Judas Priest Album: “Playlist: The Very Best of Judas Priest”

Judas Priest one of the most influential and powerful sounding metal bands of all time here is a run down on their most legitimate compilations.

2 Disc Compilations: Metal Works 73-93 or The Essential Judas Priest? This will come down to personal preference i prefer Metal Works for it compiles most of the best from judas priests prime, essentials includes more singles and has the green manilishi one of my favorites but the chioce is your which has more songs you want.

1 Disc Compilation: Their is only one worth mentioning. Best of: Living After Midnight however their is 2 versions of it. The 16 track version is an attempt to put the best of judas priest on one disc and is a great listen the 18 track version is an attempt to fit as many singles as possible on one disc. The 16 track has live versions (some of judas priests best songs were only great when live) and the 18 track eliminates the live tracks for a few singles that i personally thought were mostly weak tracks but the choice is yours if you must have a 1 cd compilation.

Box Set: Only other compilation i would consider is the 5 disc box set metalogy which has 4 cds of songs and 1 concert dvd but the other 3 compilations i mentioned are better for casual fans.

Conclusion the 2 disc sets really give you alot of great songs and get a good overview of the band but if you dont have time to listen to 2 disc packed full of priest the 1 disc compilation is very good listen to. Could only reccomend the box set for someone who doesnt want buy all priests albums and still wants to hear alot of their music or fanatics who want the few rare songs.

I didn't know a single Judas Priest song until I bought this album. I heard so much about them but didn't even know where to start in their catalogue. One day I saw this CD in Wal-Mart for $7 so I figured I'd give it a try. I was hooked after the first play through. I now own all of Judas Priest's studio albums (except for Angel of Retribution which I plan to get soon) and their excellent live album Unleashed In The East. I recommend this CD/download for anyone who is wondering whether or not they might like Judas Priest's music. If you like hard rock and heavy metal I don't see how you won't like the music on this CD.

All of my Priest remasters are currently in storage, save for Nostradamas oddly enough, and I got the craving to hear their music again. I hate to buy anything at the evil, corporate bastard Wal-Mart (which along with Rite-Aid, Lowe's, Home Depot and yes...Amazon.com have managed to destroy small towns and independant businesses across America) that's where I got this one..for $7. Of course, as a long-time fan I'd have selected some different songs here and there but overall it's a good listen. Plus, it lacks the dreadful "Turbo Lover" which I absolutely hate! The cover isn't so good but it is a budget release. Sound quality is excellent. If you can find it, go for the more comprehensive collection "Living After Midnight." Here on Amazon you can find a super-cheap used copy of "Metal Works," the double CD from the 90's so why not get that instead? As a grown man with a wife, a daughter, a home purchase pending, credit card debt and a leased Honda Accord (I know...I swore I'd run wild straight to the grave but hell, it starts to hurt after a while and we all get lonely...but I digress)so I can hardly justify spending more than $7-8 on any CD, new or used. I try to find them as cheap as possible or free from the library. Most of these groups have already made their fortunes so I don't feel guilty about it and neither should you.

This CD showcases the technical beauty of the band Judas Priest who was popular in the 1980s, only to see it crashing down with an inspired suicide case over alleged subliminal messages. From then on, all musical suicide cases are thrown out. Their more recent stuff from the 1986 album Turbo onwards is pretty mello stuff, a Poison like alternative to more hardcore metal. I now see Painkiller album and Angel of Retribution correctly as an expansion of the more light hearted feel of Turbo and Ram it Down. Not even a single track from the Tim Owens period is here; they said he wasn't the classic guy, they loved him though, so they just brought Rob Halford back to be less thrash oriented.