Judas Priest Albums Ranked (with Invincible Shield)

Today I’ll be re-ranking the now 19 Judas Priest albums with the newly released Invincible Shield. Let me know your rankings in the comments.

[@biermacht1664]

I have to say, thanks to this video I FINALLY gave Demolition a chance and O-M-G were you right on this one. These songs grew on me so fast. I'm having too much fun with this album and if it weren't for this video I would've NEVER tried it. Now there is truly a Priest album for every mood.

[@ZBilbs]

Thanks so much for watching, glad my video helped you discover an underrated gem

[@ravenclaw8975]

I'm truly shocked by your ranking of Stained Class and Sad Wings of Destiny, the latter being my favourite Priest album. I saw them in the UK at Hammersmith Odeon, the night Stained Class was released. They opened up with Exciter, which in my judgment is one of the best heavy metal tracks ever written. That concert in 1978 blew me away. By 1981, I was in Quebec City with my own band covering the song. I do respect your choices though, as music is subjective to the listener.

[@palikariena7292]

If Judas Priest had only made stained class, British steel, screaming for vengeance, defenders, and painkiller; and nothing else, they would be considered in a much higher light.

[@prosperoeaton8201]

Cool list. Here is mine. I love most of these albums. The top ten range from flawless to nearly flawless. 1. Screaming for Vengeance- This album was my introduction to the band. Nothing has ever topped it. 2. Stained Class- This is a close second. 3. Sad Wings of Destiny 4. Sin After Sin 5. British Steel 6. Invincible Shield - Easily my favorite of the reunion era. 7. Hell Bent for Leather/ Killing Machine 8. Defenders of the Faith 9. Painkiller 10. Angel of Retribution 11. Nostradamus- I enjoy this album more than most. It works for me. 12. Point of Entry- If the last four tracks were on the level of the first six, this album would rank higher. 13. Firepower 14. Turbo 15. Rocka Rolla 16. Redeemer of Souls 17. Demolition- It may only be two spots higher, but I like this one much more than Jugulator. 18. Ram it Down- I only enjoy three or four songs. Blood Red Skies is my favorite. 19. Jugulator

[@capamericasur5612]

Cool. I saw them on Defenders of the Faith tour and on consecutive nights (Sacramento and San Francisco.) on the Turbo / Fuel for Life Tour). I didn't listen to them after Turbo. Kinda grew out of it. I'm glad I saw this as it made me want to go back through and listen to the stuff I missed. I got Invincible Shield and am excited to get to experience it as a new album and just soak in it like I did in the 80's-90's. Thanks for keeping it alive amigo. 🔥🤘🏻

[@ZBilbs]

Thanks for sharing, gonna see them live for the first time this May!

[@fjuczer730]

Priest never released a bad album in my opinion. Great ranking! 1. Sad Wings of Destiny 2. Stained Class 3. Sin After Sin 4. Killing Machine 5. Painkiller 6. Defenders of the Faith 7. Screaming for Vengeance 8. British Steel 9. Rocka Rolla 10. Point of Entry 11. Ram It Down 12. Invincible Shield 13. Firepower 14. Angel of Retribution 15. Redeemer of Souls 16. Jugulator 17. Demolition 18. Turbo 19. Nostradamus

[@davidmeir9348]

My top 10 (not in term of quality but whom I love listening to the most) 10 - Killing Machine 9 - Sin after Sin 8 - Defenders of the Faith (if it was just a EP with the A side songs, it would be hands down my number 1) 7 - Sad Wings of Destiny 6 - British Steel 5 - Invincible Shield (it may go higher in the coming years) 4 - Stained Class 3 - Screaming for Vengeance 2 - Painkiller 1 - Firepower

[@dandylion18]

1. Screaming for Vengeance 2. Defenders of the Faith (AKA S4V part II) 3. Hellbent for Leather (AKA Killing Machine) 4.Painkiller 5. British Steel 6. Stained Class. 7. Sin After Sin 8. Sad Wings of Destiny 9. Angel Of Retribution. 10. Invincible Shield.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

1. Sad Wings of Destiny 2. Point of Entry 3. Screaming for Vengeance 4. British Steel 5. Killing Machine 6. Sin After Sin 7. Rocka Rolla 8. Stained Class 9. Angel of Retribution 10. Turbo 11. Invincible Shield 12. Defenders of the Faith 13. Ram it Down 14. Redeemer of Souls 15. Firepower 16. Painkiller 17. Nostradamus 18. Demolition 19. Jugulator

[@dawnpatrol700]

One track off Point of Entry I LOVE, is " troubleshooter". Solar Angels too, but overall, the album doesn't do it for me. The 1984 Live in Longbeach version of Desert Plains is a thousand times better than the studio version

[@reclaimerReclaimer]

No way, that version is too fast and a thousand times worse than the original it's a mid-tempo slow song losing all its mood if played fast becoming just another fast tune. See, that's an all too common thing sometimes with younger Priest fans they don't always appreciate slower tracks everything has to be fast.

