Iron Maiden ruled the '80s with a string of outstanding albums. They made my annual best of list 7 times in that decade. The band is still making great music and is still touring and releasing CDs, but the '80s were their heydey. Here are my choices for Iron Maiden's Top 5 albums released in the 1980s.
1. Number Of The Beast (1982)
After losing their lead singer, Maiden found Bruce Dickinson and rebounded with their best album and one that is a true heavy metal classic. "Run To The Hills" and the title track are among the best singles you'll ever hear, and there is not a bit of filler on this album. It features spectacular and diverse songwriting, great vocals from Dickinson and is one of the best metal albums ever.
2. Powerslave (1984)
Powerslave was a fantastic album that was the complete package. It had the catchy radio and MTV friendly singles like "Aces High" and "2 Minutes To Midnight," but also had an instrumental and long, complex songs. "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" clocked in at an astonishing 13 minutes long. Great songwriting and musicianship make this album one of their best.
3. Iron Maiden (1980)
As far as debut albums go, this is one of the best and most influential. Countless bands would follow down the path Iron Maiden blazed. It wasn't until Bruce Dickinson became the lead singer that the band would rise to even higher heights, but Paul Di'Anno did a solid job. This album contains both straight ahead metal songs and more progressive and epic tunes that the band would gravitate toward in the future.
4. Piece Of Mind (1983)
For this album Maiden had another lineup change, adding drummer Nicko McBrain to the group. It's a really diverse album, and a little less cohesive than Number Of The Beast. The lyrics are also diverse, taking elements from several different books and films. "Flight Of Icarus" is the highlight of this album.
5. Killers (1981)
Their best album would come one year later, but this one was also very good. It was their second album, and the last with singer Paul Di'Anno. It was a musical progression from their debut, with heavier and faster songs that still had plenty of melody. Fans of the Di'Anno era are well aware of this album, but more recent fans should go back and listen to how Maiden sounded pre Bruce Dickinson.







