The turn of the decade is always a time of transition in music. As the '70s came to a close, punk was getting experimental, rock was transitioning into heavy metal and the goth scene was just starting to emerge — and these are the 50 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 1980.
In metal, the sound was still being defined after Black Sabbath and Judas Priest pioneered a harder and heavier version of the rock acts that had preceded and co-existed alongside them. Harmonized lead guitar playing was starting to come to the forefront, as was the gallop so expertly laid down by Iron Maiden — two hallmarks of heavy metal's original vision.
On the rock side, while there were still some tried and true rock outfits, we saw the punk revolution that started a few years prior really start to evolve, as acts like The Clash, The Ramones and others incorporated other outside influences in growing their sound and a second wave of punk acts planted their flag in the music world, taking it to the next level.
