The Best Metal Album of Each Year of the 1980s

What’s the best metal album of each year of the 1980s? Let’s find out!

Building off the collective foundation laid by ’70s legends such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Scorpions, Led Zeppelin, The Who and many other hard-charging and heavy acts, metal is synonymous with the ’80s.

Known for flashy guitar work and the use of harmonized leads, pulse-pounding drummer, mostly higher register singing, speedy bass and thought-provoking lyrics, metal never got better than this era for some fans.

The beginning and the end of the decade sounded radically different with the development of thrash and the various extreme metal subgenres it helped inspire. On the other end of the spectrum, we had hair metal realizing the most commercial potential of heavy, riff-driven music.

READ MORE: The 12 Best Prog Metal Albums of the ’90s (Ranked)

Even in a 10-year period bursting with all-time heavy metal classics, there are some repeat bands and individual musicians in the list below. It even means the likes of some of metal’s most decorated icons don’t even appear once, which was just as shocking to us it will be to you. That’s just a testament to the impeccable quality of records that came out each year.

Below, join us as we start in 1980, going through the timeline of the best metal album of each year of the 1980s.

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