32 Essential Heavy Metal Vinyl Records, Ranked
Heavy metal is one of the most enduring rock traditions, and one of the easiest to collect on vinyl — the genre is built around dense, dynamic-range-heavy production that vinyl preserves better than any streaming format. This guide picks thirty essential metal vinyl records currently in stock at Viking Records — across the full span of the genre from Black Sabbath's 1970 invention of metal as we know it through to contemporary prog and nu-metal.
The picks are grouped by sub-genre and era — foundational metal, NWOBHM and heritage acts, the Big Four of thrash, classic hard rock, extreme/death metal, prog metal, and the alt/nu-metal wave of the 90s. Each sub-section reads as a standalone shortlist; the article works in order or by jumping to whichever corner of the genre most interests you.
→ Shop the full Metal vinyl collection at Viking Records
Part One: Foundational Metal
Four Black Sabbath records — the genre was effectively invented across these albums between 1970 and 1972. If you only own a handful of metal records, start here.
Black Sabbath — Paranoid
The single most important heavy metal album ever made. Recorded in five days at Regent Sound, Paranoid contains "Iron Man," "War Pigs," "Paranoid" and "Planet Caravan" — songs that essentially invented what metal would sound like for the next fifty years. This Sanctuary gatefold reissue is the version most fans would recommend.
Key track: Iron Man
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Black Sabbath — Paranoid (1970, Sanctuary Gatefold Reissue 180g) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Black Sabbath — Master of Reality
The album where Black Sabbath tuned down their guitars and the proto-doom and stoner-metal traditions began. "Sweet Leaf," "Children of the Grave" and "Into the Void" are heavier than anything else recorded in 1971. This Rhino US Limited Gatefold 180g pressing is excellent.
Key track: Children of the Grave
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Black Sabbath — Master of Reality (1971, Rhino US Limited Gatefold 180g) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Black Sabbath — Vol. 4
Recorded in Los Angeles during a notoriously chaotic period for the band, Vol. 4 is sprawling, ambitious and contains some of Sabbath's most loved songs — "Snowblind," "Changes" and "Supernaut" all sit on this 180g LP.
Key track: Snowblind
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Black Sabbath — Vol. 4 (1972, 180g LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath
The debut. The album that opens with the rainstorm, the church bell, and the most ominous tritone guitar riff in popular music. "N.I.B." and "The Wizard" round out a record that, more than any other, marks the moment heavy metal became its own genre.
Key track: N.I.B.
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Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath (1970, Sanctuary Reissue LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
"Black Sabbath's first four albums — released in just over three years between 1970 and 1972 — between them invented heavy metal as we know it."
Part Two: NWOBHM and Heritage Metal
Six records from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the late-70s/early-80s metal that consolidated the genre.
Iron Maiden — The Number of the Beast
The album that took Iron Maiden from cult NWOBHM act to global metal institution. Bruce Dickinson's vocal debut with the band, "Run to the Hills," "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and the title track established the operatic-galloping-twin-guitar sound that defined British metal for the rest of the 1980s. This 180g pressing is the recommended version.
Key track: Hallowed Be Thy Name
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Iron Maiden — The Number of the Beast (1982, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Iron Maiden — Powerslave
Often cited as Maiden's peak. The Egyptian-themed concept that gave the album its sleeve carries through the music — "Aces High," "2 Minutes to Midnight" and the 13-minute "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" are among the band's most ambitious recordings.
Key track: Aces High
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Iron Maiden — Powerslave (1984, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Iron Maiden — Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Maiden's first proper concept album, and the moment the band fully committed to long-form storytelling. The keyboard textures and progressive structure across the album influenced a generation of power-metal bands that followed.
Key track: The Evil That Men Do
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Iron Maiden — Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Motörhead — Ace of Spades
The fastest, loudest, most direct metal album of its era. Motörhead sit at the crossroads of metal, punk and rock and roll — and Ace of Spades is the album where all three converge perfectly. The title track became one of metal's most-recognised songs; the rest of the album is just as relentless.
Key track: Ace of Spades
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Motörhead — Ace of Spades (1980, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Dio — Holy Diver
Ronnie James Dio's first album after leaving Black Sabbath, and one of the most consistently-recommended heavy metal records of the 1980s. "Rainbow in the Dark," "Holy Diver" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" all sit on this remastered LP. A perfect entry point to the kind of fantasy-themed metal that dominated the mid-80s.
