Chisel Chin

I think I'll spend some time checking my database against Wikipedia to see if there are any other discrepancies...

Geoff, these are "Best" album lists (i.e. favourites)... Wouldn't it be better to scan through your collection and list the best ones, rather than an incomplete list of everything you've rated? Particularly as the ratings get lower meaning they aren't the best ones. I figure it helps provide context by indicating preferences in comparison to others, rather than having omissions because you don't own them, but if your list is incomplete because you haven't rated everything (only up to the letter "K"?), then there may be some great stuff missing simply for that reason.

Hmmm, although the booklet and Wikipedia etc states 1994, my CD has "P" and "C" printed as 1993 on the disc. I also checked the "G" album, and it is "P" 1995 (tracks 1-13) and "P" 1996 (track 14), as well as Copyright 1996, so it looks like I may have that wrongly included in my 1995 list. I guess I catalogued them in my database with the earlier dates. Oh well, I guess there's a time-limit preventing me from editing my posts from yesterday.

My Top 15 best of 1999 (in alphabetical order) Anathema - Judgement Angel Dust - Bleed Buckcherry - Buckcherry Burning Rain - Burning Rain Dream Theater - Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory Dreamscape - Very Evergrey - Solitude Dominance Tragedy The Flower Kings - Flower Power Fu Manchu - King Of The Road Sammy Hagar - Red Voodoo Megadeth - Risk Royal Hunt - Fear (Jimi Jamison's) Survivor - Empires Ten - Spellbound Vanden Plas - Far Off Grace Highlights include my favourite Ten album, and in my opinion their last great album before they started to become stale and cheesy (and before Gary Hughes started sounding bored and monotonous). "Risk" was the last Megadeth album that I enjoyed, and also quite a polarising album amongst fans. Fu Manchu released my favourite album of theirs, similarly Royal Hunt with new singer John West. A couple of great debut albums from Buckcherry and Burning Rain also came out this year, whilst Dream Theater released arguably their most ambitious album, and one of the real highlights of their catalogue. Also noteworthy is Angel Dust's "Bleed", a stunningly heavy yet melodic power metal album, and the first of a pair of masterworks from them.

My Top 25 best of 1998 (in alphabetical order) Anathema - Alternative 4 Angra - Fireworks Arena - The Visitor Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle The Black Crowes - By Your Side Cold Chisel - The Last Wave Of Summer Dare - Calm Before The Storm Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding Enchant - Break Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up The Girl Iron Maiden - Virtual XI Judas Priest - '98 Live Meltdown Marillion - Radiation Meniketti - On The Blue Side Monster Magnet - Powertrip Pain Of Salvation - One Hour By The Concrete Lake Axel Rudi Pell - Oceans Of Time Salem Hill - The Robbery Of Murder Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet Richie Sambora - Undiscovered Soul Symphony X - Twilight In Olympus Threshold - Clone Train - Train Mike Tramp - Capricorn Zero Hour - Zero Hour (re-released in 2003 as "Metamorphosis") Honourable mention: Great White - Great Zeppelin: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin Highlights this year include prog rock excellence from Arena (and my favourite album of theirs), and also the first of a pair of stunning power metal masterpieces from Symphony X. Meanwhile, Threshold debut new singer Andrew "Mac" McDermott on the brilliant "Clone" which ushers in many years of stability and consistency for the band, whilst continuing growth and maturity is demonstrated from prog metal band Pain Of Salvation which will go on for a couple more albums yet. Y&T singer Dave Meniketti provides a great blues rock album which continues to show off how great a guitarist he is, and Mike Tramp also launches his solo career off to a fine start. Monster Magnet put out a great collection of commercial stoner hard rock songs, and newcomers Train offer up a pretty decent pop-rock album (I've seen mostly bad comments about them on this forum, but I like their first couple of albums at least). 1998 also saw Iron Maiden's second (and last) album with Blaze Bayley, which I much prefer than "The X Factor" as it doesn't feel so cramped with filler as its predecessor, and there's some great tunes on here which are given the space to breathe and which overall seem more suited to his voice. Also one of the few live albums I've included in my lists, Tim "Ripper" Owens brings a much tougher and macho sound to some old Priest classics on "98 Live Meltdown". Finally, I thought I'd mention Great White's Led Zeppelin live album, just because it's great (and this was originally in my 1999 list, but looks like it belongs here after checking).

