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8 80’s Metal Albums Everyone Should Own

Motley Crue’s Shout At The Devil was released 35 years ago today (September 26), and in our humble opinion, when it comes to 80’s metal albums, it’s definitely a must-own….

LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 19: (L-R) Singer Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars and bassist Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue perform during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Motley Crue’s Shout At The Devil was released 35 years ago today (September 26), and in our humble opinion, when it comes to 80’s metal albums, it’s definitely a must-own.

In honor of its anniversary, we’ve assembled the following list of metal albums from the 80’s we think every music fan should own.  It also doubles as a convenient “metal starter kit” (if you will) for the youths dipping their toe into metal for the first time, because someone has to think about the children, dammit!

(For the sake of this list, each band will only have one album representing them.)

Motley Crue – Shout At The Devil

Badass and glam-influenced and proud of it! Also, that title track, though…

Metallica – Master Of Puppets

More like Masterpiece of Puppets.  Everyone should obey this album.

Judas Priest – British Steel

Like actual steel, this Priest classic is f*cking solid.

Slayer – Reign In Blood

If someone creates a “best metal albums” list and a Slayer album isn’t on it, does it actually exist?  No…it doesn’t, and if your metal collection doesn’t include this iconic album, it’s just sorely lacking.

Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?

Speaking of “buying,” BUY THIS ALBUM RIGHT NOW!


Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast

It was difficult to pick just one album from Maiden to include on this list, but we picked The Number Of The Beast for its historical significance of it being the first Maiden album to feature Bruce Dickinson. (FYI:  Runner-up was Powerslave.)

Motorhead – Ace Of Spades

We’re certainly born to lose, but we live for this Motorhead album.

Dio – Holy Diver

The late Ronnie James Dio was 5’4”, but his voice could move mountains, and it’s on full display on this iconic metal album.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights