Favorite album from each year of your life (*so far*)

Saw this on another forum I frequent and thought it was a fun idea for a thread. Very simply, list your favorite album release for each year that you've been alive.

If you don't own or aren't familiar with any albums released in a particular year, feel free to skip it and move on to the next year.

Here's mine, I was born in 1970:

1970: Black Sabbath, Paranoid
1971: The Doors, L.A. Woman
1972: Black Sabbath, Vol. 4
1973: Aerosmith, self titled
1974: KISS, self titled
1975: Aerosmith, Toys In The Attic
1976: Ramones, self titled
1977: AC/DC, Let There Be Rock
1978: Judas Priest, Stained Class
1979: Motorhead, Overkill
1980: Def Leppard, On Through The Night
1981: Van Halen, Fair Warning
1982: Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast
1983: Metallica, Kill'Em All
1984: W.A.S.P., self titled
1985: Anthrax, Spreading The Disease
1986: Metallica, Master of Puppets
1987: Dokken, Back For The Attack
1988: Barren Cross, Atomic Arena
1989: Deliverance, self-titled
1990: Scatterbrain, Here Comes Trouble
1991: Savatage, Streets: A Rock Opera
1992: Warrior Soul, Salutations From The Ghetto Nation
1993: Fight, War Of Words
1994: Mercyful Fate, Time
1995: Dokken, Dysfunctional
1996: Kiss, MTV Unplugged
1997: Bruce Dickinson, Accident of Birth
1998: Iced Earth, Something Wicked This Way Comes
1999: Gamma Ray, PowerPlant
2000: Halford, Resurrection
2001: Jag Panzer, Mechanized Warfare
2002: Dio, Killing the Dragon
2003: Tad Morose, Modus Vivendi
2004: Iced Earth, The Glorious Burden
2005: Nevermore, This Godless Endeavor
2006: Skid Row, Revolutions Per Minute
2007: Scorpions, Humanity: Hour I
2008: Bad Biscut, We Still Believe The Hype
2009: Megadeth, Endgame
2010: Accept, Blood Of The Nations
2011: Anthrax, Worship Music
2012: Rush, Clockwork Angels
2013: Newsted, Heavy Metal Music
2014: Prong, Ruining Lives
2015: Stryper, Fallen
2016: Metal Church, XI
2017: Overkill, The Grinding Wheel
2018: Judas Priest, Firepower

I will have think about this, but will participate

manny wrote:

I will have think about this, but will participate

Same here. It's a cool idea, just gonna take me some time to put it all together.

Wow, this is not easy. I wish I was younger!

Fat Freddy wrote:

1988: Barren Cross, Atomic Arena

Such a seminal year in heavy metal and you picked an album I have never heard!

Lari wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

1988: Barren Cross, Atomic Arena

Such a seminal year in heavy metal and you picked an album I have never heard!

Yeah, it's kind of a dark horse pick.

Seriously, there were at least fifty albums released in 1988 that I could've chosen, but I still listen to that one on an almost-weekly basis even after all these years, so that's why I went with it.

1980 Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
A great year for metal. Too bad I can't remember it! The title track here is still my favourite Sabbath tune.

1981 Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin
A tight race here - I could have gone with Mob Rules as well, but I feel this one wins. At least today. Veteran of the Psychic Wars vs Sign of the Southern Cross.

1982 Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Maiden vs Priest round one and Maiden wins out not in small part because of Hallowed Be Thy Name.

1983 Dio - Holy Diver
Quite easy. This could be my favourite heavy metal album of all time. Metallica's best album was released in 1983, too, but this list is not for second bests.

1984 Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
Maiden vs Priest round two and this is the best Judas Priest album of them all. Don't tempt the blade!

1985 Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
Just one of those albums where everything falls into place. Gung-Ho, Medusa and a bunch of the other songs are just what I imagine when I think of perfection. Sorry Dokken. You unchained the night in 1985, but I guess in the (livin') end it all just 'slipped away'.

