Iron Maiden- Powerslave (1984)

I suppose, if The Number of the Beast is the one Iron Maiden album one must own, this would be next on the list. The band's later work- including the bulk of the '90s when Bruce Dickinson went AWOL- is unfairly maligned and well worth a listen, but there's no real doubt that the '80s were their peak. And this album, in particular, comes along just at the right time as the band were at their very best. Significantly, it's the first album to feature the same exact line-up as the previous record.

It's a thing of beauty, at once a coherent soundscape and a collection of killer songs like "Aces High" and "Two Minutes to Midnight". This is far from the last time the band will master that little trick, but never again will they do it quite so well. And never again, to date, have they produced an epic to rival the rather long "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", even if they do decide to bloody butcher Coleridge's words, the philistines. Yet, given how bloody good the album is, I shall graciously forgive them.

And doesn't Eddie look good as a pharaoh?