The pioneers of the thrash metal genre, Metallica, started with fast tempos, aggressive riffs, and intense musicianship that hasn’t stopped. Jabbing forward with their first album, ‘Kill ‘Em All,’ Metallica then followed up with ‘Ride the Lightning’, which grew the band into a household name.
Through their ten albums, Metallica has had all ten certified platinum by the RIAA, including one that was certified Diamond: ‘Metallica,’ released in 1991.
Recommended Listening: If you like your metal, just pick an album (except for maybe ‘St. Anger’). Their most famous songs are likely “Enter Sandman” from ‘Metallica,’ and “Master of Puppets” from the album of the same title.
Blue Öyster Cult
Abbreviated as BOC, Blue Öyster Cult started in 1967 in New York and has sold more than twenty-four million records worldwide. Known mostly as a hard rock band, they've also dipped into psychedelic rock, acid rock, progressive rock, and more.
BOC is known as “thinking man's metal.” They've influenced dozens of bands, including plenty on this list, and they even inspired a famous Saturday Night Live skit.
Recommended Listening: Make sure you hear “(Don't Fear) The Reaper.” It remains one of the most famous classic rock and metal songs ever. Also, check out “Burnin' for You,” “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll,” and “Godzilla.”
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters began as a one-man project by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. The band has four Best Rock Album awards from the Grammys and has sold twelve million albums in the United States alone.
The band's most recent album came in 2017, titled 'Concrete and Gold,' debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 120,000 copies in the first week. The album also debuted at number one on twelve other national charts.
Recommended Listening: 'In Your Honor,' released in 2005, is their most lauded album, a certified platinum album by the RIAA, which also includes the hit single “Best of You.”
Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio, or simply Dio, has made his mark on music from several bands. He could be the progenitor of heavy metal, eventually working with Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath, his band Rainbow, and later a solo outfit.
Dio is famous for popularizing the “metal horns” gesture. Dio said it's an Italian gesture to ward off the evil eye. When Dio joined Black Sabbath, Ozzy flashed the peace sign, and Dio wanted his own gesture.
Recommended Listening: A best of Dio could be its own entire article, but check out “Holy Diver,” “Don't Talk to Strangers,” “Stargazer,” and “Rainbow in the Dark.”
R.E.M.
R.E.M. stands for rapid eye movement, and it's the perfect way to describe this band's music, one of the first alternative rock bands. Nirvana and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the alternative rock genre.
Their 1991 album 'Out of Time' received seven nominations at the 34th Grammys, and the album's lead single, “Losing My Religion,” was the band's hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The band retired in 2011.
Recommended Listening: Start with 'Out of Time' and go from there. Other great songs include “Nightswimming” and “It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”