So it's 31st December 1979

It's 31st December 1979...

... and you need to make a top ten list. What are the top ten best heavy metal / heavy rock / hard rock albums ever made?

Keeping it to one band...
Aerosmith - Rocks
Ted Nugent - Double Live Gonzo
Judas Priest - Sin After Sin
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
UFO - Strangers in the Night
Riot - Narita
Motorhead - Overkill
Scorpions - Taken by Force
Rainbow - Rainbow Rising
Deep Purple - Machine Head
AC/DC - Powerage
Kiss - Alive!
Van Halen - s/t

My list is:

1. Judas Priest - Stained Class - Halford/Tipton/Downing, incredible
2. Van Halen - VH1 - a record so much ahead of its time
3. Rainbow - Long Live Rock'n'Roll - a deep album where Dio and Blackmore get everything just perfect
4. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - heavy as hell, and more focused than the debut
5. Deep Purple - In Rock - masterful early heavy metal, and Gillan simply rules
6. Led Zeppelin II - heavy, and it's only 1969
7. UFO - Force It - something I've only recently discovered
8. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog - badass, gritty, great songs
9. Uriah Heep - Demons & Wizards - a little bit of fantasy, a large dose of wonderful musicianship
10. Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties - a lot of albums could be the #10 on the list, but I just think BöC deserves it

Lari wrote:

My list is:

1. Judas Priest - Stained Class - Halford/Tipton/Downing, incredible
2. Van Halen - VH1 - a record so much ahead of its time
3. Rainbow - Long Live Rock'n'Roll - a deep album where Dio and Blackmore get everything just perfect
4. Black Sabbath - Paranoid - heavy as hell, and more focused than the debut
5. Deep Purple - In Rock - masterful early heavy metal, and Gillan simply rules
6. Led Zeppelin II - heavy, and it's only 1969
7. UFO - Force It - something I've only recently discovered
8. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog - badass, gritty, great songs
9. Uriah Heep - Demons & Wizards - a little bit of fantasy, a large dose of wonderful musicianship
10. Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties - a lot of albums could be the #10 on the list, but I just think BöC deserves it

Nice. All good ones.

Judas Priest...Killing Machine (aka Hell Bent For Leather)
AC/DC...Powerage
Nazareth...Hair Of The Dog
Kiss...Rock N Roll Over
Sweet...Desolation Blvd.
April Wine..First Glance
Pat Travers....heat In The Street
Van Halen...Van Halen
Aerosmith...Rocks
Foreigner...Double Vision

Captain Beyond-S/T
Thin Lizzy-Johnny The Fox
Budgie-S/T
Black Sabbath-Master Of Reality
Rainbow-Rising
AC/DC-Let There Be Rock (This was tough to choose between my 3 fave AC/DC. The others being the next 2 studio albums but since LTBR is the heaviest one I went with that).
Kiss-Rock And Roll Over
Motorhead-Overkill
Aerosmith-Rocks
Deep Purple-Machine Head


Almost went with (among many others):
Lucifer's Friend-S/T
Nazareth-Hair Of The Dog; but due to burnout I didn't.

No order......
 
Sabbath-Volume IV 
Van Halen-S/T
Accept-S/T
Electric Sun-Earthquake
Rainbow-Rising
Saxon-S/T
Scorpions-Lovedrive
UFO-Strangers In The Night
KISS-Alive
TKO-Let It Roll/AC-DC-Let There Be Rock (tie)
 
Honorable mention, the song "In-a-gadda-da-vida" (album side) by Iron Butterfly

1-The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Electric Ladyland
2- The Doors-s/t
3-AC/DC- Highway to Hell
4- Sex Pistols-Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
5- Deep Purple- Made In Japan
6- Black Sabbath- Vol 4
7- Judas Priest- Sad Wings of Destiny
8- Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti
9- Aerosmith- Rocks
10- Alice Cooper- Killer

No order...

