Top Ten - 1990

I rated 45 albums from 1990, and sadly, it was the last great year for three top metal bands - Black Sabbath, Scorpions and Judas Priest. Never again would these bands crack the top ten. Kinda sad, but there's still hope that they'll once again find some of that past metal magic.



Top Ten - 1990:
93.55 -- Megadeth - Rust in Peace
90.85 -- Black Sabbath - Tyr
90.04 -- Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World
89.52 -- Warrior Soul - Last Decade Dead Century
89.16 -- Jeff Healey Band - Hell to Pay
87.85 -- Anthem - No Smoke without Fire
87.68 -- Scorpions - Crazy World
86.73 -- Judas Priest - Painkiller
84.90 -- Rage - Reflections of a Shadow
82.93 -- Artillery - By Inheritance

Other 1990 releases:
82.49 -- Iron Maiden - No Prayer for the Dying
82.33 -- Riot - The Privilege of Power
82.23 -- Manilla Road - Courts of Chaos
82.23 -- Deep Purple - Slaves and Masters
82.12 -- Desperado - Bloodied but Unbowed
81.78 -- Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation
81.17 -- Queensrÿche - Empire
81.16 -- Elixir - Lethal Potion
80.20 -- Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
80.12 -- Testament - Souls of Black
79.71 -- Warrant - Cherry Pie
79.48 -- Reverend - World Won't Miss You
78.50 -- AC/DC - The Razor's Edge
77.76 -- Bow Wow - Mountain Top
77.74 -- Extreme - Extreme II: Pornograffitti
77.39 -- Damn Yankees - Damn Yankees
75.61 -- Spread Eagle - Spread Eagle
72.87 -- Pat Travers Band - School of Hard Knocks
72.21 -- Ratt - Detonator
72.16 -- ZZ Top - Recycler
69.95 -- Dio - Lock Up the Wolves
69.90 -- Blues Traveler - Blues Traveler
69.88 -- Yngwie Malmsteen - Eclipse
69.45 -- Vixen - Rev It Up
69.02 -- Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
68.72 -- Slaughter - Stick It to Ya
68.40 -- Blackfoot - Medicine Man
67.96 -- Hawkwind - Space Bandits
67.40 -- Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire
67.27 -- Morgana Lefay - Symphony of the Damned
65.63 -- Pretty Maids - Jump the Gun
63.37 -- Styx - Edge of the Century
58.31 -- Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
57.20 -- Axxis - Axxis II
54.66 -- Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom

Top Ten - 1995

Savatage tops the list of 43 albums reviewed from 1995. But this great album featured a 3 minute and 12 second song that eventually put Savatage on hold indefinitely. The popularity of "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" led to the band members forming the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which became so successful that they literally couldn't afford to put that aside in order to record another Savatage album. No matter, though. Now we can enjoy the Savatage albums as well as TSO, Circle II Circle, Jon Oliva's Pain, and Chris Caffery. Not a bad trade-off!

1995 Top Ten:
88.57 -- Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
88.10 -- Rainbow - Stranger In Us All
88.04 -- Gamma Ray - Land of the Free
87.97 -- UFO - Walk on Water
86.88 -- Rage - Black In Mind
86.61 -- Running Wild - Masquerade
86.60 -- Blind Guardian - Imaginations from the Other Side
86.52 -- Iced Earth - Burnt Offerings
85.97 -- Morgana Lefay - Sanctified
85.19 -- Motörhead - Sacrifice

Other 1995 releases:
84.38 -- Gov't Mule - Gov't Mule
83.97 -- Sun Red Sun - Sun Red Sun
83.69 -- Aria - Night is Shorter than Day
83.64 -- Dokken - Dysfunctional
83.34 -- Iron Maiden - X Factor
80.33 -- Krokus - To Rock or Not to Be
80.16 -- Blitzkrieg - Unholy Trinity
80.07 -- Bow Wow - Bow Wow #1
78.60 -- Stratovarius - Fourth Dimension
78.10 -- Ted Nugent - Spirit of the Wild
77.96 -- Hawkwind - Alien 4
77.35 -- Uriah Heep - Sea of Light
76.93 -- Symphony X - The Damnation Game
76.88 -- Fight - Small Deadly Space
76.56 -- Tad Morose - Sender of Thoughts
75.00 -- Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
74.99 -- Saxon - Dogs of War
74.48 -- Kamelot - Eternity
74.02 -- Van Halen - Balance
72.73 -- Pat Travers Band - Halfway to Somewhere
72.71 -- AC/DC - Ballbreaker
72.69 -- White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000
71.07 -- Praying Mantis - To the Power of Ten
70.44 -- Carmine Appice - Guitar Zeus
69.61 -- Jethro Tull - Roots to Branches
69.10 -- Yngwie Malmsteen - Magnum Opus
69.08 -- Ozzy Osbourne - Ozzmosis
68.74 -- Black Sabbath - Forbidden
65.19 -- Edguy - The Savage Poetry
61.71 -- Blackfoot - After the Reign
55.14 -- Queen - Made In Heaven
51.45 -- Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth

Top Ten - 2002

2002 was a solid year in rock and metal. Of the 58 albums I rated, most were good to excellent, while some of the stragglers at least had a few songs that were worth checking out. The lone exception here is Def Leppard, whose album X was pretty weak overall.



