Top 10 albums of all time

My son challenged me to pick my top 10 favorite hard rock/heavy metal albums ever. It was a lot harder to do than I thought it would be. It was also kinda fun. Here’s my list, in order:
1. Dokken - Back for the Attack
2. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime
3. Blessed By A Broken Heart - Feel the Power
4. Mastedon - Lofcaudio
5. Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy
6. Whitecross - s/t
7. Joshua - Surrender
8. Theocracy - As The World Bleeds
9. Extreme - Pornograffitti
10. Slaughter - Stick It to Ya

Not easy but here's my attempt:

1. Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
2. Black Sabbath - Sabotage
3. Danzig III - How the Gods Kill
4. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks...
5. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
6. Led Zeppelin III
7. Alice Cooper - Love it to Death
8. Iron Maiden - Killers
9. Megadeth - So Far So Good...So What?
10. Motorhead - Ace of Spades

1.  AC/DC - Back In Black
2.  Alice Cooper - Constrictor
3.  Bride - Snakes In The Playground
4.  Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
5.  Mad At The World - Through The Forest
6.  Whitesnake - Whitesnake
7.  Red Sea - Blood
8.  Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
9.  Whitecross - Triumphant Return
10.  Saint - In The Battle

Extremely hard to do, but these are probably the top 3

1. Judas Priest - Painkiller
2. Metallica - ...And Justice For All
3. Manowar - Battle Hymns

here is a quick, not really thinking too hard about it list...
alphabetical order except HS is #1...

Vengeance - Human Sacrifice
Becoming The Archetype - Celestial Completion
Believer - Extraction From Mortality
Boston - Don't Look Back
Deliverance - Weapons Of Our Warfare
Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction
Megadeth - Rust In Peace
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
The Crucified - The Crucified
Tourniquet - Stop The Bleeding

As a disclaimer, I started a * Christian metal top tens* thread in the Christian metal forum part of this site just a few minutes ago and listed my top tens for Christian heavy metal, thrash metal, death metal, and (un)black metal. So i won't repeat those lists here.
My top tens of all time for just regular metal of all the subgenres. Well ROUGHLY top 10s(more or less 10-12- a bit more maybe)

Heavy Metal/Hair and glam metal.
Iron Maiden- Seventh Son of a Seventh son/Somewhere in time/Piece of mind (3 way tie)
Ozzy- The ultimate sin/No rest for the wicked (tie)
Judas Priest- Painkiller
Alice Cooper- Raise your fist and yell/Constrictor (tie)
W.A.S.P.- The last command/Inside the electric circus (tie)
Grim Reaper- Rock you to hell
Candlemass- Ancient Dreams (doom/heavy metal)
Motley Crue- Girls, girls, girls
Dio- Holy Diver/The last in line (tie)
AC/DC- Who made who
Ratt- Out of the cellar
Skid Row- S.R./Slave to the grind (tie)
Anvil- best of...

Industrial Metal.
Ministry- Keanayho(or however you spell/say it)...the one with NWO , scarecrow, psalm 69, jesus built my hotrod, etc.
Fear Factory(thrash metal/industrial crossover)- best of.../Obsolete/Demanufacture (tie)


Thrash metal.
Testament- The new order
Overkill- The years of decay
Forbidden- Forbidden Evil
Metallica- Kill em all/Ride the lightning/Master of Puppets/Garage days- second disc...especially the first 7 or 8 songs. (4 way tie)
Megadeth- Peace sells...but who's buying/Rust in peace (tie)
Slayer- Reign in blood/South of heaven (tie)
Death Angel- The Ultra-Violence
Sepultura- Beneath the remains/Arise (tie)
Kreator- Endless Pain/Pleasure to kill (tie)
Anthrax- Persistance of time/ Razor- Evil Invaders (tie)

Hardcore/thrash *crossover*.
Suicidal Tendencies, to hard to pick an album so I'll just go with their best of *Prime Cuts*

Death metal(my gave subgenre, have more albums from more bands than any other subgenre, hard to whittle down, but I shall try).
Cannibal Corpse- Butchered at birth/Tomb of the mutilated (tie)
Deicide- Decide/Legion (tie)
Obituary- Slowly we rot/Cause of death/The end complete (3 way tie)
Morbid Angel- Altars of madness/Covenant (tie)
Suffocation- Breeding the spawn/Pierced from within (tie)
Death- Scream bloody gore/Leprosy (tie)
Entombed- LHP/Clandestine (tie)
Dismember- Like an overflowing stream/Indecent & Obscene (tie)
Carcass- Necroticism...decanting the insalubrious
Napalm Death- Utopia Banished
Gorguts- Considered dead
Possesed- Seven Churches