Key track: Rainbow in the Dark
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Dio — Holy Diver (1983, Remastered LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Judas Priest — British Steel
The album that turned Judas Priest from cult metal pioneers into mainstream chart figures. "Breaking the Law," "Living After Midnight" and "Metal Gods" became cornerstones of the NWOBHM canon. Shorter and more direct than the band's earlier records, British Steel still holds up as a perfect entry point.
Key track: Breaking the Law
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Judas Priest — British Steel (1980, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Three: The Big Four of Thrash
Six thrash records — four Metallica, one Slayer, one Megadeth. The Big Four (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax) defined what thrash metal could be; Viking currently stocks deep on Metallica with strong Slayer and Megadeth picks alongside.
Metallica — Master of Puppets
Widely regarded as Metallica's masterpiece and one of the greatest metal albums ever made. The album that brought thrash metal into the mainstream without compromising what made it powerful in the first place. "Battery," "Master of Puppets" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" became standards. This remastered 180g LP with insert is the recommended pressing.
Key track: Master of Puppets
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Metallica — Master of Puppets (1986, Remastered 180g LP with Insert) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Metallica — Ride the Lightning
The second Metallica album and the one where the band's compositional ambition fully arrived. "Fade to Black" introduced the acoustic-to-electric build the band would refine across the rest of the catalogue; "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Creeping Death" became live staples for the next forty years.
Key track: For Whom the Bell Tolls
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Metallica — Ride the Lightning (1984, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Metallica — Kill 'Em All
The debut. Faster, scrappier and more punk-influenced than anything that followed, Kill 'Em All laid the foundations for thrash metal alongside Slayer's and Megadeth's early work. "Whiplash," "Seek & Destroy" and "Hit the Lights" all sit on this LP.
Key track: Seek & Destroy
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Metallica — Kill 'Em All (1983, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Metallica — The Black Album
The album that turned Metallica from thrash band into the biggest metal band in the world. The Black Album sold over 30 million copies and contains "Enter Sandman," "Nothing Else Matters," and "Sad But True" — three of the most-played metal songs of the entire decade. This remastered 180g 2xLP is the audiophile pressing.
Key track: Enter Sandman
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Metallica — Metallica (Black Album, 1991, Remastered 180g 2xLP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Slayer — Reign in Blood
Twenty-nine minutes of the most uncompromising metal ever recorded. Reign in Blood crystallised what thrash could be — Rick Rubin's production, Dave Lombardo's drumming, Tom Araya and Jeff Hanneman's writing all peaked here simultaneously. The album opens with "Angel of Death" and never lets up.
Key track: Raining Blood
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Slayer — Reign in Blood (1986, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Megadeth — Rust in Peace
Megadeth's technical-thrash masterpiece. The musicianship across "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," "Tornado of Souls" and "Hangar 18" is some of the most demanding playing in metal — Marty Friedman's guitar solos in particular have been studied by thrash players ever since.
Key track: Tornado of Souls
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Megadeth — Rust in Peace (1990, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Four: Classic Hard Rock
Four hard-rock records that sit at the boundary between metal and rock proper. Browse the full Hard Rock vinyl collection for more in this lane.
AC/DC — Back in Black
Released months after Bon Scott's death and featuring new singer Brian Johnson, Back in Black became one of the best-selling albums in music history — over 50 million copies worldwide. "Hells Bells," "Back in Black" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" became permanent fixtures of rock radio. This 50th Anniversary B&W edition is the recommended pressing.
Key track: Back in Black
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AC/DC — Back in Black (1980, 50th Anniversary B&W Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
AC/DC — Highway to Hell
Bon Scott's final album with AC/DC and arguably the band's purest statement. "Highway to Hell," "Touch Too Much" and "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" represent the band's classic-era sound at peak strength. This heavyweight pressing brings out the live-in-the-room recording quality the album was famous for.
Key track: Highway to Hell
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AC/DC — Highway to Hell (1979, Heavyweight Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Guns N' Roses — Appetite for Destruction
The fastest-selling debut album in US history (over 30 million copies sold) and one of the defining hard-rock albums of the late 1980s. "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" all became radio standards.
Key track: Welcome to the Jungle
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Guns N' Roses — Appetite for Destruction (1987, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Van Halen — Van Halen
The debut. Eddie Van Halen's two-handed tapping on "Eruption" reset what electric guitar players considered possible — and the album as a whole introduced a hard-rock sound that influenced almost everyone who came after. "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" are the singles, but the album holds together end-to-end.
