Rate Your Music's Top 100 Thrash Metal Albums of the 1980s

These are the Top 100 Thrash Metal Albums of the 1980s as determined by Rate Your Music's rating system. It includes any band that had Thrash Metal as either their sole genre, or as one of the genres in their description.

1 Metallica
Master of Puppets (1986)

2 Metallica
Ride the Lightning (1984)

3 Slayer
Reign in Blood (1986)

4 Metallica
...And Justice for All (1988)

5 Sepultura
Beneath the Remains (1989)

6 Metal Church
Metal Church (1984)

7 Overkill
The Years of Decay (1989)

8 Megadeth
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986)

9 Slayer
South of Heaven (1988)

10 Morbid Saint
Spectrum of Death (1988)

11 Exodus
Bonded by Blood (1985)

12 Coroner
No More Color (1989)

13 Anthrax
Among the Living (1987)

14 Metallica
Kill 'Em All (1983)

15 Dark Angel
Darkness Descends (1986)

16 Annihilator
Alice in Hell (1989)

17 Voivod
Dimension Hatröss (1988)

18 Sodom
Agent Orange (1989)

19 Testament
The Legacy (1987)

20 Testament
The New Order (1988)

21 Overkill
Taking Over (1987)

22 Celtic Frost
To Mega Therion (1985)

23 Kreator
Pleasure to Kill (1986)

24 Kreator
Extreme Aggression (1989)

25 Metal Church
The Dark (1986)

26 Vio-Lence
Eternal Nightmare (1988)

27 Forbidden
Forbidden Evil (1988)

28 Sabbat
Dreamweaver (1989)

29 Sodom
Persecution Mania (1987)

30 Voivod
Nothingface (1989)

31 Overkill
Feel the Fire (1985)

32 Sacrifice
Forward to Termination (1987)

33 Coroner
Punishment for Decadence (1988)

34 Death Angel
The Ultra-Violence (1987)

35 Possessed
Seven Churches (1985)

36 Slayer
Hell Awaits (1985)

37 Sadus
Illusions (1988)

38 Destruction
Infernal Overkill (1985)

39 Metal Church
Blessing in Disguise (1989)

40 Anthrax
Spreading the Disease (1985)

41 Slayer
Show No Mercy (1983)

42 Kreator
Terrible Certainty (1987)

43 Paradox
Heresy (1989)

44 Exodus
Fabulous Disaster (1989)

45 Voivod
Killing Technology (1987)

46 Razor
Violent Restitution (1988)

47 Sabbat
History of a Time to Come (1988)

48 Infernäl Mäjesty
None Shall Defy (1987)

49 Flotsam and Jetsam
No Place for Disgrace (1988)

50 Stone
No Anaesthesia! (1989)

51 Flotsam and Jetsam
Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986)

52 Agent Steel
Unstoppable Force (1987)

53 Holy Terror
Mind Wars (1988)

54 Nuclear Assault
Survive (1988)

55 Overkill
Under the Influence (1988)

56 Holy Terror
Terror and Submission (1987)

57 Deathrow
Deception Ignored (1988)

58 Destruction
Eternal Devastation (1986)

59 Razor
Evil Invaders (1985)

60 Stone
Stone (1988)

61 Suicidal Tendencies
How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today (1988)

62 Sepultura
Schizophrenia (1987)

63 Vendetta
Brain Damage (1988)

64 Sarcófago
I.N.R.I. (1987)

65 Artillery
Terror Squad (1987)

66 Coroner
R.I.P. (1987)

67 Agent Steel
Skeptics Apocalypse (1985)

68 Slaughter
Strappado (1987)

69 Nuclear Assault
Handle With Care (1989)

70 Nuclear Assault
Game Over (1986)

71 Rigor Mortis
Rigor Mortis (1988)

72 Hellhammer
Satanic Rites (1983)

73 Poison
Into the Abyss (1987)

74 Deathrow
Raging Steel (1987)

75 Whiplash
Power and Pain (1985)

76 Destruction
Release From Agony (1988)

77 Onslaught
The Force (1986)

78 Kat
Oddech wymarłych światów (1988)

79 Mekong Delta
The Music of Erich Zann (1988)

80 Exumer
Possessed by Fire (1986)

81 Sacrifice
Torment in Fire (1986)

82 Toxik
Think This (1989)

83 Pestilence
Malleus Maleficarum (1988)

84 Celtic Frost
Into the Pandemonium (1987)

85 Toxik
World Circus (1988)

86 Amebix
Monolith (1987)

87 Tormentor
Anno Domini (1988)

88 Carnivore
Retaliation (1987)

89 Exodus
Pleasures of the Flesh (1987)

90 Lääz Rockit
Annihilation Principle (1989)

91 Xentrix
Shattered Existence (1989)

92 Evildead
Annihilation of Civilization (1989)

93 Testament
Practice What You Preach (1989)

94 Holy Moses
Finished With the Dogs (1987)

95 Megadeth
Killing Is My Business ... And Business Is Good! (1985)

96 Carnivore
Carnivore (1985)

97 Living Death
Protected From Reality (1987)

98 Dream Death
Journey Into Mystery (1987)

99 Heathen
Breaking the Silence (1987)

100 Lääz Rockit
Know Your Enemy (1987)

not a bad list

I was surprised to see Kat at #78

OK, who the hell are Morbid Saint, and how did they sneak into the top 10 above Exodus?

Decent list. I'm surprised

Is the Kat at # 78, the chick once known as the Great Kat?

Very good list. For the 1st time I am impressed with a magazines list.