1986 Slayer - Reign in Blood
It's not every day you need to contemplate between Cinderella vs Slayer, but that's exactly what was going through my mind here! Slayer wins on nostalgia because this album was the soundtrack to my late teens.

1987 Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
I start school, and unbeknownst to me, while I'm bringing an apple to the teacher, Savatage releases this record that I will later call perfection in power metal. 'Devastation' is still the song that I think of when I'm trying to place my taste in music into the music map with one single song. It's not the greatest song ever, but it best describes what I like. And the guitar tone is to die for.

1988 Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
I feel guilty for not including any Helloween on my list, but it's not my fault they release their two best albums opposite to two magnus opuses like 1987's Mountain King and now Queensryche's Mindcrime. This album is powerful, captivating and... musical. So many great songs to sing along to.

1989 Savatage - Gutter Ballet
This was the hardest, BY FAR, the hardest choice. But that title track draws me in. And Hounds. And Of Rage and War. What a wonderful album. I must play it now and continue with this list later.

I will try and do 90's this weekend.

1990 Judas Priest - Painkiller
Two juggernauts of metal were released this year. There is an argument that Rust in Peace is the best thrash metal album ever made, but Painkiller is still a little closer to my heart. The band is on fire here, and they will never touch this one again. Brighter than a thousand suns!

1991 Iced Earth - Night of the Stormrider
The best Iced Earth album, combining thrash and power metal, coming up with the best of both worlds. For me, this is a top 5 album of all time. Travel in Stygian is an epic riff-fest.

1992 Dream Theater - Images and Words
They broke onto the scene with this, and it's still their best and most well-known album. I'm not a huge prog metal fan, but I can't deny it has some of the most incredible songs and performances.

1993
The hardest year to pick a single winner. There are no all-time classics released in 1993, but there's a lot of solid real good albums that I fancy. To help with this, I checked my https://rateyourmusic.com/collection/Larmer28/strm_relyear,ss.rd/1993 and it's a fourway tie there, too. 4.5 stars go to four different albums. Press a gun to my head and I'll pick Axxis - The Big Thrill. A great sounding CD from one of my top favourite bands. Rage released the Missing Link in 1993, and they also deserve to be mentioned among the best bands of the 90's. What were the other two? Tarot and Skyclad, but Skyclad gets 1994 anyway:

1994 Skyclad - Prince of the Poverty Line
Skyclad enters IMO their best era, releasing three winners one after another, starting with this, their single best album. Heavy, catchy, folky and enough aggression remains from the earlier, rougher albums.

1995 Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side
Probably my favourite album of all time, by any band. The title track is a wonderful tribute to escapism.

1996 Impellitteri - Screaming Symphony
I could have gone a couple of different ways with this, but I settled with one of Impellitteri's finest. Fast, intricate, infectious and with Rob Rock to top it off. Rat Race is a song that is not only awesome but has lyrics that I can easily go along with.

1997 Savatage - The Wake of Magellan
It gets weird here, because "Magellan" was released in 1997 in Europe and 1998 in the US. It would top both lists for me. It's just an all-time favourite of mine. I'm European, so I'll go with 1997. Accident of Birth by Bruce Dickinson gets bumped down because of this.

1998 Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
The last truly great Guardian album, with a collection of some of their best songs. Time Stands Still is a massive bombastic song, and a personal favourite. Some people hate the interludes on this CD. I don't mind them. The spoken parts are actually done well, and help with the immersion.

1999 Gamma Ray - Power Plant
I was always a big Gamma Ray fan, and this has some of their best material. No lack of big choruses or catchy melodies here. Send Me a Sign and Heavy Metal Universe are probably two of their most well-known songs and live favourites, but I personally love Razorblade Sigh the most.

My life didn't end in 1999, so I'll try and do another decade this coming weekend.

You're making me look lazy for not doing capsule comments for each of my album picks

Fat Freddy wrote:

Lari wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

1988: Barren Cross, Atomic Arena

Such a seminal year in heavy metal and you picked an album I have never heard!

