Top 25

Pretty explanatory title and description. After 30+ years as a music fan I have been pondering this for awhile now; and every time I think I have my 25, I have to think again; so I am going to go 5 at a time.

1.) Judas Priest:
I had liked Priest since around '86 or so when a friend got me into them. At the time I was also a huge Maiden fan as well as the heavier stuff like Metallica and Megadeth, and the lighter stuff like Dokken, Ratt, and Whitesnake. 1987 was a huge year for me where I stopped purchasing anything other than Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. But then Painkiller was released and it went up a notch. I remember jogging the High School track with my Walkman and Painkiller just booming into my brain meat. Every morning on the bus for about 3 months straight it was the same deal.


2.)Iron Maiden:
I remember seeing the video for "Run to the Hills" on the Headbangers Ball and just loved the twin guitar attack. A few weeks later I was at a classmates birthday party and he got "Piece of Mind" as a gift and wasn't really digging it, so he traded it to me a week or two later and that was the beginning of following the mighty Maiden. Of course, the collecting of the back catalog and subsequent releases ensued and here we are some 25 plus years later.


3.) Deep Purple:
My Uncle played them in his van on 8 track was when I was young. I still can't get the opening riff to "Smoke" out of my head.
Simply put, they are one of the greatest bands of all time and pioneers of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. I love all their line ups as each is distinctly it's own Mark but still retains the emblem of Deep Purple. There is always something there for me no matter what mood I am in. And they still amaze me to this day.


4.)Whitesnake:
I knew of David Coverdale b/c of DP but when I saw the video for "Still of the Night" it was on! I quickly (well, as quick as my part time job money would allow) picked up as much of the back catalog as I could and just soaked it all in. In my humble opine, the 'Snake boast one of the best comeback albums in 2008's "Good to be Bad" and an equally awesome follow up offering "Forevermore" from 2011. Like the band before them on this list, I love all eras and lineups and almost all albums. The only album I don't play much is 2000's DC solo "Into the Light"


5.)Van Halen
For most of the Eighties they held the top spot. They are definitely the band I have listened to the longest; going back to getting a hand me down 8 track of VHII in the early eighties. I remember art class in 4th grade we got to use glitter pens and glue to make t shirts and I made my own Van Halen shirt with the logo on the front and song titles from 1984 on the back. Ah, good times. I just couldn't get enough of the guitar pyrotechnics. They were my generations Led Zeppelin where all four members were amazing in their own right and each was an integral and irreplaceable part of the band.


Well, there's the first 5. What have you got, HoM?

1. Megadeth
2. Toxik
3. Annihilator
4. Tourniquet
5. Voivod
6. Coroner
7. Anacrusis
8. Nevermore
9. Vektor
10. Metallica
11. Exodus
12. Anthrax
13. Overkill
14. Flotsam and Jetsam
15. Death Angel
16. Absu
17. Deceased
18. Heathen
19. Intruder
20. Sodom
21. Kreator
22. HeXeN
23. Suicidal Tendencies
24. D.R.I.
25. Toxic Holocaust

Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Jethro Tull
The Doors
Metallica
Megadeth
Death
KISS
AC/DC
Morbid Angel
Darkthrone
Toxic Holocaust
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Autopsy
Slayer
Overkill
Motorhead
Cathedral
The Beatles
Buddy Holly
Celtic Frost
Ozzy Osbourne
Dio
Sepultura

I'm assuming, since this was posted in the Metal section, that this list should just be metal/hard rock bands, otherwise I'd have Jethro Tull and Genesis in my Top 5.