My Top 20 best of 1997 (in alphabetical order) Conception - Flow Bruce Dickinson - Accident Of Birth Dreamscape - Trance-Like State Enchant - Time Lost Fair Warning - Go! Faith No More - Album Of The Year Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade Of Gray The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are Fu Manchu - The Action Is Go Sammy Hagar - Marching To Mars Marillion - This Strange Engine Pain Of Salvation - Entropia Axel Rudi Pell - Magic Savatage - The Wake Of Magellan Spock's Beard - The Kindness Of Strangers Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy Ten - The Robe Vanden Plas - The God Thing Vanderhoof - Vanderhoof W.A.S.P. - K.F.D. Highlights include one of my favourite W.A.S.P. albums, very bleak and evil sounding and completely different from their usual style, but I love it (yes, I know a lot of people don't)! Also the first Bruce Dickinson solo album that I liked, as well as a very interesting debut album from new prog metal band Pain Of Salvation. I was also pleasantly surprised by Vanderhoof, the debut from the Metal Church founding member and guitarist which has a nice retro 70s vibe to it. More solid dependable albums from Marillion, Savatage and Axel Rudi Pell, and also a very nice offering from Ten who keep getting better during this early part of their career.

My Top 10 best of 1996 (in alphabetical order) Arena - Pride The Black Crowes - Three Snakes And One Charm Enchant - Wounded The Flower Kings - Retropolis Fu Manchu - In Search Of... Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go Axel Rudi Pell - Black Moon Pyramid Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture Spock's Beard - Beware Of Darkness Ten - The Name Of The Rose Honourable mentions: Angra - Holy Land Bonfire - Feels Like Comin' Home Great White - Let It Rock Metallica - Load Scorpions - Pure Instinct I put an "Honourable Mentions" section here, as there's some albums that I do really like but wouldn't include them amongst the best.

I've got what looks like the European version with just "Save A Prayer" as a bonus track, which I was annoyed to find missing on a later remastered re-release (which had a different live song instead), so I didn't upgrade.

I wasn't really into the AOR/Melodic Rock scene, so about 85%-90% of those on your list I'm unfamiliar with (if that's what a lot of them are). The hard rock scene was changing at this point, so I was going off in different directions just to avoid Grunge. BTW, Bon Jovi was 1992, and I've just corrected my list to include Bad Moon Rising as I had that in my 1994 list by mistake.

@ Geoff I love that Cold Sweat album and would rate it around 9/10, compared to something like 7.5/10 for Heaven's Edge. But it depends on what style the listener prefers. Taking one example from each album, Cold Sweat's "Four On The Floor" is a real driving hard rock song, which I think has a lot more thought and development put into the chorus compared Heaven's Edge's "Skin To Skin", which is more basic and just repeats the same words and riff several times. So I would probably have at least reversed the ratings that you gave those songs.

Burning Tree were an American blues-rock trio, this was their only album. Try sampling "Mistreated Lover" or "Wigs Blues And High Heeled Shoes". New Model Army were an alternative/post-punk band from the UK. Maybe try "Whirlwind" on Youtube from this album. Both The Mission and Fields Of The Nephilim are UK goth bands. The Mission were much more upbeat and melodic, whilst The Nephilim went more for atmosphere and effect (e.g. occult influences) and the singer has a deeper gruff voice. Try looking for these on YouTube: The Mission: Butterfly On A Wheel, Into The Blue, Bird Of Passage Fields Of The Nephilim: For Her Light was the first single off that album, but probably best to try the album as a whole experience on Youtube as it wasn't really made with hit singles or catchy tunes in mind (although surprisingly the band often made it into the UK Top 40 charts, which is something you wouldn't get nowadays).

