Megadeth's Albums Ranked From Worst To Best

15. Super Collider (Tradecraft/Universal, 2013)

It was all going so well, wasnt it? The follow-up to the widely acclaimed
Th1rt3en should have been another corker, not least because Dave Mustaines
mojo was very much perked up after his bands mid-noughties revival, but
Super Collider was a hideous disappointment. Plodding, banal and lacking
testicular fortitude, it was a half-arsed attempt to strip things down to hard rock
basics and, one or two half-decent tunes aside, it went down spectacularly
badly with even the most diehard deth-heads. Yawn.
14. Risk (Capitol, 1999)
Despite its reputation as a career-wrecking, St. Anger-style clanger, Risk is
nowhere near as bad as you may have been led to believe. Admittedly, Dave
Mustaines half-hearted attempts to appease so-called alternative rock radio in
the US did lead to some rather daft filler tracks Crush Em, in particular, is a
calamitous sack of arse but Prince Of Darkness and the closing, two-part Time
are genuinely great and Breadline is insanely catchy. A mixed bag rather than
an outright turkey.
13. The World Needs A Hero (Sanctuary, 2001)
The return of bassist David Ellefson buoyed the hearts of many a Megadeth fan,
and while The World Needs A Hero was no kind of classic, it certainly repaired
some of the damage done by the confused and patchy Risk. Boosted by the
one-off involvement of noted shredder Al Pitrelli, songs like Dread And The
Fugitive Mind and Disconnect paved the way for the greater creative triumphs
that followed a few years later.
12. Cryptic Writings (Capitol, 1997)
Celebrated primarily for Trust, a stone-cold classic Megadeth single and a truly
great album opener, Cryptic Writings inspired neither devotion nor much vitriol
among the bands fanbase. Arguably the last time the
Mustaine/Friedman/Ellefson/Menza line-up fired on all cylinders, tunes like SheWolf and Almost Honest may not rival the bands greatest classics, but they still
rule. The rest is good but not great.
11. The System Has Failed (Sanctuary, 2004)
Released two years after Dave Mustaine had effectively disbanded Megadeth
due to a serious arm injury, The System Has Failed emerged to suggest that the
ginger magicians recovery was very much underway. Originally intended as a
solo record, The System Has Failed is as vicious and progressive as anything
the band have produced, albeit slightly lacking in killer hooks. The involvement

of former guitarist Chris Poland certainly gave old school fans something to
cheer about, too.

10. United Abominations (Roadrunner, 2007)

Newly signed to Roadrunner Records, Megadeth did the decent thing and
continued their creative recovery on their 11th studio effort. United
Abominations signified a thrilling return to form: from pulverising opener
Sleepwalker and the fiery Washington Is Next! through to the snarling Burnt Ice,
it was an exercise in supreme confidence, refined songwriting and proud,
purposeful heavy fucking metal. The only downside was a slightly pointless rerecording of A Tout Le Monde featuring Lacuna Coils Cristina Scabbia. You cant
win em all.
9. Youthanasia (Capitol, 1994)
Many fans baulked at Megadeths deliberate drift into less thrashy, more
mainstream territory, but with hindsight Youthanasia is a very strong record
and one that makes a lot more sense than the similarly-inclined but genuinely
dreadful Super Collider. Some of the bands finest 90s cuts are contained
within: Train Of Consequences, Addicted To Chaos, Reckoning Day and A Tout Le
Monde are all certified monsters and Blood Of Heroes is one of the great
unsung Megadeth tunes.
8. Th1rt3en (Roadrunner, 2011)
Following the mind-blowing Endgame was never going to be easy, but
Mustaines ability to churn out rampaging anthems was much in evidence on
this diverse but destructive slab of prime Dave. The best moments are as good
as anything Megadeth have done since the 80s: Public Enemy Number One,
Whose Life (Is It Anyways?), Black Swan and New World Order ripsnorters all,
and even closing quasi-ballad 13 exuded a certain menacing charm.
7. So Far, So Good So What! (Capitol, 1988)
Despite its vexed production and the inclusion of a frankly dismal cover of the
Sex Pistols Anarchy In The UK, Megadeths third album remains a revered
classic and a laudable bridge between the nascent brilliance of Peace Sells and
the genre-defining mastery of Rust In Peace. Epic and adventurous on In My
Darkest Hour and Set The World Afire, brutal and snotty on 502, Liar and Hook
In Mouth, SFSGSW was an uncompromising statement and it still slays today.
6. Dystopia (Tradecraft/Universal, 2016)
A surprise inclusion this far up the list, perhaps, but while nostalgia will always
nudge us towards older records, Dystopia is genuinely one of Megadeths finest
albums and a timely reminder that few people know how to write and perform