[@fourseasons4105]

1. Stained class 2. Screaming for vengeance 3. Defenders of the faith 4. Sin after sin 5. Sad wings of destiny 6. Painkiller 7. British still 8. Killing machine 9. Firepower 10. Invincible shield 11. Turbo 12. Nostradamus 13. Ram it down 14. Angel of retribution 15. Point of entry 16. Redeemer of souls 17. Rocka rolla 18. Jegulator 19. Demolition

[@lattitaf]

1. Sad Wings Of Destiny 2. Defenders Of The Faith 3. Screaming For Vengeance 4. Sin After Sin 5. Painkiller 6. Invincible Shield 7. FirePower 8. Point Of Entry 9. Ram It Down 10. Turbo 11. British Steel 12. Killing Machine 13. Stained Class 14. Angel Of Retribution 15. Redeemer Of Souls 16. Rocka Rolla 17. Nostradamus 18. Jugulator 19. Demolition

[@markwiygul6356]

1 -- PAINKILLER -- A+ every track is pure definite metal, and Touch of Evil is a total gem . . yes the title track is fantastic, and it gets the credit it deserves 2 -- SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE -- A+, their two best songs of all time, Electric Eye and You've Got Another Thing Coming, still unequeled 3 -- DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH -- A+ this album is a prime rib, every track awesome, and listenable over and over. 4 -- INVINCIBLE SHIELD -- A+ single videos weren't released for the best tracks imo: Gates of Hell, Escape from Reality, Sons of Thunder, As God is my Witness, Giants in the Sky 5 -- FIREPOWER -- A+ their most macho sounding album of all 6 -- STAINED CLASS -- A+ totally classic 70s metal with a more progressive touch than their followup, better song writing here, each track more epic 7 -- NOSTRADAMUS -- A+ way way way underrated, apparently everyone is parroting that it's bad, no it's not, it's a masterpiece, but different. I can this or above getting 1st Place on a list 8 -- RAM IT DOWN -- A, Hard As Iron favorite track, also great are Come and Get It, I'm A Rocker, Title Track, Heavy Metal, Love Zone. the other songs wear thin quick, like after a couple of listens 9 -- TURBO -- A very catchy, every track, just I like a heavier touch so I put Ram It Down above it 10 -- BRITISH STEEL -- A their most overrated album, especially Breaking The Law, which is why I push it down my list. Yep, Living After Midnight is ultra classic, can listen to it a million times 11 -- POINT OF ENTRY -- A great song writing but they chose their weakest tracks as singles. 12 -- SAD WINGS OF DESTINY -- B+ it's got a few gems, but mostly overrated material said to be legendary 13 -- HELL BENT FOR LEATHER -- B ditto above 14 -- SIN AFTER SIN -- B and above 15 -- REDEEMER OF SOULS -- C+ This album is actually fantastic on the first few listens but many quickly turn to saccharine classic rock 16 -- ANGEL OF RETRIBUTION -- C+ some of the tracks are pure classic A+ for me: Hell Rider, Worth Fighting For, Demonizer, Revolution, Wheels of Fire and Deal With the Devil I haven't listened to these: Rocka Rolla, Demolition, Jugulator. I don't think I'd care for Rocka Rolla based on reviews. I do think I might like the later too, but they aren't available at a resonable price on CD, and I don't stream music, don't believe in subscribing to those services because I love collecting the actual media. I put my CDs in protective mylar after ripping them digitally, and admiring the liner booklet, but listened to the songs after they are ripped. . . I do think KK Priest's Sin After Sin is a grade A album! and plan on getting their followup too nice review you did! great to hear different opinions . . only thing I gotta recommend is you listen to Ram It Down's Hard As Iron, and keeping listening to it till you like it hahahaha

[@sabbaseleftheriadis5601]

finally, a realistic list, compared to the humorous lists some people put there, placing Invincible Shield below point of entry and stuff... Invincible Shield at #4 is quite good.