Seeing as someone else created this 1995 thread today, I took the liberty of filling in a couple of gaps by starting threads for 1993 and 1994.

My Top 16 best of 1995 (in alphabetical order) Arena - Songs From The Lions Cage Bon Jovi - These Days Conception - In Your Multitude Enchant - A Blueprint Of The World Fair Warning - Rainmaker Faith No More - King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime The Flower Kings - Back In The World Of Adventures Fu Manchu - Daredevil Gotthard - G Gov't Mule - Gov't Mule Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight Monster Magnet - Dopes To Infinity Savatage - Dead Winter Dead Slaughter - Fear No Evil Spock's Beard - The Light Van Halen - Balance Honourable mention: Iron Maiden - The X Factor As Grunge was ruling the world by now (which isn't my thing), it looks like I was getting into the more niche Prog scene by this point, rather than following mainstream conventions. These albums from the likes of Arena, Enchant, The Flower Kings and Spock's Beard remain favourites to this day. I thought I'd mention Iron Maiden separately as, whilst it's not a particular favourite, there's some good stuff on it but overall the album is too long, and Blaze Bayley's voice does add to the monotony. If Bruce was still present, it would probably make it into the main list.

My Top 15 best of 1994 (in alphabetical order) The Black Crowes - Amorica Cinderella - Still Climbing Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation Dream Theater - Awake Fates Warning - Inside Out Freak Of Nature - Gathering Of Freaks Fu Manchu - No One Rides For Free Live - Throwing Copper Manic Eden - Manic Eden Marillion - Brave Axel Rudi Pell - Between The Walls Megadeth - Youthanasia Savatage - Handful Of Rain Roine Stolt - The Flower King Tesla - Bust A Nut I'd probably consider Marillion's stunning concept album "Brave" to be the best release this year, as most of the others from the established bands are good but not their best.

My Top 15 best of 1993 (in alphabetical order) Bad Moon Rising - Blood Conception - Parallel Minds Def Leppard - Retro Active Freak Of Nature - Freak Of Nature Goo Goo Dolls - Superstar Car Wash Gotthard - Dial Hard Manic Street Preachers - Gold Against The Soul Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell Metal Church - Hanging In The Balance Monster Magnet - Superjudge New Model Army - The Love Of Hopeless Causes Pendragon - The Window Of Life Quireboys - Bitter Sweet And Twisted Savatage - Edge Of Thorns Voivod - The Outer Limits Hmmm, no fun glam sleazy hair bands anymore... I blame Kurt Cobain for everything!!! Some very good albums in this list, but nothing that jumps out at me with that "Wow, this is the best thing since sliced bread" factor.

My Top 5 best of 1981 (in alphabetical order) Black Sabbath - Mob Rules Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry Rush - Moving Pictures Whitesnake - Come An' Get It Y & T - Earthshaker A small list as I don't own much from this year. Black Sabbath, Rush and Y&T are the highlights of this list for me.

I'm going to join the party with these lists, as I've spent this afternoon going through my collection year-by-year, so apologies in advance for bumping all these threads. My Top 8 best of 1980 (in alphabetical order) AC/DC - Back In Black Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell Cold Chisel - East Dire Straits - Making Movies Rush - Permanent Waves Thin Lizzy - Chinatown Whitesnake - Live... In The Heart Of The City Whitesnake - Ready An' Willing The first two entries in this list are my favourites, but all of them are great.

My Top 21 best of 1992 (in alphabetical order) The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith Dream Theater - Images And Words Fair Warning - Fair Warning Faith No More - Angel Dust Gotthard - Gotthard Great White - Psycho City King's X - King's X Kiss - Revenge Little Caesar - Influence Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction The Mission - Masque Axel Rudi Pell - Eternal Prisoner Slaughter - The Wild Life Sleeze Beez - Powertool Izzy Stradlin - Izzy Stradlin And The Ju Ju Hounds Sven Gali - Sven Gali Thunder - Laughing On Judgement Day W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol War Babies - War Babies Wildside - Under The Influence Highlights this year include W.A.S.P. with "The Crimson Idol", which along with Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" are my only two 10/10 rated albums. Also Dream Theater surprised me with new singer James LaBrie, as I loved their debut and was wondering how they would follow-up that intense masterpiece. Hindsight, eh! 1992 also saw great second albums from The Black Crowes and Thunder, which I preferred from their debut albums as they stretched out with more mature songwriting.