2002 Top Ten:

90.49 -- W.A.S.P. - Dying for the World
90.29 -- Seven Witches - Xiled to Infinity and One
90.18 -- Wolf - Black Wings
89.46 -- Messiah's Kiss - Prayer for the Dying
88.89 -- UFO - Sharks
87.95 -- Arjen Anthony Lucassen - Space Metal
87.14 -- Iron Savior - Condition Red
86.77 -- Bow Wow - What's Going On
86.02 -- Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera
85.97 -- Nightwish - Century Child

Other 2002 releases:
85.87 -- Rage - Unity
85.63 -- Tierra Santa - Sangre de Reyes
85.35 -- Thy Majestie - Hastings 1066
85.22 -- Dogface - In Control
84.99 -- Running Wild - The Brotherhood
84.65 -- Dream Evil - Dragon Slayer
84.57 -- Riot - Through the Storm
84.21 -- Ted Nugent - Craveman
83.82 -- Mob Rules - Hollowed Be Thy Name
83.29 -- Cornerstone - Human Stain
83.13 -- Symphony X - The Odyssey
82.49 -- Primal Fear - Black Sun
82.35 -- Dark Moor - The Gates of Oblivion
82.24 -- Blitzkrieg - Absolute Power
82.24 -- Avantasia - The Metal Opera, Pt. 2
82.17 -- Rhapsody - Power of the Dragon Flame
82.11 -- Anthem - Overload
82.02 -- Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
82.01 -- Tierra Santa - Tierras de Leyenda
81.88 -- Firewind - Between Heaven and Hell
81.48 -- Tank - Still at War
81.27 -- Pagan's Mind - Celestial Entrance
80.81 -- Dio - Killing the Dragon
80.75 -- Warlord - Rising Out of the Ashes
80.30 -- Anvil - Still Going Strong
80.24 -- Hammerfall - Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
80.21 -- Red Wine - El Fin de Los Tiempos
79.83 -- Mountain - Mystic Fire
79.41 -- Manowar - Warriors of the World
79.01 -- Axel Rudi Pell - Shadow Zone
78.94 -- Hammerfall - Crimson Thunder
78.86 -- Vanderhoof - A Blur in Time
78.71 -- Tad Morose - Matters of the Dark
77.66 -- Arachnes - Apocalypse
77.29 -- Chinchilla - The Last Millenium
76.92 -- Pretty Maids - Planet Panic
76.61 -- Motörhead - Hammered
76.49 -- Threshold - Critical Mass
73.81 -- Annihilator - Waking the Fury
73.78 -- Warmen - Beyond Abilities
72.02 -- Tornado - Triumph of the King
70.10 -- Dokken - Long Way Home
67.04 -- Angel Dust - Of Human Bondage
65.95 -- Axenstar - Perpetual Twilight
65.94 -- Ark - Burn the Sun
64.94 -- Manilla Road - Spiral Castle
57.82 -- Wizards - The Kingdom
49.79 -- Def Leppard - X

Top Ten (+15) - Albums by German Bands

So far, I've rated 225 albums by German bands. The amount of rock and metal talent there is pretty impressive. Eight different bands made it into my Top Ten list, and all ten albums have a rating of 90 or better (if you round up).

Top 25 Albums:
92.75 -- Scorpions - Lovedrive (1979)
91.79 -- Michael Schenker Group - Assault Attack (1982)
90.73 -- Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 2 (1988)
90.54 -- Scorpions - Love at First Sting (1984)
90.51 -- Gamma Ray - Majestic (2005)
90.28 -- Rage - The Missing Link (1993)
90.25 -- Gamma Ray - Land of the Free II (2007)
90.04 -- Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World (1990)
89.75 -- Rage - Carved In Stone (2008)
89.74 -- Helloween - Better than Raw (1998)
89.72 -- Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005)
89.53 -- Mob Rules - Among the Gods (2004)
89.52 -- Running Wild - Black Hand Inn (1994)
89.46 -- Messiah's Kiss - Prayer for the Dying (2002)
89.35 -- Virus - Thoughts (1971)
89.24 -- Messiah's Kiss - Metal (2004)
88.92 -- Wizard - Goochan (2007)
88.40 -- Running Wild - Blazon Stone (1991)
88.28 -- Twenty Sixty Six and Then - Reflections On the Future (1972)
88.23 -- Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend (1970)
88.14 -- Helloween - Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003)
88.04 -- Gamma Ray - Land of the Free (1995)
87.94 -- Helloween - The Dark Ride (2000)
87.90 -- Kingdom Come - Kingdom Come (1988)
87.77 -- Gamma Ray - No World Order (1990)