No the Kat at #78 is the thrash band from Poland.
Morbid Saint deserve that spot too! Great old thrash band from Wisconsin!

Not a magazine bro...a music collector website...ranks based on average fan rating score combined with total number of people who have it rated.

Pretty good list but i'm surprised there's only two Megadeth albums and they're so far down.

I have 25 of the albums mentioned...

There are 6 that I don't have, which I would LIKE to have...

fairly satisfying list, though metallica in 3 of the top 4 speaks more to general popularity than genuine substance. im not saying theyre bad albums at all, but people in general tend to be a lot more moved by metallica than i, especially when theres so much else out there to consider.

I don't know about lists like these....I guess it helps to stimulate thoughts and discussions but so much of it is just personal preference/opinion and seems to be geographical (very German oriented) and to include a lot of "filler". Not that the bands aren't good, but could easily be left out of the top 100.
What struck me was:
--Suicidal Tendencies having only 1 album on the list and that was at #61
--Antrax's Spreading the Disease was at #40--way too low.
--ony one Heathen cd and that was at #99.
--2 Metal Church cds (whom I absolutely love) in the top 25? They are not thrash. Then Helloween's 'The Walls of Jericho" should be included.
--Bands like Carnivore(really?)/Vendetta/Deathrow/Holy Terror (2 cds) but NO Powermad or Atrophy--who put out much better albums than those four I listed (IMO, of couse).

Yeah, ok.

allthingsmetal wrote:

I don't know about lists like these....I guess it helps to stimulate thoughts and discussions but so much of it is just personal preference/opinion

That's all ANY kind of list is...a measurement of personal preference and opinon.

This list was compiled from users of Rate Your Music, albums they own and have applied ratings to that are tagged as Thrash Metal...the list was auto-compiled by the sites database based on these criteria...nobody sat and wrote it down from one angle. It's scope limit is the users of that particular site.

A 100 albums were chosen and not a single Christian album made the list that is Crap! Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, Living Sacrifice and Vengeance should have been mentioned!

nice list. I actually have 26 on that list...

325ad wrote:

A 100 albums were chosen and not a single Christian album made the list that is Crap! Deliverance, Tourniquet, Believer, Living Sacrifice and Vengeance should have been mentioned!

well, from what the original post said (though i may be misunderstanding), this is just based on a collection of ratings...its not any single individuals personal list. not enough people listen to/rate christian thrash on that site for it to make the list, i guess. i, for one, think that human sacrifice is in the top 100 thrash albums of the 80s.

I have 34on the list

How many Christian Thrash albums were there in the 80s?

I have 25 discs from that list.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

How many Christian Thrash albums were there in the 80s?

Good Question. The debut albums by Deliverance, Vengeance, and Believer all came out in 1989

325ad wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

How many Christian Thrash albums were there in the 80s?

Good Question. The debut albums by Deliverance, Vengeance, and Believer all came out in 1989

Exactly...and in the whole of 80s Thrash I doubt 3 small Christian releases (good as they may be) would register in the Top 100 of an entire decade.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

325ad wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

How many Christian Thrash albums were there in the 80s?

Good Question. The debut albums by Deliverance, Vengeance, and Believer all came out in 1989

Exactly...and in the whole of 80s Thrash I doubt 3 small Christian releases (good as they may be) would register in the Top 100 of an entire decade.

Well, those three should be. Unless your being biased based on the fact their lyrics are religious. "Just remember everybody is preaching something" A quote by both Chuck Billy and Roger Dale Martin

Your opinion, my friend. Just because you'd rank them in the Top 100 doesn't mean the members of Rate Your Music agree.

Its also kind of lame that you jump right to religious prejudice as well. Get over yourself...