Best Metal Songs of All Time

From Sabbath's birth of the genre to modern landmarks — 25 essential metal songs, each from an album in the catalogue.

All song lists Punk and New Wave Songs of All Time Funk Songs of All Time Disco Songs of All Time Songs of the 1960s

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links below are affiliate links.

1

BS

Paranoid

Black Sabbath · from Paranoid (1970)

The riff that arguably started it all.

Listen → Watch →
2

ME

Master of Puppets

Metallica · from Master of Puppets (1986)

Thrash's most complex, crushing epic.

Listen → Watch →
3

IM

The Trooper

Iron Maiden · from Piece of Mind (1983)

A galloping, melodic charge.

Listen → Watch →
4

JP

Breaking the Law

Judas Priest · from British Steel (1980)

Metal streamlined into a perfect anthem.

Listen → Watch →
5

SL

Raining Blood

Slayer · from Reign in Blood (1986)

Pure, brutal velocity.

Listen → Watch →
6

ME

Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

Megadeth · from Rust in Peace (1990)

Technical thrash at its most dazzling.

Listen → Watch →
7

PA

Walk

Pantera · from Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

A swaggering groove-metal anthem.

Listen → Watch →
8

MO

Ace of Spades

Motörhead · from Ace of Spades (1980)

Fast, dirty and immortal.

Listen → Watch →
9

TO

Schism

Tool · from Lateralus (2001)

Intricate, shifting progressive metal.

Listen → Watch →
10

SO

Chop Suey!

System of a Down · from Toxicity (2001)

Frenetic, melodic and unmistakable.

Listen → Watch →
11

RA

Killing in the Name

Rage Against the Machine · from Rage Against the Machine (1992)

A furious fusion of metal, funk and protest.

Listen → Watch →
12

OO

Crazy Train

Ozzy Osbourne · from Blizzard of Ozz (1980)

Randy Rhoads' riff and a huge hook.

Listen → Watch →
13

BS

Iron Man

Black Sabbath · from Paranoid (1970)

Tony Iommi's down-tuned riff and the whole history of metal in six minutes.

Listen → Watch →
14

ME

Master of Puppets

Metallica · from Master of Puppets (1986)

The thrash metal landmark — eight minutes of unrelenting tension and release.

Listen → Watch →
15

IM

The Trooper

Iron Maiden · from Piece of Mind (1983)

The gallop riff and the Charge of the Light Brigade: pure NWOBHM.

Listen → Watch →
16

SL

Raining Blood

Slayer · from Reign in Blood (1986)

Four minutes of the most hostile thing on vinyl in 1986.

Listen → Watch →
17

TO

Schism

Tool · from Lateralus (2001)

The poly-rhythmic precision that made prog-metal feel genuinely dangerous.

Listen → Watch →
18

SO

Chop Suey!

System of a Down · from Toxicity (2001)

The dynamic shifts and the choir that made nu-metal briefly interesting.

Listen → Watch →
19

PA

Walk

Pantera · from Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

The groove-metal riff and Dimebag's solo that nobody has bettered.

Listen → Watch →
20

ME

Peace Sells

Megadeth · from Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986)

The bass intro and the political fury: Mustaine at his sharpest.

Listen → Watch →
21

RA

Killing in the Name

Rage Against the Machine · from Rage Against the Machine (1992)

Morello's guitar and the most cathartic expletive in rock radio history.

Listen → Watch →
22

SO

Black Hole Sun

Soundgarden · from Superunknown (1994)

The surrealist lyric and the Badmotorfinger era at its most cinematic.

Listen → Watch →
23

AI

Would?

Alice in Chains · from Dirt (1992)

Lane Staley and Jerry Cantrell's most harrowing and beautiful moment.

Listen → Watch →
24

MA

Blood and Thunder

Mastodon · from Leviathan (2004)

The Moby-Dick concept album's most accessible and devastating opening.

Listen → Watch →

Tap the artwork or "Listen" to find the track on Amazon Music; "Watch" opens a YouTube search; the song title opens its album page. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases and sign-ups.