What is the best hard rock album of all time?

Maximum volume, maximum swagger — from thunderous riff-driven classics to polished arena anthems. Some of these albums broke sales records; all of them broke eardrums. Cast your vote!

Back in Black

AC/DC's 1980 tribute to Bon Scott, featuring Brian Johnson's debut and some of the most iconic riffs in hard rock history.

1/14

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin's 1971 fourth album, home to Stairway to Heaven and the thunderous When the Levee Breaks.

2/14

Appetite for Destruction

Guns N' Roses' 1987 debut, an unrelenting hard rock tornado from Los Angeles that permanently altered the rock landscape.

3/14

Machine Head

Deep Purple's 1972 album recorded in a Montreux casino during a fire, featuring Smoke on the Water and Highway Star.

4/14

Paranoid

Black Sabbath's 1970 heavy metal blueprint featuring Iron Man, War Pigs, and Tony Iommi's doom-laden guitar riffs.

5/14

Van Halen

Van Halen's 1978 self-titled debut that rewrote the hard rock rulebook with Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar technique.

6/14

Hysteria

Def Leppard's 1987 polished hard rock colossus, one of the best-selling albums of the decade with seven charting singles.

7/14

Highway to Hell

AC/DC's 1979 final album with Bon Scott, a hard rock landmark featuring the title track and Girls Got Rhythm.

8/14

Ace of Spades

Motorhead's 1980 speed-metal classic featuring the relentless title track and Lemmy Kilmister's bass-driven sonic assault.

9/14

Rocks

Aerosmith's 1976 stripped-down hard rock peak, often cited by Guns N' Roses and Metallica as a primary influence.

10/14

Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi's 1986 mega-selling arena rock album featuring Livin' on a Prayer, a quintessential stadium hard rock experience.

11/14

Blizzard of Ozz

Ozzy Osbourne's 1980 solo debut featuring Randy Rhoads' classical-influenced guitar mastery in a hard rock framework.

12/14

Screaming for Vengeance

Judas Priest's 1982 hard rock and heavy metal masterpiece featuring You've Got Another Thing Comin' and Rob Halford's soaring vocals.

13/14

Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin's 1975 sprawling double album showcasing the band at the absolute peak of their creative and hard rock powers.

14/14