Key track: Eruption
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Van Halen — Van Halen (1978, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Five: Extreme and Death Metal
Five records from the more extreme end of metal — thrash's second wave, death metal, grindcore. If you're new to extreme metal, Death's Symbolic is the friendliest entry point; the others reward listeners already familiar with the genre.
Slayer — South of Heaven
The album where Slayer slowed down — slightly. Compared to Reign in Blood's relentless speed, South of Heaven was more deliberate, more atmospheric, and (for some fans) Slayer's most consistent work. "Mandatory Suicide" and the title track became live staples.
Key track: South of Heaven
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Slayer — South of Heaven (1988, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Death — Symbolic
Chuck Schuldiner's mid-period peak. Symbolic is melodic death metal at its most ambitious — technical, progressive, lyrically introspective — and remains one of the most-recommended death metal records for new listeners precisely because of how much songcraft is present alongside the extremity.
Key track: Crystal Mountain
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Death — Symbolic (1995, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Carcass — Heartwork
The album where Carcass moved from grindcore origins into melodic death metal, and effectively invented a sub-genre that's still being copied. The guitar work across "Heartwork," "No Love Lost" and "Buried Dreams" laid the template for everything from At the Gates onwards. This limited white vinyl pressing is one of the better Carcass reissues in print.
Key track: Heartwork
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Carcass — Heartwork (1993, Limited White Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Napalm Death — Scum
The album that gave grindcore its name and defined the genre's extremes. Twenty-eight tracks in just over thirty minutes, with songs as short as one second. This limited white vinyl pressing is essential for anyone interested in the most uncompromising end of extreme metal.
Key track: You Suffer
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Napalm Death — Scum (1987, Limited White Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Sepultura — Arise
Brazilian thrash's international breakthrough. Arise consolidated everything Sepultura had been building toward on Beneath the Remains — faster, denser, more politically charged — and influenced the late-90s wave of metallic hardcore (Sepultura's Roots came two years later and is equally essential).
Key track: Arise
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Sepultura — Arise (1991, Vinyl 2xLP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Six: Prog and Modern Metal
Three records from the progressive and modern wings of metal — where the technical complexity of jazz and prog rock meets metal's heaviness.
Opeth — Blackwater Park
The album where Opeth's fusion of progressive rock, death metal and acoustic folk fully arrived. Steven Wilson's production gave the album a clarity earlier Opeth records lacked, and the 12-minute title track and "The Drapery Falls" are widely cited as career-defining. This 25th Anniversary 2xLP edition is the recommended pressing.
Key track: Blackwater Park
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Opeth — Blackwater Park (2001, 25th Anniversary Edition 2xLP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Mastodon — Crack the Skye
Mastodon's most ambitious record — a concept album spanning astral travel, Russian mysticism and personal grief. The progressive arrangements across "Oblivion" and the 11-minute "The Czar" pushed Mastodon firmly into prog-metal territory.
Key track: Oblivion
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Mastodon — Crack the Skye (2009, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Mercyful Fate — Melissa
Mercyful Fate's debut album and one of the most influential black-metal-adjacent records of the early 1980s. King Diamond's operatic vocals across "Evil," "Curse of the Pharaohs" and "Black Funeral" set a template that bands from Metallica to Watain have explicitly cited as foundational.
Key track: Evil
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Mercyful Fate — Melissa (1983, 180g Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Seven: Alt, Nu and Grunge-Metal Crossover
Four records from the 90s and 2000s that crossed metal with grunge, hip-hop and progressive sensibilities — opening the genre to a new generation of listeners.
Alice In Chains — Facelift
The album that brought metal sensibilities into grunge — and grunge sensibilities into metal. "Man in the Box" became the band's breakthrough single, and the album as a whole established the slow, heavy, vocally distinctive sound Alice In Chains carried for the rest of the decade. This 30th Anniversary 2xLP is the recommended pressing.
Key track: Man in the Box
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Alice In Chains — Facelift (1990, 30th Anniversary 2LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Korn — Korn
The debut that essentially invented nu-metal. Korn's self-titled album took the heaviness of metal, the rhythmic complexity of funk and hip-hop, and the lyrical introspection of grunge into a sound that would define mainstream metal for the next decade. This 180g 2xLP MOV pressing brings out the bass-heavy production.