Black metal.
Marduk- Opus Nocturne/Heavan shall burn...when we are gathered (tie)
Dimmu Borgir- Enthrone Darkness Triumphant/Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (tie)
Samael- Ceremony of opposites/Rebellion (split album.)
Dissection- Storm of the lights bane
Immortal- Pure holocaust/Sons of northern darkness/All shall fall (3 way tie)
Dark Funeral- Secrets of the black arts/Diabolus Interium (tie)
Darkthrone- A blaze on the northern sky/Under a funeral moon (tie)
Setherial- Nord/Emperor- Anthems to the welkin at dusk (tie)
Naglfar- Sheol/Diabolical (tie)
Old Mans Child- Revelations 666, the curse of damnation/Vermin (tie)
Enthroned- Towards the skullthrone of Satan
Lord Belial- Enter the moonlight gate.
#Honorable mention
Cradle of Filth- Midian (Allthough technically not BM, CoF are extreme metal combo of various subgenres but closer to BM than anything else in particular. One of my fave bands)

Honorable mention. Undefined extreme metal
Celtic Frost- Morbid Tales/To mega therion/Into the Pandemonium (3 way tie)
Cradle Of Filth- Midian/Damnation and a day/Godspeed on the devils thunder (tie)
And CoF- cruelty and the beast.

Honorable mention. Symphonic Metal.
Epica(any and all their albums, but if I had to whittle down- The holographic principle/Design your universe- tied, and The Divine Conspiracy)

1. Megadeth - Rust In Peace.
 2. Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction.
 3. Dio - Holy Diver.
 4. Dio - Last In Line.
 5. Van Halen - Eponymous album
 6. Ozzy - Blizzard Of Ozz
 7. Alcatrazz - No Parole For Rock and Roll.
 8. Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings (Special Edition)
 9. Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - Live
10. Iron Maiden - Live After Death

10, Night Moves by Cinderella 
09. In Rock by Deep Purple
08. Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pts 1 and 2 by Helloween 
07. Dusk And Her Embrace by C.O.F 
06. Fighting The World by Manowar 
05. Alive In Athens by Iced Earth
04. The Crimson Idol by Wasp
03 Hall Of The Mountain King by Savatage 
02. Veronica Decides To Die by Saturnus
01. The Forest Seasons by Wintersun

Follower of Jesus wrote:My son challenged me to pick my top 10 favorite hard rock/heavy metal albums ever. It was a lot harder to do than I thought it would be. It was also kinda fun. Here’s my list, in order:

...

Someone made me do the same thing a few years ago and I found it incredibly difficult to do.  Took me several hours just to narrow it down to around twenty and the last 7 or 8 I cut (to get it down to 10) were incredibly difficult to remove.

In no particular order.

1. Alice In Chains - Dirt
2. The Cult - Sonic Temple
3. Dio - Holy Diver
4. Giant - Last of the Runaways
5. Heart - Bad Animals
6. Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
7. Queensryche - Rage for Order
8. Screaming Trees - Sweet Oblivion
9. Dokken - Under Lock & Key
10. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind

I’ll have to go with the albums I wore out in the 80’s:

1. Def Leppard Pyromania
2. Dio Holy Diver
3. Kiss Creatures of the Night
4. Fastway All Fired Up
5. Ratt Out of the Cellar
6. Guns n Roses Appetite for Destruction 
7. Judas Priest Screaming for Vengeance
8. Iron Maiden Piece of Mind
9. Tesla Mechanical Resonance
10.Van Halen -debut

I think a list of only 10 would change multiple times a day, but here are 10 must have albums.

Metal Church - the Dark
Helloween - Walls of Jericho
Judas Priest - Stained Class
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
Overkill - the Years of Decay
Death Angel - Act III
Savatage - Sirens
Sweet - Desolation Boulevard
Nazareth - Hair of the Dog
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King

That's pretty hard.
Going with only one album per band in no particular order:

Saviour Machine - Legend II
Petra - On Fire!
Bloodgood - Detonation
Amorphis - Elegy
Ayreon - The Human Equation
Theocracy - s/t
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys II
Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
Axxis - II
Wuthering Heights - Salt
Equilibrium - Sagas

(okay, that's eleven)

These albums of aforementioned bands could rank up in the top list as well:

Saviour Machine - II
Saviour Machine - s/t
Theocracy - As the world bleeds
Petra - Beyond belief
Bloodgood - Out of the darkness
Ayreon - The Source
Amorphis - Silent Waters
Amorphis - Queen of Time

Almost impossible!
 