My Metal/Hard Rock Top 25

1. KISS
2. Running Wild
3. Saxon
4. Judas Priest
5. Iron Maiden
6. Accept
7. Ozzy Osbourne
8. Metal Church
9. W.A.S.P.
10. Rainbow
11. Dio
12. Black Sabbath
13. Cirith Ungol
14. Loudness
15. Metallica
16. Def Leppard
17. RATT
18. Kreator
19. Lizzy Borden
20. Testament
21. Nuclear Assault
22. Witchfynde
23. Armored Saint
24. Quartz
25. Jameson Raid (this band probably didn't have enough output to warrant a Top 25 spot, but the songs I have I just love, so I'm putting them here)

1 Bob Marley and the Wailers
2 Saxon
3 King's X
4 Helix
5 Black Flag
6 Metallica
7 Loudness
8 Jellyfish
9 Circle Jerks
10 Orange Sky
11 TNT
12 AC/DC
13 S.O.D.
14 Dio
15 King Kobra
16 WASP
17 The Replacements
18 Anthrax
19 Cryptic Slaughter
20 Judas Priest
21 Whitesnake
22 Rough Cutt
23 Midnight Oil
24 Tokyo Blade
25 Eric Sardinas and Big Motor

Black Sabbath
The Pixies
The Beatles
Joy Division
The Sex Pistols
Dead Kenedeys
Motorhead
Rainbow
AC/DC
Celtic Frost
Tangerine Dream
Depeche Mode
Metallica
Judas Priest
Slayer
The Pet Shop Boys
The Sisters of Mercy
Kreator
The Rolling Stones
Boards of Canada
Throwing Muses
Abba
Iron Maiden
Megadeth
Voivod

Black Sabbath are No 1 the rest are in no particular order, subject to change.

I always find it hard to compare bands with 20+ albums to bands that are still active and only have 2 or 3. I guess longevity is a plus, but it's really hard to balance things right. A lot of project-bands like Star One or Hollow are among my top favourites, but with only 2 albums... I didn't think they belonged.

The top three are in a tier of their own. Order might vary, but I'll go with this for now:

1. Judas Priest
2. Iron Maiden
3. Savatage

Then there's a group of top favourites with large back catalogues:

4. Dio
5. Axxis
6. Helloween
7. Iced Earth
8. Blind Guardian
9. Mystic Prophecy

The next bunch are also easily included among my favourites. Just tough to place them in order, but this is what I came up with:

10. Rage
11. Impellitteri
12. Gamma Ray
13. Skyclad
14. Pink Cream 69
15. Saxon
16. Black Sabbath

Completing my PC69, Saxon and Skyclad discographies have kept them high up on my list.
Next up a couple of bands with either smaller catalogues (or not as many albums I love, and I'm actually not familiar with UFO sans Michael Schenker):

17. Angel Dust
18. UFO
19. Blaze (Bayley)
20. Nightwish

Then it's the truly difficult choices. Could have continued the list, but I hammered down the final five:

21. Testament
22. Chris Caffery
23. Dokken
24. Annihilator
25. Rainbow

I only like the Dio-era Rainbow, and it didn't feel right to pick them over Uriah Heep for instance. But it's my list, and I love 70s Rainbow, and they belong.

Caffery's solo is just perfect music to my taste.

AC/DC
Scorpions
Judas Priest
Dokken
Motley Crue
Kick Axe
Saxon
Jorn
Hammerfall
Black N Blue
Ratt
W.A.S.P.
Keel
Helix
Joan Jett
Rush
Jaguar
Grim Reaper
Sweet
Kiss
April Wine
Riot
Billy Squire
Black Sabbath (Dio Era..includes heaven and hell releases)
Lita Ford....
...................
Outside of metal/hard rock..
Missing Persons
Donnie Iris
Nick Gilder
Buddy Holly
Elvis Presley
New Order
U2
Simple Minds

Pretty tough to determine...and a lot of bands that once would've been on this list probably aren't now, as I've been losing interest in metal as the years go on. So bands like Exodus, Sepultura, Anthrax, W.A.S.P., Hammerfall, etc., that I once swore by and listened to non stop...they don't get listened to much at all now. So I don't know if I could still include them. But here are some of my favorites, still:

Alice Cooper
Pretty Boy Floyd
Ramones
T. Rex
Metallica
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Rolling Stones
Black Sabbath
KISS
The Who
Neil Young (although it's like 50/50 because I LOVE his electric/angry guitar stuff, but I am not as into his slower stuff)
Joan Jett
Cheap Trick (but I really only love their first 5 or so albums)
Manowar