Key track: Blind
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Korn — Korn (1994, Self-titled 2xLP 180g) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
System Of A Down — Hypnotize
Released as the second half of a double album alongside Mezmerize, Hypnotize contains some of System of a Down's most musically inventive work. "Lonely Day" and the title track became radio singles; the deeper cuts "Holy Mountains" and "Soldier Side" hold up just as well.
Key track: Lonely Day
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System Of A Down — Hypnotize (2005, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Ozzy Osbourne — Diary of a Madman
Ozzy's second solo album, and the last to feature guitarist Randy Rhoads before his death the following year. Rhoads' classical-influenced playing across "Over the Mountain," "Flying High Again" and the title track is some of the most distinctive metal guitar work of the entire decade.
Key track: Over the Mountain
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Ozzy Osbourne — Diary of a Madman (1981, Vinyl LP) In stock at Viking Records — new, sealed, fast UK delivery. |
Part Eight: Additional Canon
Two additional canon records that round out the AC/DC and Metallica coverage above.
Metallica — ...And Justice for All (1988)
Metallica’s most ambitious and contentious studio album, recorded in the immediate aftermath of Cliff Burton’s death with Jason Newsted’s bass famously buried in the mix. Eight tracks of long-form thrash that prefigured prog-metal as much as they extended Master of Puppets. One, with its Johnny Got His Gun samples, became the band’s first MTV-era hit. Import 2xLP.
Key track: One
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Metallica — ...And Justice for All In stock at Viking Records Shop NowMore Metallica on vinyl → Browse Metal & Heavy Metal → |
AC/DC — High Voltage (1976)
The international debut that introduced AC/DC’s Bon Scott era to the world. Sourced from the band’s first two Australian albums, this is where the Young brothers’ rhythm-guitar foundation locked into its definitive form. T.N.T. and It’s a Long Way to the Top set the template for the next fifty years of riff-driven hard rock.
Key track: It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll)
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AC/DC — High Voltage In stock at Viking Records Shop NowMore AC/DC on vinyl → Browse Metal & Heavy Metal → |
Honourable mentions and where to go next
A few additional metal records currently in stock that would make natural additions once you've explored the thirty above:
Black Sabbath — Technical Ecstasy. The 1976 album that bridged Vol. 4 and Sabotage. Often overlooked but contains some of Bill Ward's most interesting drumming.
Black Sabbath — Sabotage. The last of the classic-era Sabbath records, denser and more aggressive than its predecessors. "Symptom of the Universe" became one of the band's most-covered songs.
Iron Maiden — Iron Maiden. Paul Di'Anno's debut with the band before Bruce Dickinson joined. Punkier, scrappier, with "Phantom of the Opera" and "Running Free" as the highlights.
Judas Priest — Screaming for Vengeance. The follow-up to British Steel and Priest's American breakthrough. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" became radio rock for the next two decades.
Metallica — ...And Justice for All. The transitional album between Master of Puppets and the Black Album. "One" became the band's first mainstream MTV moment.
Motörhead — Death or Glory. Later-period Motörhead, coloured vinyl. The band stayed remarkably consistent across their forty-year career; this is a strong example of the post-Lemmy-prime era.
Mötley Crüe — Too Fast for Love. The 1981 glam-metal debut. Faster and more punk-influenced than the band's later commercial peak; a foundational glam record.
Scorpions — Blackout. The 1982 album that took Scorpions from German hard-rock cult act to global stadium band. "No One Like You" and "Dynamite" both became radio staples.
Incubus — A Crow Left of the Murder. 2004 alt-metal at its most musical. The arrangements lean harder on funk and progressive influences than other nu-metal contemporaries.
Led Zeppelin — Mothership (4× 180g LP Box Set). The proto-metal antecedent. Led Zeppelin sit just outside metal proper but their influence on Sabbath, Maiden and everyone after is impossible to ignore. The Mothership box set is the best single Led Zeppelin compilation in print.
Where to start
If you're new to metal on vinyl, three starting points cover the genre's breadth: Black Sabbath's Paranoid for the foundations, Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast for the NWOBHM peak, and Metallica's Master of Puppets for thrash. After a few weeks with those three, the rest of this list will sort itself by which corner of the genre you most want to explore.
If you enjoy metal's harder rock end, our Hard Rock vinyl collection and broader Rock vinyl collection are both worth a browse. For broader context on the genre, the Wikipedia overview of heavy metal is a solid factual starting point.
→ Shop the full Metal vinyl collection at Viking Records
Keith runs Viking Records — a UK online vinyl shop curating new releases, deluxe pressings, and standout records across genre and era. New posts every week.