Yeah, it's kind of a dark horse pick.

Seriously, there were at least fifty albums released in 1988 that I could've chosen, but I still listen to that one on an almost-weekly basis even after all these years, so that's why I went with it.

That's a great one. I have it on cassette and signed by Mike Lee. I have been holding out for a reasonably priced CD for a long time

All right, Keith, I'll give it a whirl:

1974 - Kiss - S/T
1975 - Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
1976 - Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
1977 - Riot - Rock City
1978 - Van Halen - S/T
1979 - Van Halen -II
1980 - Iron Maiden - S/T
1981 - Ozzy - Diary of A Madman
1982 - Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance
1983 - Dio - Holy Diver
1984 - Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith (This was a tough year to choose)
1985 - Savatage - Power of the Night
1986 - Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian
1987 - Anthrax - Among the Living/ Whitesnake - 1987 (really can't choose)
1988 - Metallica - ...And Justice For All
1989 - Badlands - Badlands
1990 - Judas Priest - Painkiller
1991 - Overkill - Horrorscope
1992 - Dream Theater - Images and Words
1993 - Fight - War of Words
1994 - Savatage - Handful of Rain
1995 - Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
1996 - Rush - Test for Echo
1997 - Sevendust - Sevendust/ Yngwie - Facing the Animal
1998 - Helloween - Better than Raw
1999 - Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
2000 - Iron Maiden - Brave New World/ Fates Warning - Disconnected (Played the Crap out of both)
2001 - Racer X - Superheroes
2002 - Primal Fear - Black Sun
2003 - Maiden - Dance of Death/ Anthrax - WCFYA
2004 - Saxon - Lionheart
2005 - Judas Priest - Angel of Retribution
2006 - Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage
2007 - Saxon - Inner Sanctum
2008 - Whitesnake - Good to Be Bad
2009 - WASP - Babylon
2010 - Accept - Blood of the Nations
2011 - Anthrax - Worship Music/ Riot - Immortal Soul
2012 - Jorn - Bring Heavy Rock to the Land
2013 - Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
2014 - Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls/ Riot V - Unleash the Fire
2015 - Raven - ExtermiNation
2016 - Metal Church - XI
2017 - L.A. Guns - The Missing Peace
2018 - Judas Priest - Firepower
2019 - Overkill? Iron Savior? Whitesnake? Don't know yet.

Boy, this took over an hour to complete. Not easy, Had to leave off a lot of faves (especially in the mid to late 1980's and a few recent years that were strong like 2012 and 2014.

Well I was born in 1968 and I don't own anything from that year or 1969, so I'll start with :

1970 : Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971 : Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
1972 : Black Sabbath - Volume 4
1973 : Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1974 : KISS - KISS
1975 : KISS - Dressed To Kill
1976 : KISS - Destroyer
1977 : Blue Oyster Cult - Spectres
1978 : Van Halen - Van Halen
1979 : Scorpions - Lovedrive
1980 : Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
1981 : Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
1982 : KISS - Creatures Of The Night
1983 : Black Sabbath - Born Again
1984 : Metal Church - Metal Church (TOUGH YEAR)
1985 : Loudness - Thunder In The East
1986 : Flotsam & Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver
1987 : Overkill - Taking Over (ANOTHER TOUGH YEAR)
1988 : Angel Dust - To Dust You Will Decay
1989 : Reverend - Reverend
1990 : Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black
1991 : Metal Church - The Human Factor
1992 : KISS - Revenge
1993 : Metal Church - Hanging In The Balance
1994 : Vicious Rumors - Word Of Mouth
1995 : Stratovarius - Fourth Dimension
1996 : Overkill - The Killing Kind
1997 : Steel Prophet - Into The Void
1998 : Metallica - Garage Inc.
1999 : Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black
2000 : Halford - Resurrection
2001 : Flotsam & Jetsam - My God
2002 : Dio - Killing The Dragon
2003 : Rage - Soundchaser
2004 : Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden
2005 : Brainstorm - Liquid Monster
2006 : Vicious Rumors - Warball
2007 : Helloween - Gambling With The Devil
2008 : Testament - The Formation Of Damnation
2009 : Artillery - When Death Comes
2010 : Overkill - Ironbound
2011 : Vicious Rumors - Razorback Killers
2012 : Overkill - The Electric Age
2013 : Death Angel - The Dream Calls For Blood
2014 : Overkill - White Devil Armory
2015 : Armored Saint - Win Hands Down
2016 : Metal Church - XI
2017 : Overkill - The Grinding Wheel
2018 : Loudness - Rise To Glory

