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 ImagesMotley 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.