My Top 25 best of 1991 (in alphabetical order) Bad Moon Rising - Bad Moon Rising Badlands - Voodoo Highway Great White - Hooked Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion 1 + 2 Junkyard - Sixes, Sevens And Nines Kingdom Come - Hands Of Time Marillion - Holidays In Eden McQueen Street - McQueen Street Metal Church - The Human Factor Metallica - The Black Album Pendragon - The World Rush - Roll The Bones Richie Sambora - Stranger In This Town Saraya - When The Blackbird Sings Shotgun Messiah - Second Coming Skid Row - Slave To The Grind Steelheart - Steelheart Tesla - Psychotic Supper U2 - Achtung Baby Van Halen - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Vicious Rumors - Welcome To The Ball Warrior Soul - Drugs, God And The New Republic White Lion - Mane Attraction Y & T - Yesterday And Today Live XYZ - Hungry This year's favourite was Guns N' Roses' excellent pair of "Use Your Illusion" albums, which I'm glad they released like this. To my ears, hardly any filler at all, and I can't think of anything I'd want to have missed out on if they had condensed the highlights into just one album. Also loved Steelheart's debut, as well as Richie Sambora's first solo effort showing the world that he didn't need to be Jon Bon Jovi's sidekick for the rest of his life.

My Top 30 best of 1990 (in alphabetical order) The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker Black Sabbath - Tyr Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory (Young Guns II Soundtrack) Burning Tree - Burning Tree Cinderella - Heartbreak Station Cold Sweat - Break Out Company Of Wolves - Company Of Wolves Don Dokken - Up From The Ashes Fields Of The Nephilim - Elizium Heaven's Edge - Heaven's Edge Hurricane - Slave To The Thrill Jagged Edge - Fuel For Your Soul King's X - Faith Hope Love Little Caesar - Little Caesar Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation Megadeth - Rust In Peace The Mission - Carved In Sand / Grains Of Sand New Model Army - Impurity Judas Priest - Painkiller Queensryche - Empire Quireboys - A Bit Of What You Fancy Riverdogs - Riverdogs Scorpions - Crazy World Slaughter - Stick It To Ya Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss Sleeze Beez - Screwed Blued And Tattooed Thunder - Back Street Symphony Vicious Rumors - Vicious Rumors Warrior Soul - Last Decade Dead Century Y & T - Ten Like 1989, for me this was another great year with too many to choose from. Highlights include albums from new bands such as Thunder, Black Crowes, Cold Sweat, Slaughter, Little Caesar, Lynch Mob, Burning Tree and Riverdogs. Also some great albums from established favourites like Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Y&T. Slayer, Queensryche and Megadeth. However, this year also saw my first disappointment from Iron Maiden with "No Prayer For The Dying".

My Top 30 best of 1989 (in alphabetical order) Aerosmith - Pump Badlands - Badlands Black Sabbath - Headless Cross Blue Murder - Blue Murder Bonfire - Point Blank Bonham - The Disregard Of Timekeeping Cats In Boots - Kicked And Klawed Diving For Pearls - Diving For Pearls Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Unite Faith No More - The Real Thing Great White - Twice Shy Junkyard - Junkyard King's X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska Kingdom Come - In Your Face Lion - Trouble In Angel City Marillion - Seasons End Metal Church - Blessing In Disguise New Model Army - Thunder And Consolation Royal Court Of China - Geared And Primed Rush - Presto Saraya - Saraya Savatage - Gutter Ballet Sea Hags - Sea Hags Skid Row - Skid Row Tangier - Four Winds Tesla - The Great Radio Controversy Vain - No Respect W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children Whitesnake - Slip Of The Tongue XYZ - XYZ Well, this was a very good year indeed, so I've expanded my list to 30 albums this time! This was probably when I was buying loads of new albums at the time they came out (rather than retrospectively many years later) after reading about these great new bands in the likes of Kerrang and Metal Hammer... Badlands, Blue Murder, Bonham, Cats In Boots, Dream Theater, Junkyard, Saraya, Sea Hags, Skid Row, Vain... ah, those were the days. The big surprises for me were fantastic albums from Marillion and Metal Church with their new singers, as well as Kingdom Come really rocking out as they tried to move away from their Led Zep sounding debut.

