10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 1980s

At the start of the decade, metal was about to evolve into something much different than it was in the '70s. As the hair metal and thrash scenes happened concurrently with each other, metal was in for a decade that had some of its most aggressive and most embarrassing moments at the exact same time. Even when bands were filtering metal through glam and punk, Judas Priest came forward to show us how true metal was done.

Arriving on the scene to announce the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Judas Priest created another masterpiece to put alongside British Steel, complete with some of the most aggressive songs that they would write that decade. From the opening one two punch of the Hellion into Electric Eye, you're in for a thrill ride from the minute this album starts, with every single stripe of metal accounted for.

You've got the speed of Riding on the Wind, the heavy influence of Sabbath on Bloodstone, and even the first forays into the world of pop metal on songs like You've Got Another Thing Comin. Then again, it might have been too much of a bargain for Priest, especially considering the mistakes they would make during the rest of the decade like Turbo. Still, it's better to have at least one of these in your arsenal than not having achieved perfection at all.