I've never even attempted to put my favorites in any sort of order, so here's a bunch in order of how I thought of them...
Aerosmith
Ted Nugent
Thin Lizzy
Kiss
Judas Priest
Motorhead
UFO
Molly Hatchet
Overkill
Nevermore/Sanctuary
Mortification
Stryper
Deliverance
Iron Maiden
Yes
Genesis
Nektar
Grave Digger
Alice Cooper
Annihilator
Saxon
Frank Marino
Robin Trower
Deep Purple
Gillan
Rainbow
Dio
Twisted Sister
Raven
Dark Angel
Hammerfall
King's X
Scorpions
Gary Moore

Really tough to do, but the ones at the top are firmly cemented in place.

1. HammerFall
2. Alice Cooper
3. Metallica
4. Edguy
5. Iron Maiden
6. Kreator
7. Avantasia
8. Slayer
9. Death
10. Judas Priest
11. Dragonforce
12. Manowar
13. Cannibal Corpse
14. Lost Horizon
15. Motorhead
16. Megadeth
17. Overkill
18. Helloween
19. Gamma Ray
20. Savatage
21. Stratovarius
22. Blind Guardian
23. Destruction
24. Exodus
25. Primal Fear

Quite a few bands miss out because their discography isn't big enough/consistent enough yet. Also, most of the bands outside the top 10 are interchangeable in position. I'm fortunate enough that there are only 4 of these bands I haven't seen live (Metallica, Death, Lost Horizon, Manowar), and 2 of those are impossible now.

Lari wrote:

I always find it hard to compare bands with 20+ albums to bands that are still active and only have 2 or 3. I guess longevity is a plus, but it's really hard to balance things right. A lot of project-bands like Star One or Hollow are among my top favourites, but with only 2 albums... I didn't think they belonged.

The top three are in a tier of their own. Order might vary, but I'll go with this for now:

1. Judas Priest
2. Iron Maiden
3. Savatage

Then there's a group of top favourites with large back catalogues:

4. Dio
5. Axxis
6. Helloween
7. Iced Earth
8. Blind Guardian
9. Mystic Prophecy

The next bunch are also easily included among my favourites. Just tough to place them in order, but this is what I came up with:

10. Rage
11. Impellitteri
12. Gamma Ray
13. Skyclad
14. Pink Cream 69
15. Saxon
16. Black Sabbath

Completing my PC69, Saxon and Skyclad discographies have kept them high up on my list.
Next up a couple of bands with either smaller catalogues (or not as many albums I love, and I'm actually not familiar with UFO sans Michael Schenker):

17. Angel Dust
18. UFO
19. Blaze (Bayley)
20. Nightwish

Then it's the truly difficult choices. Could have continued the list, but I hammered down the final five:

21. Testament
22. Chris Caffery
23. Dokken
24. Annihilator
25. Rainbow

I only like the Dio-era Rainbow, and it didn't feel right to pick them over Uriah Heep for instance. But it's my list, and I love 70s Rainbow, and they belong.

Caffery's solo is just perfect music to my taste.

Very well done, sir!!! I like how you categorized them with explanations. It's hard to pick only 25 out of the hundred plus bands we all own albums from so I had to go by what I still listen to the most and not just defaulting to a certain artist or group based on sentimentality.

6.) Dokken:
From probably 1985 to 1987, these guys were my favorite band. I couldn't get enough of the first 4 Dokken albums and then the crowning achievement in "Beast from the East" put me over the edge. I remember Saturdays at the mall with my jean jacket sporting my "Back for the Attack" back patch and the Dokken logo above it. (Iron Maiden logo ran along the bottom) I still listen to these guys today and eagerly anticipate Dokken (and Lynch Mob) put out: and other than "Shadowlife" and "Smoke This" I am rarely disappointed.