[@kevinbrown1893]

1. Painkiller (1990) 2. Stained Class (1978) 3. Defenders of The Faith (1984) 4. Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) 5. Firepower (2018) 6. Screaming for Vengeance (1982) 7. Killing Machine (1978) 8. Invincible Shield (2024) 9. Sin After Sin (1977) 10. British Steel (1980) 11. Angel of Retribution (2005) 12. Rocka Rolla (1974) 13. Redeemer of Souls (2014) 14. Point of Entry (1981) 15. Nostradamus (2008) 16. Ram It Down (1988) 17. Turbo (1986) 18. Jugulator (1997) 19. Demolition (2001)

Replace Firepower with Invincible Shield and its gonna be a perfect list

[@Dave-qi3ft]

Turbo is a great album. I hated it when I was a kid but as an adult, I can't deny, it has great songs.

[@Savatage1964]

Reading some comments here and I guess people aren't taking your ranking seriously. I got to Point of Entry @17 and gave up hope. THEN you get to Ram It Down and say, "... Turbo is their most hated album..." yet you didn't rank it as worst...so, Methinks you DO need to go back to your drawing board and take your personal bias out of it. I didn't even get to where you ranked Stained Class but the comments are clear you fucked that up too. Moving on.... cheers.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

isn't it supposed to be personal opinions? "My ranking of..." certainly alludes to that. My ranking would be different (Sad Wings of Destiny at nr 1) but I fail to see why you get upset. This guy has all the right to have his opinion and if he loves "Turbo" that's what he does and it shouldn't matter that every one else hate that album. Noone needs to agree or disagree since everything is subjective opinions. I'm not a metal fan so when JP goes into metal territory I tend to yawn but I don't expect anyone to share my bias towards the 70s stuff.

[@johnsmith-oz6cx]

unleashed in the east best ever

[@scooter29]

Stained Class 12th…hilarious. It’s far from boring. It’s my #1

[@faelreklaw8837]

1 Ram it Down 2 Painkiller 3 Defenders of the faith 4 Turbo 5 Screaming for Vengeance 6 Demolition 7 Invinsible Shield 8 Angel of Retrubution 9 Point of Entry 10 Firepower 11 Redeemer of Souls 12 Sad Wing fo Destiny 13 British Steel 14 Stained glass 15 Sin after sin 16 Killing Machine 17 Nostradamus 18 Rocka Rolla 19 Jugulator My favourite era is the Fuel for life tour from the electic eye dvd. I wish there was a dvd with the ram it down era tour cause i guess it would be awesome. I didnt live the 80s but i love them and as someone can see from my list i find the 70s a little slow and kinda boring. Saying that i like all the albums a lot even the 70s. Isle of domination, better than you better than me, run of the mill, sinner etc etc many many good songs but if i had to rank them compared to others yeah bottom tier. Also i hate jugulator not one good song barely cathedral spires.

[@ChadTheDragonLord]

If you love Judas Priest you will love this band. They formed in 2016 and are embarking on a world tour this summer. Check out this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2TYeJ2mYrVqeqs

[@richards3862]

1 invincible shield v 2 screaming for vengeance 3 point of entry😊😊

[@spd-kv6sd]

