Priest fans: where do I go next?
 

Here are the albums I have:

Sad Wings
Unleashed
British Steel
Screaming
Defenders
...Live!

So where do I go next? Killing Machine? Stained Class? Turbo? (just kidding)?

Advice appreciated.

Hell Bent for Leather (aka Killing Machine) (MUST have)
Stained Class
Angel of Retribution
Sin After Sin

Then you might want to try Painkiller (it's noticeably heavier and faster than the rest).

Painkiller is their best. Heavy and fast and not a bad cut on the album.

Turbo - (Not Kidding) IMO it's a very good album, sure it's different but so what it's still priest.

Ram It Down - It's worth it just for the song "Heavy Metal" Man i love that song.

Angel of Retribution - Amazing Album

New album this month, Can't wait....

The new album is definitely a bit different, but I'm really liking it.

You really can't go wrong, go with all of the above posts.

I'm DEFINITELY getting the new album...I was on the fence, but with Best Buy offering a free ticket to the show I REALLY wanna hit this summer...pretty much the deal sealer.

Everything they did from Sad Wings of Destiny through Defenders of the Faith is worth owning. So you need:

Sin After Sin
Stained Class
Killing Machine
Point of Entry

And then top it all off with Painkiller.

I'd go 1- Hell Bent for Leather 2- Stained Class 3- Sin After Sin
The older stuff is better in my opinion.

Couldn't agree more. Their best album in this humble Priest fan's opinion. Run, don't walk. :)

Ditto.

The problem I've always had with Painkiller is the sameness of the songs. There isn't the variation and variety of classics like Screaming for Vengeance or Hell Bent for Leather or Stained Class.

Most of the songs have a similar beat (fast double bass Scott Travis specials), similar riffs, similar vocals - there are a couple exceptions, but the album starts to grate on me after a while. There are some great songs on there, but a couple Screaming era type songs would have made the album stronger thanks to the added dynamics that they would have given it.

Live In London is a great addition. It has the best songs from the 2 Ripper albums and really showcases his vocals.

Unleashed in the East

Whatever you do, stay far, far away from the new one ("Nostradumbass"). It's ALL keyboards & synthesizers!!! No "Hot Rockin'" here!

As a lifetime Priest fan, you cannot go wrong with that right there, on top of what was already listed. My own personal preference is as follows (Note that 1-3 are the same, 4-10 tend to fluctuate based on my mood):

1. British Steel
2. Stained Class
3. Screaming For Vengeance
4. Hell Bent For Leather
5. Sin After Sin
6. Sad Wings
7. Defenders
8. Unleashed
9. Painkiller
10. Angel

Whatever you do, stay far, far away from the new one ("Nostradumbass"). It's ALL keyboards & synthesizers!!! No "Hot Rockin'" here!

What?

I don't hear it as much as you're making it out to be. Its definitely worth checking out at least.

:up: I really like the version of Green Manalishi on that album.

The Green Manalishi is one of those rare cover songs that ends up better than the original.

Painkiller is by far my favorite album of Priest... the FIGHT cds and Halford solo albums aren't half bad either.

I also dug Two...and the Halford stuff kicked ass too.

I've got Nostradamus on right now, Disc 1 is almost done and.... wow.

Not a good, "Wow," but a bewildered and disappointed, "wow."

I was afraid of this. The overblown theatrics of it all. One decent Priest style track (not a great one, but decent) and the rest is all dynamics with a lot of mellow parts and very few hooks and very few killer riffs.

It's not as flat out cheesy as I feared, but it really ranks down at the bottom of the Priest barrel with Rocka Rolla (and I'd rather listen to that one so far), Turbo, and Point of Entry.

Maybe it will grow on me. Maybe disc 2 is better than disc 1. Maybe I'll win the lottery.

wow.

Man if it's as good as Turbo i will love this album as i do Turbo, you mentioned Rocka Rolla, not a big 70's priest fan, it all started for me at the young age of 11 in middle school back in 1980 with British Steel.

As a priest fan for 28 years this is my own personal preference...

Defenders of the Faith
Screaming for Vengeance
Turbo
British Steel
Ram it Down
Angel of Retribution
Priest Live!
Metal Works '73 - '93 - This 2 cd set takes care of the songs i like that are on albums i don't want.

Also another endorsement for Rob's solo stuff, Fight, Two and Halford...Great stuff...

Nostrodamus is nothing like Turbo, they just use the synth guitars like they did on Turbo. It's dark, half mellow (every other song is mellow on disc 1), moody and theatrical (in a Broadway sense) - but it has very few hooks or memorable riffs (not even the heavy parts). It's not a Judas Priest album, not like any they've ever done before, anyway.

This is Judas Priest's "Elder." It's going to divide their fans (those that like it and those that hate it). The funny thing is that I like KISS' The Elder, but so far I don't like Nostrodamus - and I'm a big Priest fan, so this is a big disappointment.

I have no idea why they thought this would go over well. (Maybe they didn't - maybe this was just to keep Rob interested and happy, who knows?)

I like Turbo also, lots of good hooks and rock anthems that they have always been known for, but I understand the synth turned off some fans. I also liked Iron Maiden's Seventh Son album, another one that was disparaged by fans because of the synths.