7.)Anthrax:
"I'm the man. I'm the man, I'm so bad I should be in detention" sung over a metal riff of Hava Nagila was all it took. A classmate dubbed me a copy of the EP and Anthrax were on my radar. I must have listened to this song, the Sabbath cover, and the 2 live tracks a hundred times back in the 80's. I backtracked and got "Among the Living" and then "Spreading the Disease" and then they followed it up with 2 more amazing offerings. I always liked them the most of the major thrash bands because they had the chops and a great sense of humor. Plus, Joey Belladonna's vocals were awesome; you could hear what he was saying b/c he was singing and not wasn't shouting at you- great cuz Anhrax lyrics had a good message to get across. I am hoping for a great follow up to "Worship Music" sometime soon.

8.)Dio:
Arguably the "greatest" Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal vocalist ever. The man fronted two of HR&HM's most iconic bands and had a stellar solo career. I don't think anyone here needs an explanation on why this guy is in my top ten.

9.) Saxon:
I didn't really become a fan of these guys until I found Ult's site around 2005/06? I knew the hits but never got deep into the catalog. Well, I scored a used copy of "Lionheart" and was just blown away. These guys just kill it! Album after album they have been on a tear since 1997's "Unleash the Beast" and no era of the band disappoints me at all. I have over 30 Saxon studio albums and live albums in my collection and weekly search the web for more.

10.) Fates Warning:
A junior high friend ordered "No Exit" on cassette out of a magazine and hated it. I borrowed it and then bought it from him. Ha. Ray Alder's vocals were awesome and just captivated me. I had never heard heavy music like this with such staccato rhythms and time changes and I wanted more. I acquired the next few albums and then found the first 3 with John Arch and loved it even more.

Well, there it is- the top 10! Tune in tomorrow true believers for 5 more.

KISS
Black Sabbath
Thin Lizzy
Iron Maiden
King's X
Kyuss
Judas Priest
Mastodon
Armored Saint
Saxon
Nevermore
Alice Cooper
Dio
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Enslaved
Solace
Katatonia
The Beatles
Metallica
Scorpions
Motorhead
Death
Cheap Trick
WASP
Anthrax

the sentinel wrote:

Very well done, sir!!! I like how you categorized them with explanations. It's hard to pick only 25 out of the hundred plus bands we all own albums from so I had to go by what I still listen to the most and not just defaulting to a certain artist or group based on sentimentality.

Dokken, Testament and Annihilator are among my top favourites, and I kind of felt bad for them falling that far down on my list.

But not as bad as for those bands I left out completely. That's why the 20-25 lot is the hardest. There's bands I own ten or more albums of and don't make the cut. You're not thinking of who you like, you're thinking of who you're leaving out.

I'm not going to rank these in order because they constantly shift position in my head anyway.  

For "all-time" lists I tend to only include artists I've been listening to for a least a decade or longer.  

Pink Floyd
Black Sabbath
Jethro Tull
Rush
Jimi Hendrix
Yes
Led Zeppelin
King Crimson
Deep Purple
Steely Dan
Iron Maiden
Robin Trower
Thin Lizzy
Queen
Judas Priest
Electric Light Orchestra
Trouble
Motorhead
Supertramp
Van Halen
Genesis
The Beatles
Slayer
King's X
The Doors

Just noticed 17 of those are from the UK.

AC/DC
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Scorpions
Def Leppard (for the first four albums alone)
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Doors
Metallica (for the first four albums alone)
Megadeth
Helloween
Van Halen
Accept
Nightwish
Rush
Queen
Saxon
Slayer
Sirenia
Lacuna Coil
Venom
Sepultura
Edguy
W.A.S.P
U2

These are in no particular order, just how they popped into my head

KISS
Metal Church
Overkill
Flotsam & Jetsam
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Rage
Helloween
Megadeth
Metallica
Annihilator
Accept
Black Sabbath
Dio
W.A.S.P.
Testament
Anthrax
U.D.O.
Nevermore
Primal Fear
Death Angel
Laaz Rockit
Nuclear Assault
Agent Steel
Van Halen

11.) Riot - All eras and line ups are awesome with the Tony Moore albums being my favorites. Been a fan since I first got "Thundersteel" on cassette after seeing the video for Blood Streets on the Headbanger's Ball.

12.) Metal Church- My introduction was the "Blessing in Disguise" album and, like Riot, I love all eras. In my humble opine, I don't think these guys ever recorded a bad album.