1. Boston - Boston
2. Van Halen - 1
3. Styx - The Grand Illusion
4. Kiss - Destroyer
5. Deep Purple - Machine Head
6. AC/DC - Highway to Hell
7. Led Zeppelin - 4
8. Foreigner - Foreigner
9. Rainbow - Rising
10. Scorpions - Lovedrive

Some great albums mentioned - I need to think about my list!

top artist not albums :/ cant pick one.

KiSS - all 'till '79
Alice Cooper - 1st 2, WtmN, From the Inside
The Doors - LA Woman
VH - I
Sabbath - 1st 4 albums
Zeppelin - 1-4
AcDc - high voltage, HtH
Deep Purple - in rock, machine, stormbringer
Aerosmith - debut, rocks, toys
Ted Nugent - debut, cat, free 4 all

Some great stuff listed. A few surprises. I never thought I'd see Styx or The Doors in a discussion like this, but those are good albums by those bands nonetheless.

This is an impossible question for me to answer.

Alphabetical:

AC/DC: Highway to Hell
Aerosmith: Rocks
Black Sabbath: Master of Reality
Deep Purple: In Rock
Judas Priest: Stained Class
Kiss: Rock and Roll Over
Led Zeppelin: IV
Rainbow: Long Live Rock n Roll
Rush: Hemispheres
Van Halen: Van Halen

KISS - Alive
Judas Priest - Unleashed In The East
UFO - Strangers In The Night
Van Halen - 1
Rainbow - Rising
Deep Purple - In Rock
AC/DC - H2H
Sabbath - Paranoid
Scorps - Taken By Force

AC/DC - Highway to Hell (nearly went Powerage)
Motorhead - Overkill
UFO - Phenomenon
Scorpions - Tokyo Tapes
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Whitesnake - Trouble
Rainbow - Long Live Rock and Roll
Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
Judas Priest - Stained Class
Iron Claw - Iron Claw
Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

I know that's 11 but I compiled my 10 and then realised I had missed Sabbath!!   

I then thought about who to remove and realised that I didn't want to   

There are a ton I've missed, the seventies were awesome!

Black Sabbath - s/t
Deep Purple - Made in Japan
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Judas Priest - Sin After Sin
VH - s/t
UFO - Strangers in the Night
Kiss - s/t
Rush - 2112
Led Zep - IV
Aerosmith - Rocks
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow
Uriah Heep - Look at Yourself
Motorhead - Overkill
Scorpions - Taken by Force
Boston - s/t
BOC - Agents of Fortune
Alice Cooper - Love it to Death (my personal favorite)
Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Budgie - Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
Yes - Tales from the Topographic Oceans
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
Riot - Rock City
Nazareth - Hair of the Dog
Angel - Helluva Band
Montrose - s/t
Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps (can easily be called hard rock, at least side B)

I TOLD YOU THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

Nice inclusion of Angel. I almost included them in my list, as well as Starz, but I thought it might start the old "that's not heavy metal" discussion.

Nobody listed Blue Cheer.

ultmetal wrote:

Nobody listed Blue Cheer.

I did!   

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Van Halen - Van Halen
Kansas - Point Of Know Return
Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
Boston - Boston
Led Zeppelin - IV
Rainbow - Rising
AC/DC - Highway To Hell
Alice Cooper - Love It To Death
Scorpions - Lovedrive

ultmetal wrote:

Nice inclusion of Angel. I almost included them in my list, as well as Starz, but I thought it might start the old "that's not heavy metal" discussion.

Nobody listed Blue Cheer.

I had them on my initial list of about 20 and went with another band when narrowing down to 10.  I forgot Priest somehow ?    I had Sir Lord Baltimore, Bloodrock, and MC5 too.

Good call on those three James.

What really surprises me is that I'm the only one with any early Whitesnake on their list.

Kiss - Alive!
Cheap Trick - At Budakon
UFO - Strangers in the Night
Thin Lizzy - Live & Dangerous
Deep Purple - Burn
Starz - S/T
Angel - White Hot
Foreigner - Double Vision
Journey Evolution
Foghat - Live

corplhicks wrote:

Good call on those three James.

Not many left to choose after your list