face-flaying thrash metal like Mustaine and his cohorts. Kiko Loureiro and Chris
Adlers contributions are undeniably significant, but its the sheer power and
ingenuity of songs like The Threat Is Real and Death From Within that confirm
Megadeths ongoing greatness.

5. Killing Is My Business (Combat, 1985)

In terms of refining and defining the thrash metal template, Dave Mustaine is
unquestionably the genres kingpin. Aside from writing at least half of
Metallicas Kill Em All, he also created his own bands debut album: a fast,
furious and relentlessly pissed off assault on the senses that haughtily upped
the ante for the entire metal scene. More technically impressive than the rest
and driven by fury and revenge, Killing revealed that Megadeth were a
unique and formidable proposition.
4. Countdown To Extinction (Capitol, 1992)
By any sane reckoning, Megadeths most commercially successful album is a
classic. With Marty Friedman and Nick Menza on blistering form and the
Mustaine/Ellefson axis as potent as ever, everything from exhilarating opener
Skin O My Teeth and the grim stomp of Symphony Of Destruction through to
the angular prog-out of Ashes In Your Mouth brimmed with confidence and
intensity. The tunes were massive, the lead guitar trade-offs took the roof off
and world domination was inevitable.
3. Peace Sells But Whos Buying? (Capitol, 1986)
Dark, raging and vastly more inventive than anything else that was going on in
the thrash scene, Peace Sells was a fearsome affirmation of values and skill
that enabled Megadeth to snap at Metallicas heels for the first time. Songs like
Wake Up Dead and the immortal title track are so firmly established as classic
speed metal anthems that it seems a bit redundant to sing their praises again.
But lets do it anyway. Peace Sells fucking slays.
2. Endgame (Roadrunner, 2009)
Megadeth fans were full of optimism as the band readied their 12th album, but
no one was expecting Endgame to be as straightforwardly magnificent as it
turned out to be. Everything fell into place on this towering slab of modern
metal: producer Andy Sneap weaved his usual magic, Dave Mustaine wrote
some of his finest ever songs and every last musician played his merry bollocks
off throughout. Whether delivering total thrash euphoria (This Day We Fight!) or

plunging into dark, progressive waters (Endgame), this was an unequivocal

triumph and one of the finest metal albums of the 21st century so far.
1. Rust In Peace (Capitol, 1990)
Something magical happened when Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson joined
forces with guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. Rust In Peace is
one of those albums: a masterpiece with no obvious flaws, not an ounce of filler
or flab and some of the most obscenely thrilling moments in all of recorded
metal history. Holy Wars The Punishment Due, Hangar 18 and Tornado Of
Souls may be the obvious highlights, but the entire record still leaps from the
speakers 26 years later, sounding supremely arrogant and startlingly powerful.
But beyond its hallowed contents, Rust In Peace is a seminal work because it
completely upgraded metals sonic vocabulary, heroically raising levels of
precision, technicality and compositional suss and kick-starting the 90s with a
sustained blast of immaculate, state-of-the-art savagery that continues to send
shockwaves through the metal world today.