13.) Savatage - I saw the vid for "Hall of the Mountain King" and couldn't get Criss Oliva's opening riff out of my head.

14.) Queensryche - If this were ten years ago, these guys would have still been in my top ten, but it's not and the last few albums with Tate have really taken a toll on this fanboy. However, I will always love most of the bands catalog and really like the direction the Todd Latorre fronted Queensryche are heading in.

15.) Accept - One of the premier bands in our genre. A fantastic band that is still cranking out some blistering Metal with Mark Tornillo at the mic.

In no particular order:

Overkill
Judas Priest
Kreator
Sodom
Exodus
Obituary
Death
Annihilator
Sacred Reich
Testament
Anacrusis
Helstar
United
Megadeth
Slayer
Outrage
Razor
Reverend
Tankard
Holy Terror
Vicious Rumors
Sabbat (UK)
Sacrifice (Can)
Intruder
Devastation

Those are the ones that occur to me off the top of the head.

I'm terrible with lists like these. Van Halen has always reigned top spot--that's all I'm sure of.

corplhicks wrote:

I'm terrible with lists like these. Van Halen has always reigned top spot--that's all I'm sure of.

Hey, man, when you know...you know.

16.) Helloween - A junior high friend dubbed me a copy of WASP's "Live in the Raw" and on the second side of the cassette was Keeper Pt.1. I was amazed and had no idea who the heck they were. Obviously, I found out and went out and grabbed the album and "Wallsof Jericho" and just immersed myself in it all. I got Keeper Pt. 2 as a new release and must have played the "I Want Out" EP a million times.

17.) Motorhead - "We are Motorhead and we play Rock and Roll!" Overkill is just awesome.

18.) AC/DC - No sentimental discovery story about them; they have just always been there and I have always been a fan.

19.) Rainbow - Best years are the Dio years but I relly like the Bonnet and JLT stuff a lot too. I have the whole discography and a couple of boots, and I hope to have the Deluxe Editions someday as there are some really cool obscure tracks to be found there.

20.) Thin Lizzy - This is a band I didn't delve too deeply into until the late 90's. I was getting bored with Progressive Rock/ Metal and my Hair Metal heroes from the 80's were either broken up or shells of their former selves. I started to look back at Classic Rock bands and look beyond the "hits" the radio was playing.

21.) Dream Theater - I heard Pull Me Under on local rock radio and had to get the album. I was getting bored with Hair Metal bands and was really spending most of my listeng time on Progressive Rock and Metal, so they came along at the perfect time. The "Images and Words" album ruled my Freshman year of college! It really was like nothing else I had ever heard up to that point. The only misstep to me is the "Falling Into Infinity" album as I have never really liked it.

22.) Megadeth - The "So Far" album ruled my summer of '88 as I have both fond and vivid memories of riding my bike with my Walkman at the beach house my parents would rent for a few weeks each summer.

23.) Metallica - I remember a kid bringing the "Kill 'em All" cassette to the lunch table in junior high and it was just so cool!

24.) Stryper - Being a life long Christian how could I not love these guys. They were never afraid to proudly proclaim what they believed and stand up for it. And they rocked too! The last few releases have been great and I am really looking forward to the new one next Friday.

25.) Joe Satriani - During the first few days of Freshman orientation in HS, one of the Seniors had the "Surfing with the Alien" cassette in his shirt pocket. I struck up a conversation and have been a fan of Professor Satch ever since. I have bought almost everything as a new release and can't recall ever being disappointed. The wife bought me an auto'd copy of his latest and hopefully I will get to see him in concert someday.

Well, there is my top 25. I tried to pick the order based on what I listen to the most and balance that with sentimentality. There were a lot of bands that were left out of the top 25 b/c I just don't listen to them as much as I once did (Black Sabbath. Kiss, Rush, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Ozzy, Y&T) and then some other bands that see a lot of spin time but barely missed the cut (HammerFall, Primal Fear, Blind Gaurdian, Gamma Ray, Crimson Glory) Man, this was tougher than I expected to whittle it down to only 25.

Lots of similar tastes here.