The ranking of the best metal albums for every year of the '80s and the best tracks, according to Loudwire

A crucial decade for metal: the 80s. Loudwire magazine has decided to dedicate an in-depth feature to it, with a double ranking of the best albums and best songs of every year of the decade. "Going year by year through the most iconic decade in heavy metal history, the 1980s, we picked not just the best album of each year, but also the best song," the magazine points out. "In some cases, the year's best metal song actually came from that year's best album, despite competition from other timeless classics. Of course, the notion of 'best' is entirely subjective. That's why the selection takes several factors into account: sales, chart performance, popularity in concert, critical and audience consensus, and significance relative to what other bands were doing at the same time. While there's no universal criterion for determining the greatness of an album or a song, many of the choices presented here are hard to dispute. Taken together, they also trace the evolution of heavy metal through the 1980s — excluding hair metal, which in this case is considered part of hard rock — from the definition of classic metal all the way to the birth of subgenres like progressive metal, thrash and death metal."

So here are Loudwire's two rankings dedicated to the best metal albums and best metal songs of the 80s (full feature here).

Best metal albums of the 80s (one per year)

• Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell (1980)
• Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman (1981)
• Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast (1982)
• Dio – Holy Diver (1983)
• Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984)
• Exodus – Bonded By Blood (1985)
• Metallica – Master Of Puppets (1986)
• King Diamond – Abigail (1987)
• Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
• Morbid Angel – Altars of Madness (1989)

Best Songs of Every Year (One Per Year)

• Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train (Blizzard of Ozz, 1980)
• Iron Maiden – Wrathchild (Killers, 1981)
• Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name (The Number of the Beast, 1982)
• Dio – Holy Diver (Holy Diver, 1983)
• Metallica – Creeping Death (Ride the Lightning, 1984)
• Exodus – Strike of the Beast (Bonded by Blood, 1985)
• Slayer – Angel of Death (Reign in Blood, 1986)
• Death – Zombie Ritual (Scream Bloody Gore, 1987)
• Metallica – One (…And Justice for All, 1988)
• Morbid Angel – Chapel of Ghouls (Altars of Madness, 1989)

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