I'd rather do this with a tier list. Like this: Rocka Rolla: Kickstarter, more of a fun rock album, Priest were starting to just find their style. Not much left of it in their legacy due to the lost rights and the few amount of songs played on stage, but still not a bad album in the end. Tier D only because of what came after it. Sad Wings of Destiny: Showed what Priest could indeed do, some of their best songs are from there. Glenn showcases good keyboards skills on a few songs too and is already playing lead guitar in a fair amount of the songs. Even if I mostly listen to Victim of Changes and Dreamer Deceiver from it, it still is a very high bar by all standards. I put it in Tier A. Sin After Sin: Losing copyrights didn't phase Priest in any way. It's considered to be the album when KK Downing is at his best, but I don't think so. Still, they kept changing drummer after drummer at the time. I haven't heard much of this album on concerts, but I've heard at least Sinner and that song is indeed very good. I could say B tier is justified. Stained Class: This is the start of Priest's Golden Era and at first I didn't know that much of this album and how many good songs were from it. Exciter is one of Priest's hardest songs to sing, Les Binks indeed is a great drummer - but not the best to have played for Priest - their best ballads are from it and it has a song by every member of the band. Where else to put it than in Tier S? Killing Machine: This was the first of the more American style albums and indeed was their worldwide breakout. However, it doesn't feel as memorable as Stained Class and is feeling a bit more bloated. Hell Bent For Leather is the only highlight from there and that song is far from being their greatest, even if it was their closer for most of the 80s and paved their way to becoming what they are now. For this song only and for the fact Glenn Tipton showed he is on par with even Eddie van Halen as a guitarist, I put this album in Tier C. British Steel: Tier S! No need to comment! Dave Holland joined and he is the best Priest drummer to me. And my favourite. Often criminally underrated. The rest needs no comment as I said. Point of Entry: One of the most polarising albums of Priest and their first recorded in the USA. The songs as songs are a bit more generic due to the wish of their manager at the time to try something more radio friendly. However, the highlights save the album up to the C Tier, because of how much passion was put into it. Don't forget Desert Plains is their favourite song to perform live! Screaming for Vengeance: HANDS DOWN TIER S!!! My favourite album by Priest nonetheless. Defenders of the Faith: Picked up right where Vengeance left off. Halford was still in his prime, Tipton was trying his hardest. Downing feels to have had a bigger role in it. Less highlights were produced, most of them pushed into the first tracks. No signs of faltering yet and the album is so underrated. I'm putting it in the A Tier. Turbo: The idea behind the album was not bad, but was utopic at best. It's a 100% Judas Priest album though. You could tell the fans were not happy with the sound change at all, but if you look deeper, the songs are quite decent. This album really shows the class this band had. I'm placing it in Tier A. Ram it Down: Good song, but the album was simply a stich of patches and sort of a rag-tag. Last to be recorded in America as well. It had its moments and I usually like albums revolving on previously unreleased tracks. Tier B is justified. Painkiller: Their best album, rivaled only by Steel and Vengeance. No need to comment on it. Tier S! The only bad part of it is that it was one of the main things on which Halford lost his voice. And it's the first with Scott Travis. Jugulator: Never listened to it, but considering what Glenn Tipton did at the time, maybe he wasn't that focused on it. Tim Owens had to try to get out of the Rob Halford blend. To me, his best years are with Iced Earth. Maybe I could put it in Tier D. Demolition: Same as Jugulator. Maybe Tier D. Angel of Retribution: The return of Rob Halford was a good one! He couldn't sing like he used to, but his songwriting was still prime. Priest showed that class is forever and that they're still a great band. The album can easily go into Tier A. Nostradamus: The album again doesn't feel like having much of a punch. The idea of a double album is finalized, but... It's too much and left next to no legacy. It isn't easy to listen to and Halford is no longer who he used to be. Don Airy is a nice touch though. Still... By Priest Standards maybe this is the album to get Tier F. Redeemer of Souls: This album showed the band faltering already. Maybe it should have been their last. They're repeating themselves already. But still, are having fun. The songs were 100% Judas Priest again. Overall, a decent album. Tier B. Firepower: It's still a steep downhill, the sound was faltering already and Priest are repeating themselves. Not to mention the feud with KK. For that specific reason I'm tempted to put it in the F tier, but I'm putting it in C, cause it was still not bad. 😅

[@ZBilbs]

Thanks for watching and for sharing your tier list which honestly is far more detailed and well thought-out than my ranking😅

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

Hi! I prefer the 70s albums by JP because I'm more into blues, blues rock, prog rock and 70s hard rock, not really ever been a heavy metal fan. I would argue against "Rocka Rolla". Many mention it as ok and it seems like they tolerate it just because it's their first album. In the context of JP discography of course it's important and by all means ok. Taken out of the JP context and put into the context of what was going on in the world of rock/blues/hardrock in the early to mid 70s it's far far far from ok. "Burn" and "Stormbringer" (Deep Purple), first Rainbow album, "Houses of the Holy" (Led Zeppelin), "Tattoo" (Rory Gallagher), "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (Black Sabbath), "Wonderworld" (Uriah Heep), "Quo" (Status Quo), "High Voltage" (Ac/Dc), "Not Fragile" (BTO), "Bridge of Sighs" (Robin Trower) and others, all of which came out around the time that "Rocka Rolla" came out, shows easily that "Rocka Rolla" is incredible weak, in production, song writing and performance. It's plodding and lacklustre. It's just not good at all, just listenable if barely. Why waste time on that when there was much better music around at the time? The only reason why most people bother with "Rocka Rolla" at all is because it's the first JP album.

