I have been a fan of Iron Maiden since I was a teenager. This summer, I finally saw them live at Ernst Happel Stadion Wien an was blown away by their great live show.

A few months later I have finished my anual relisten of their discography. This time, I really wanted to think about which albums I liked best. Intuitively I might have gravitated towards the 80s classics “Powerslave” and “The Number of the Beast”.

To help me reflect, I vibecoded an App with Claude.ai, ChatGpt and DeepSeek - depending on where I had tokens left. The “Iron Maiden Album Sorter” lets you sort all albums in order of preference. Individual tracks can be rated with a 3 star rating. The state is persisted in local storage. I also tried to implement a permalink function which lets you transfer state via url, but this only works if you do not rate all tracks. Despite compression, the url gets to long for gitlab pages limits. The json format might be optimised to overocome this problem but to be honest: I did not want to spend to much time on this side project.

What I discovered upon close soul search though was quite surprising: 80s Maiden is very nice, but two of my favourite albums are not from the 80s at all. “Powerslave” is not my favourite album and “Virtual XI” is not the worst one. So here is my personal Maiden Album Ranking, exported from the app:

  1. The Book of Souls (2015)
  2. Powerslave (1984)
  3. Brave New World (2000)
  4. The Number of the Beast (1982)
  5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
  6. Iron Maiden (1980)
  7. Killers (1981)
  8. Piece of Mind (1983)
  9. The X Factor (1995)
  10. Somewhere in Time (1986)
  11. Dance of Death (2003)
  12. Senjutsu (2021)
  13. Fear of the Dark (1992)
  14. No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
  15. Virtual XI (1998)
  16. The Final Frontier (2010)
  17. A Matter of Life and Death (2006)

If you want to try your own hand, just head over to the Iron Maiden Album Sorter

Here is the full ranking with track ratings:

  1. The Book of Souls (2015)
    • Track ratings:
      • If Eternity Should Fail: ★★★
      • Speed of Light: ★★★
      • The Great Unknown: ★★☆
      • The Red and the Black: ★★★
      • When the River Runs Deep: ★★☆
      • The Book of Souls: ★★★
      • Death or Glory: ★★☆
      • Shadows of the Valley: ★★☆
      • Tears of a Clown: ★★★
      • The Man of Sorrows: ★☆☆
      • Empire of the Clouds: ★★★
  2. Powerslave (1984)
    • Track ratings:
      • Aces High: ★★★
      • 2 Minutes to Midnight: ★★★
      • Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra): ★☆☆
      • Flash of the Blade: ★★☆
      • The Duellists: ★☆☆
      • Back in the Village: ★☆☆
      • Powerslave: ★★★
      • Rime of the Ancient Mariner: ★★★
  3. Brave New World (2000)
    • Track ratings:
      • The Wicker Man: ★★★
      • Ghost of the Navigator: ★★★
      • Brave New World: ★★★
      • Blood Brothers: ★★★
      • The Mercenary: ★★☆
      • Dream of Mirrors: ★★☆
      • The Fallen Angel: ★★☆
      • The Nomad: ★★☆
      • Out of the Silent Planet: ★★☆
      • The Thin Line Between Love and Hate: ★☆☆
  4. The Number of the Beast (1982)
    • Track ratings:
      • Invaders: ★★☆
      • Children of the Damned: ★★★
      • The Prisoner: ★☆☆
      • 22 Acacia Avenue: ★☆☆
      • The Number of the Beast: ★★★
      • Run to the Hills: ★★★
      • Gangland: ★☆☆
      • Hallowed Be Thy Name: ★★★
  5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
    • Track ratings:
      • Moonchild: ★★☆
      • Infinite Dreams: ★☆☆
      • Can I Play with Madness: ★★★
      • The Evil That Men Do: ★★★
      • Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: ★★☆
      • The Prophecy: ★☆☆
      • The Clairvoyant: ★★★
      • Only the Good Die Young: ★★★
  6. Iron Maiden (1980)
    • Track ratings:
      • Prowler: ★★★
      • Remember Tomorrow: ★★☆
      • Running Free: ★★☆
      • Phantom of the Opera: ★★★
      • Transylvania: ★★☆
      • Strange World: ★★☆
      • Charlotte the Harlot: ★★☆
      • Iron Maiden: ★★★
  7. Killers (1981)
    • Track ratings:
      • The Ides of March: ★★☆
      • Wrathchild: ★★★
      • Murders in the Rue Morgue: ★★★
      • Another Life: ★☆☆
      • Genghis Khan: ★☆☆
      • Innocent Exile: ★☆☆
      • Killers: ★★★
      • Prodigal Son: ★☆☆
      • Purgatory: ★☆☆
      • Drifter: ★☆☆
  8. Piece of Mind (1983)
    • Track ratings:
      • Where Eagles Dare: ★★★
      • Revelations: ★☆☆
      • Flight of Icarus: ★★☆
      • Die With Your Boots On: ★★☆
      • The Trooper: ★★★
      • Still Life: ★☆☆
      • Quest for Fire: ★☆☆
      • Sun and Steel: ★★☆
      • To Tame a Land: ★☆☆
  9. The X Factor (1995)
    • Track ratings:
      • Sign of the Cross: ★★☆
      • Lord of the Flies: ★★☆
      • Man on the Edge: ★★★
      • Fortunes of War: ★☆☆
      • Look for the Truth: ★☆☆
      • The Aftermath: ★★★
      • Judgement of Heaven: ★★☆
      • Blood on the World’s Hands: ★★☆
      • The Edge of Darkness: ★☆☆
      • 2 A.M.: ★☆☆
      • The Unbeliever: ★☆☆
  10. Somewhere in Time (1986)
    • Track ratings:
    • Caught Somewhere in Time: ★★☆
    • Wasted Years: ★★★
    • Sea of Madness: ★☆☆
    • Heaven Can Wait: ★★★
    • The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: ★★☆
    • Stranger in a Strange Land: ★☆☆
    • Deja-Vu: ★☆☆
    • Alexander the Great: ★☆☆
  11. Dance of Death (2003)
    • Track ratings:
    • Wildest Dreams: ★★☆
    • Rainmaker: ★☆☆
    • No More Lies: ★★☆
    • Montségur: ★★☆
    • Dance of Death: ★★★
    • Gates of Tomorrow: ★☆☆
    • New Frontier: ★★☆
    • Paschendale: ★☆☆
    • Face in the Sand: ★☆☆
    • Age of Innocence: ★☆☆
    • Journeyman: ★☆☆
  12. Senjutsu (2021)
    • Track ratings:
    • Senjutsu: ★★☆
    • Stratego: ★☆☆
    • The Writing on the Wall: ★★★
    • Lost in a Lost World: ★☆☆
    • Days of Future Past: ★★☆
    • The Time Machine: ★☆☆
    • Darkest Hour: ★☆☆
    • Death of the Celts: ★★☆
    • The Parchment: ★☆☆
    • Hell on Earth: ★★☆
  13. Fear of the Dark (1992)
    • Track ratings:
    • Be Quick or Be Dead: ★★☆
    • From Here to Eternity: ★☆☆
    • Afraid to Shoot Strangers: ★☆☆
    • Fear Is the Key: ★★☆
    • Childhood’s End: ★☆☆
    • Wasting Love: ★☆☆
    • The Fugitive: ★☆☆
    • Chains of Misery: ★☆☆
    • The Apparition: ★☆☆
    • Judas Be My Guide: ★★☆
    • Weekend Warrior: ★☆☆
    • Fear of the Dark: ★★★
  14. No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
    • Track ratings:
    • Tailgunner: ★★★
    • Holy Smoke: ★★☆
    • No Prayer for the Dying: ★☆☆
    • Public Enema Number One: ★☆☆
    • Fates Warning: ★☆☆
    • The Assassin: ★☆☆
    • Run Silent Run Deep: ★☆☆
    • Hooks in You: ★☆☆
    • Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter: ★★☆
    • Mother Russia: ★☆☆
  15. Virtual XI (1998)
    • Track ratings:
    • Futureal: ★★★
    • The Angel and the Gambler: ★☆☆
    • Lightning Strikes Twice: ★☆☆
    • The Clansman: ★★☆
    • When Two Worlds Collide: ★☆☆
    • The Educated Fool: ★☆☆
    • Don’t Look to the Eyes of a Stranger: ★☆☆
    • Como Estais Amigos: ★☆☆
  16. The Final Frontier (2010)
    • Track ratings:
    • Satellite 15… The Final Frontier: ★☆☆
    • El Dorado: ★☆☆
    • Mother of Mercy: ★☆☆
    • Coming Home: ★☆☆
    • The Alchemist: ★★☆
    • Isle of Avalon: ★☆☆
    • Starblind: ★☆☆
    • The Talisman: ★★☆
    • The Man Who Would Be King: ★☆☆
    • When the Wild Wind Blows: ★☆☆
  17. A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
    • Track ratings:
    • Different World: ★★☆
    • These Colours Don’t Run: ★☆☆
    • Brighter Than a Thousand Suns: ★☆☆
    • The Pilgrim: ★☆☆
    • The Longest Day: ★☆☆
    • Out of the Shadows: ★☆☆
    • The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg: ★☆☆
    • For the Greater Good of God: ★☆☆
    • Lord of Light: ★☆☆
    • The Legacy: ★☆☆