The 10 Greatest Maiden Albums

[Rain]

I'm not sure I could make a list of 10.

It's a pain to have to pick between Killers and TNOTB as a favorite.

Overall, I like the first 7, because they're such a huge part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. 

Then Adrian Smith left. To me, that guy is their emotional anchor. 

And I really don't get Janick Gers. Like, not at all.

Then producer Martin Birch retired. 

Then a few years later they had this big comeback, with Smith and Dickinson.

The music isn't bad, although the production and overcompression got worse with every album.

There are also some remarkably bad edits on some of them, stuff that's unforgivable in the day and age of DAWs. 

A Matter of Life and Death would be my favorite of the bunch.

I bought The Book of Life but couldn't listen to it in its entirety once - although I really tried.

Dickinson's ambitions as a songwriter and a "pianist" left me shaking my head. 

The live DVD was good though.

And their most recent album - well, I couldn't even make through the first song.

So, yeah... Maybe a top three, for the first 3 albums, with a bonus spot for Maiden Japan.

 

[Xoo]

Close call for me between Seventh Son and Somewhere In Time.  Although Number of the Beast could be in the running too.  I'm not a fan until Bruce joined.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Kevin Perry