[@davidburns6284]

You are definitely the only one I've ever seen put Demolition above Painkiller. Quite the headscratcher. I do agree with your #1 though. My ranking: 1. Screaming For Vengeance 2. Painkiller 3. Defenders of the Faith 4. British Steel 5. Invincible Shield 6. Stained Class 7. Firepower 8. Hell Bent for Leather 9. Angel of Retribution 10. Redeemer of Souls 11. Sad Wings of Destiny 12. Sin After Sin 13. Jugulator 14. Demolition 15. Ram it Down 16. Point of Entry 17. Rocka Rolla 18. Turbo 19. Nostradamus

[@ZBilbs]

Yes I’m the only person I know who likes Demolition😅

@@ZBilbs @ZBilbs This was a pretty good explanation. I can't deny I have never given Demolition a true chance to shine. I have to give it a spin or two, but still imho this album is not that good, but if I had to choose my choice would be Metal Messiah for sure. Btw I like you put Nostradamus that high. Its a very good album not best tho. Alone, Exiled or Future of Mankind are great atmospheric moody songs and Invincible Shield is one huge victorious ride for Judas Priest. A huge amazement 👍

[@stevenworden1802]

Rating Turbo above Stained Class...what you say is ridiculous dude. I watched it all now and you are a fan , you can clearly see you're a fan, but your taste is really bad. Really Really Bad.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

different strokes for different folks?

[@Ronnieromance]

You lost me putting stained class at 12 😳 might want to get some new ears lol

[@ZBilbs]

My bad🫣😅

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

you get new ears! He shares his opinions of the JP discography, not yours. You are free to make your own video. Please do that and we can all watch that and comment "you put so and so on bla bla bla, you should've put it on that instead because I think you should feel exactly like I do" and so on.

[@dawnpatrol700]

I was with you on the lower half, but when Stained Class was lower than Turbo, you lost me. Its not that i hate Turbo, its a fun album, but the lyrics are so dumbed down. Priest fans looked at it as a sellout. Fun album, it just doesnt fit their legacy. Stained Class was when they found their way. Painkiller and Sad Wings need to be higher as well

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

opinions...

[@TammeyBrown-72]

I listened to Demolition again after not listening to it for many years and I’m sorry this one for me is still their worst album ever. Demolition sounds nothing like a Priest album. Jugulator for me between the 2, but my bottom 3 are last place being Demolition 2nd to last Nostradamus and 3rd from the bottom, Jugulator.

[@jormungandr7885]

Sad wings of destiny is their best album by far.

[@user-bm3ts2ql6s]

I bet to differ, Point of Entry is rather good.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

Indeed it is, Halford at his peak vocally and best production of any '80s album.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

everyone has opinions and personal taste. The guy is just sharing his opinions.

[@jamesgray4627]

All good except low rating of Point of entry. Love that album. Does anybody know why they changed the original album cover? The one they go by now is so generic and lame.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

Very odd change, the US cover is terrible while the cover that the rest of the world got is miles better, I guess CBS in America felt that since the album is kind of lighter musically it should have a brighter cover, shows their lack of logic as it loses the moody atmospheric original image and logo. They also changed the logo to the '3D' one used mostly since then.

[@jamesgray4627]

@@LarryFleetwood8675 Thanks I prefer the Desert plains one.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

it's opinions only. He consider it lower than you, it is what it is. I value "Sad wings of destiny" as nr 1 but for me it's perfectly ok that other people don't agree.

[@scooter29]

Victim of changes is their best song…ever

[@hermannernst8876]

hahaha, ridiculous. But you are into metal, what´s the good thing.

[@cesarpontoriero8893]

WORST ALBUMS RANKED!!!!!!!!!!

[@baneblessing6862]

1. Sad Wings Of Destiny 2. Stained Class 3. Defenders Of The Faith 4. Painkiller 5. Redeemer Of Souls 6. Screaming For Vengeance 7. Point Of Entry 8. Turbo 9. Invincible Shield 10. Sin After Sin 11. Hell Bent For Leather 12. Angel Of Retribution 13. Nostradamus 14. FirePower 15. Ran It Down 16. British Steel 17. Demolition 18. Jugulator 19. Rocka Rolla