My Top 20 best of 1988 (in alphabetical order) Bon Jovi - New Jersey BulletBoys - BulletBoys Cinderella - Long Cold Winter Crimson Glory - Transcendence Dare - Out Of The Silence Fields Of The Nephilim - The Nephilim Hurricane - Over The Edge Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son King's X - Out Of The Silent Planet Kingdom Come - Kingdom Come Magnum - Wings Of Heaven Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Odyssey The Mission - Children Poison - Open Up And Say... Ahh! Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime David Lee Roth - Skyscraper Scorpions - Savage Amusement Slayer - South Of Heaven Van Halen - OU812 Vinnie Vincent Invasion - All Systems Go Two of my favourite ever Metal albums in this list, courtesy of Queensryche (a perfect 10/10) and Crimson Glory. Also my favourite Magnum album (not a huge fan of them apart from this masterpiece), and some great debuts from BulletBoys, Dare and Kingdom Clone.

My Top 20 best of 1987 (in alphabetical order) Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation The Alarm - Eye Of The Hurricane Jimmy Barnes - Freight Train Heart Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol Bonfire - Fireworks Def Leppard - Hysteria Dokken - Back For The Attack Great White - Once Bitten Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction Sammy Hagar - I Never Said Goodbye Kiss - Crazy Nights Lion - Dangerous Attraction Marillion - Clutching At Straws Rush - Hold Your Fire Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien Sisters Of Mercy - Floodland U2 - The Joshua Tree W.A.S.P. - Live... In The Raw White Lion - Pride Whitesnake - 1987 Plenty of great stuff to choose from, including stunning albums from U2 and Def Leppard, and more top-notch stuff by Marillion, Bonfire, Dokken, G'n'R, Whitesnake, Rush, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Sisters Of Mercy... erm, I think this might actually be my favourite year for rock music, as this was when all those "hair" bands seemed to be getting hit singles and appearing on mainstream TV.

My Top 10 best of 1986 (in alphabetical order) Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet Cinderella - Night Songs Europe - The Final Countdown Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? Queen - A Kind Of Magic Tesla - Mechanical Resonance Van Halen - 5150 Vinnie Vincent Invasion - Vinnie Vincent Invasion W.A.S.P. - Inside The Electric Circus Some extremely good releases here, and no problems compiling an easy Top 10 without the need to pad it out with anything I consider to be average. This was the year I first started getting into rock music after hearing singles by Bon Jovi and Europe on one of those "Now" compilations, and I also remember renting something called Iron Maiden from the local library because the cover looked cool.

My Top 10 best of 1985 (in alphabetical order) Not a very exciting year in my opinion, so I'm splitting this list into two sections. These first five are the ones that I would definitely consider as favourites. Jimmy Barnes - Jimmy Barnes Marillion - Misplaced Childhood New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked Rush - Power Windows W.A.S.P. - The Last Command The next five are more what I would consider "fillers" just to make this this into a Top 10 list. They're decent enough (I'd maybe rate them around 7/10), but not really ones I pull off the shelf to listen to in preference to something else. Bon Jovi - 7800° Fahrenheit Magnum - On A Storyteller's Night Savatage - Power Of The Night Warrior - Fighting For The Earth Y & T - Down For The Count Not sure why I listed this second half, maybe because I've seen them mentioned more favourably elsewhere on this forum. Aside from the Warrior disc, I think the others are a bit too weak for my tastes compared to the rest of each bands' catalogue.