No particular order...

Ozzy - Diary of a Madman
Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
Whitesnake - 1987
Metallica - Ride the Lightning 
Megadeth - Peace Sells / Rust in Peace (tie)
Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
Sepultura - Arise
Tourniquet - Psycho Surgery
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Bonus: 
Trouble - Trouble
Motörhead - Ace of Spades
Crowbar - Odd Fellows Rest
Crowbar - Symmetry in Black
Dark Angel - Darkness Descends
Flotsam & Jetsam - No Place for Disgrace
Suicidal Tendencies - Lights Camera Revolution

SO HARD

Whiteheart: Freedom
Tourniquet: Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance
Pierce Pettis: Chase the Buffalo
Rich Mullins: The World As Best As I Remember It, vol. 2
Van Halen: 5150 
Petra: This Means War!
Anthrax: Persistence of Time
Metallica: And Justice for All
Idle Cure: Tough Love
Brave Saint Saturn: The Light of Things Hoped For

Can I go Christian only? At the moment I would say:

1. Tourniquet - Stop the Bleeding
2. The Crucified - S/T
3. Believer - Extraction From Mortality
4. Deliverance - Weapons of our Warfare
5. Living Sacrifice - S/T
6. Strongarm - Atonement
7. Tourniquet - Psycho Surgery
8. Stryper - Against The Law
9. Tourniquet - Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance
10. The Crucified - Pillars of Humanity

But that's subject to change

Best:

Dream Theater - Images and Words
King's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Led Zeppelin - IV
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman
Shadow Gallery - Tyranny
Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
Rush - Permanent Waves
Van Halen - s/t
Megadeth - Rust In Peace



Favorite:

Argyle Park - Argyle Park
Crimson Glory - Transcendence
Galactic Cowboys - Space In Your Face
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At the Moon
Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
King's X - s/t
Stavesacre - Friction
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
Queensryche - Rage For Order
Judas Priest - Painkiller

Believer-Dimensions
Celtic Frost-Monotheist
Deathrow-Deception Ignored
King's X-Dogman
Megadeth-Rust in Peace
Metallica-Ride the Lightning
Slayer-Reign in Blood
Suffocation-Pierced From Within
Terrorizer-World Downfall
Trouble-s/t (Psalm 9)

Tourniquet- Stop the Bleeding
Saviour Machine- s/t debut
Undercover- Balance of Power/Devotion/Branded (depends on the day)
Whiteheart- Freedom

I'm going to stop here.

Dont know if I could put them in order but:

Iron Maiden : Somewhere in Time
Vengeance Rising : Human Sacrifice (First Mix Edition) I wish this would have been the only version released
Megadeth: Cryptic Writings Not sure why this one always sticks with me could be I saw them twice with my brother on this tour
Metallica : Ride the Lightning
Forbidden: Twisted Into Form
Beliver: Dimensions
Holy Tide : Aquila (newer but I ive probably listened atleast 2 dozen times and its always a go to)
Mortification: Post Momentary Affliction
Helloween: Keeper of the Seven Keys 1&2 Ok I cheated a little but...
Detritus : Perpetual Defiance

Honorably Mentions:
Ethereal Scourge : Judgement and Restoration
Wikeds End - Temporal Pain
THeocracy: As the World Bleeds
Theocracy _ Ghost Ship
Iron Maiden Powerslave
Sacred Warrior - Rebellion and Masters Command
The Crucified _ Pillars of Humanity

Megadeth: Cryptic Writings Not sure why this one always sticks with me could be I saw them twice with my brother on this tour

Super underrated album! I think Deth were at their peak from Rust in Peace through Cryptic Writings.

Pethead wrote:

Megadeth: Cryptic Writings Not sure why this one always sticks with me could be I saw them twice with my brother on this tour

Super underrated album! I think Deth were at their peak from Rust in Peace through Cryptic Writings.

I agree, its has this bluesy metal aspect that just seems to resinate with me at every listen to the point I pick it before Rust In Piece most times, in fact I think Im off to listen again

10. Mortification - Scrolls of the Megilloth
9. Tourniquet - Stop the Bleeding
8. Deliverance - Deliverance
7. Tourniquet - Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm
6. Deliverance - Learn
5. Skillet - Collide
4. Metallica - Master of Puppets
3. Deliverance - Weapons of our Warfare
2. Deliverance - Assimilation
1. Metallica - And Justice For All