I just blind purchased Piece Of
of Mind on LP and I really like it. What is the next album I should listen to?
So with Iron Maiden, you basically have two major eras; The Classic Era and The Reunion Era:
But to break down the eras:
Dianno EraFist singer Paul Dianno sings on the band's first two albums.
1. Iron Maiden
2. Killers
Classic Era
Bruce Dickinson replaces Dianno as singer
3. The Number Of The Beast
4. Piece Of Mind
5. Powerslave
6. Somewhere In Time
7. Seventh Son Of A Seventh SonGuitarist Adrian Smith leaves and is replaced by Jannick Gers
Two albums are released by this lineup, both of with are generally considered sub par.
8. No Prayer For The Dying
9. Fear Of The Dark
Blaze EraBruce Dickinson leaves and is replaced by Blaze Bayley.
10. The X Factor
11. Virtual XI
Reunion Era
Both Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith return. Jannick Gers stays on. Maiden now has 3 guitarists.
12. Brave New World
13. Dance Of Death
14. A Matter Of Life And Death
15. The Final Frontier
16. The Book Of SoulsMy advice would be to leave the Dianno and Blaze eras alone for now. Some great stuff in both, but this band's success is all about Bruce Dickinson albums.
I would either go through the 5 Classic Albums, and then move onto the 5 Reunion albums, or what may be more fun is to do one Classic/one Reunion/one Classic/one Reunion...and so on. I'm not sure that there's a definitive fan favorite Classic Era album. Personally, I go with The Number Of The Beast, but Piece Of Mind is excellent.
The general concensus is that A Matter Of Life And Death is the Reunion Era's best album, though some may have other personal faves. AMOLAD is generally cited as the top dog.