Quote :

1984 - Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith (This was a tough year to choose)

Quote :

1984 : Metal Church - Metal Church (TOUGH YEAR)

1984 was one of the best years ever for hard rock/metal, for sure. I had the same problem deciding a pick for that year, there were at least three dozen albums that deserved it.

007 wrote:

Well I was born in 1968 and I don't own anything from that year or 1969

LED ZEPPELIN!?!

Probably their best album was released that year.

Lari wrote:

007 wrote:

Well I was born in 1968 and I don't own anything from that year or 1969

LED ZEPPELIN!?!

Probably their best album was released that year.

Yeah I used to own that on cassette but got rid of it years ago. I considered listing it but I stuck with what I own. Maybe I'll reacquire them some day but there's too much else out there I'd rather get first.

007 wrote:

1988 : Angel Dust - To Dust You Will Decay

Of everything listed so far, I find this to be the most out of left field. Now explain why it's better than Operation Mindcrime, Seventh Son, Justice and Keeper pt.2? And Thundersteel, New Order, Perfect Man, Long Cold Winter etc etc

Mind you, I do like it and consider myself a big Angel Dust fan. It's just not that much of a legendary classic to warrant #1 spot, or even close.

No explanation needed. It's the one I enjoy the most out of what I own.

Hmmm...first part's gonna be easy...

1980: VH, Women and Children First
1981: VH, Fair Warning (runner-up: Diary of a Madman)
1982: VH, Diver Down (first VH album I was fully exposed to, made a mark)
1983: Iron Maiden, Piece of Mind
1984: Metal Church (was never very fond of most of VH's 1984)
1985: Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy
1986: VH, 5150 (this whole album was like the theme music to my high school years)
1987: Savatage, Hall of the Mountain King
1988: Dokken, Beast from the East
1989: Skid Row, s/t
1990: Rust in Peace. I mean Painkiller. I mean Rust in Peace. I mean Painkiller. I mean Vicious Rumors. Shit...
1991: VH, F.U.C.K. (tough one because runner up is Slave to the Grind)
1992: Dream Theater, Images & Words
1993, the years things began to get murky: VH, Live Right Here Right Now
1994: Dream Theater, Awake
1995: Iced Earth, Burnt Offerings
1996: What a horrible year, I guess I could write in Test for Echo, but it was never much of a favorite of mine.
1997: Sevendust s/t
1998: Death, Sound of Perseverance
1999: Dream Theater, Scenes from a Memory
2000: Iron Maiden, Brave New World
2001: Opeth, Blackwater Park
2002: HammerfFall, Crimson Thunder
2003: Arch Enemy, Anthems of Rebellion
2004: Slipknot, Vol. 3
2005: This seemed to be a rather decent year. I'd say Opeth, Ghost Reveries for sure.
2006: Sodom s/t
2007: Opeth, Roundhouse Tapes
2008: Opeth, Watershed (can't get enough of this album, it's so fucking off-the-wall)
2009: Heathen, Evolution of Chaos
2010: Accept, Blood of the Nations
2011: Opeth, Heritage
2012: Overkill, Electric Age
2013: Metal Church, Generation Nothing
2014: Kind of a weird year, I'd have to say Opeth - Pale Communion, although I've worn that album out something awful.
2015: Steven Wilson, Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2016: Metal Church, XI
2017: Unleash the Archers, Apex
2018: Judas Priest, Firepower

That was fun but man did it get a little depressing from the 90's on...