20 Greatest 'Second' Rock and Metal Albums

By Deb Jones, from Loaded

It is often said that making a second album is the hardest thing to do - especially if your debut album has been a roaring success.  So, to celebrate the art of making a great follow up album, we've put together a list of the 20 greatest rock and metal second albums...

20. The Stooges, 'Fun House'

Fun House is the second studio album by American rock band The Stooges, released in 1970. Though initially commercially unsuccessful, the album developed a strong cult following. Like its predecessor (1969's The Stooges) and its successor (1973's Raw Power), it is generally considered integral in the development of punk rock.

19. Radiohead, 'The Bends'

Forget the sad-sack Brit-grunge of 'Pablo Honey' - this stirring second album was the moment Radiohead showed signs of the genre-bending world-beaters they went onto become. Closing track 'Street Spirit...' summed up the epic scale on which Thom Yorke's bunch were now operating, losing none of the raw emotion of their debut in the process. 

18. Jimi Hendrix, 'Axis: Bold as Love'

Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in December 1967, only seven months after the release of their highly successful debut, Are You Experienced. In the United States, Reprise Records delayed the release until the following month. The album reached the top ten in the album charts in both countries.

17. Def Leppard, 'High 'n' Dry'

Before Def Leppard 'sold out' in the late '80s, they were actually a pretty cool heavy metal band. Packed with great numbers, and a heavier sound, High 'n' Dry is a real fan favourite, and still regarded as one of the best metal albums of the early '80s. 

16. Aerosmith, 'Get Your Wings'

Aerosmith have released better albums, but that's not to say Get Your Wings is poor. In fact, it's far from it. The band were at their gritty, rock and roll best during the '70s, and this album captured them in that very moment.

15. Iron Maiden, 'Killers'

Many would argue that Iron Maiden didn't really kick into gear until Bruce Dickinson came on board for their third album, but, even so, the Paul Di'Anno led Killers is still a mightily great heavy metal record, that captured the band at their absolute rawest.  

14. Judas Priest, 'Sad Wings of Destiny'

Judas Priest have released a number of amazing heavy metal albums over the years, but Sad Wings of Destiny has to be considered as one of their very best.  This was an album released during the period when Priest were red hot.

13. Megadeth, 'Peace Sells... but Who's Buying'

The '80s was a very competitive decade for thrash metal, but Megadeth were always able to hold their own and tough it out with the best of them. In the magnificent Peace Sells... but Who's Buying, the band gained huge respect, and were already standing toe-to-toe with their great rival, Metallica.

12. Pearl Jam, 'Vs.'

Following up their hugely loved debut album Ten was never going to be an easy task, but, Peral Jam gave it a pretty decent go, and ended up with Vs., which is nearly as good. Heck, many fans regard the album as the band's best work.

11. Foo Fighters, 'The Colour and The Shape'

Songs like "Monkey Wrench", "My Hero" and "Everlong" on The Colour and The Shape, saw the Foo's morph into a more collaborative beast, weathering a stormy period to make this college rock blockbuster. 

10. Oasis, 'What's The Story Morning Glory?'

Brit-rockers Oasis hit their commercial peak with their second studio album, What's The Story Morning Glory?, and at the time, there was no band bigger. In-house rows and 'creative differences' would eventually lead to the band's breakup, but this album's legacy still lives on. 

9. Hole, 'Live Through This'

Courtney Love may have later described Hole's 1991 debut was "unlistenable" but it was a critical and commercial hit that made fashioning a sequel presumably pretty daunting. Love shrugged the pressure off remarkably though: "a personal but secretive thrash-pop opera of urban nihilism" was how NME summed up the power chord pop songs of this follow-up.

8. Led Zeppelin, 'Led Zeppelin II'

In their original decade and a bit together, this was the best thing Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham created: an experimental monster full of hard blues riffin' and sleazy funk shuffles. "Whole Lotta Love", the album's thrilling opener, was only the tip of the iceberg.

7. My Bloody Valentine, 'Loveless'

Where most bands struggle for direction on their second LP, unsure whether to stick with the formula of their first and perfect or dart into new territory and risk alienating the fans they made first time around, MBV defined an entire genre with Loveless.

6. Rainbow, 'Rising'

With their classic line-up of superstars, hard rock supergroup Rainbow were never going to have much trouble creating good music. But, even most of the rock loving world was surprised as to how good their second instalment, Rising, would be. It's an absolute epic of an album. 

5. Alice In Chains, 'Dirt'

Labelled by some as the best ever grunge rock album, Dirt took Alice In Chains to new heights, and cemented their place amongst the top dogs of the '90s rock scene. This 1992 classic captures the band at their best - and was never bettered.

4. Queen, 'Queen II'

Queen II is an album that caught Queen at a time before they became watered down. Known primarily as a pop-rock band in the '80s, Queen II captured the band in their ultimate hard rock glory in the '70s. The album also contains one of the greatest rock songs ever written. 

3. Metallica, 'Ride The Lightning'

Metallica were in their full flow by the time their much loved Ride The Lightning came out in 1984. Packed with amazing songs, this album is still widely regarded by thrash metal fans and critics as one of the greatest albums of the whole heavy metal genre.

2. Nirvana, 'Nevermind'

1991 was a great year for grunge, and much of that reason was because of Nevermind. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" completely changed the rock landscape, and Nirvana's much loved second album still goes down as one of the most relevant music records of the entire century.

1. Black Sabbath, 'Paranoid'

Black Sabbath's self titled debut album started the whole heavy metal genre, but it was their second album Paranoid, released later in the same year, that would really show off the bands supreme talent. It is still regarded as one of the most complete metal albums in history.