4 months since I listened to this album for the first time, and I don’t think a day has passed where I haven’t played at least one song from it. Of all the albums on this list, in my opinion this is the closest one to being a truly perfect album; there is literally not one song that isn’t outstanding, and when I got the idea to make this list I knew from the start that this had to be number 1 for me. I highly recommend setting aside 40 minuets and listening to it. RIP Phil Lynott. My favorite song on the album: “Cowboy Song.”