Megadeth Songs Ranked

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson in Los Angeles, California. Along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, Megadeth is one of the “big four” of American thrash metal, responsible for its development and popularization. Their music features complex arrangements and fast rhythm sections, and lyrical themes of death, war, politics, personal relationships, and religion. In 1985, Megadeth released its debut album, Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, on the independent record label Combat Records, to moderate success. It caught the attention of bigger labels, which led to Megadeth signing with Capitol Records. Their first major-label album, Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? was released in 1986 and was a major hit with the underground metal scene. Substance abuse and personal disputes brought Megadeth negative publicity during this period. Megadeth has sold 38 million records worldwide, earned platinum certification in the United States for six of its fifteen studio albums, and received twelve Grammy nominations. Megadeth won its first Grammy Award in 2017 for the song “Dystopia” in the Best Metal Performance category. The band’s mascot, Vic Rattlehead, regularly appears on album artwork and live shows. The group has drawn controversy for its music and lyrics, including album bans and canceled concerts; MTV refused to play two of the band’s music videos that the network considered to condone suicide. Here are all Megadeath songs ranked.

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20. Last Rites/Loved to Death (Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, 1984)

“Pure old school metal at its finest. A magical piano touch in the intro to Killing is My Business level metal. Skillful playing, great drums, amaZing bassline, solo, and message. Easily the best of their songs.”

19. Mechanix (Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, 1984)

“One of the best head-banging songs, it deserves to be in top 5 Anyone who wants a reason for a leave, should certainly listen to this song. You will surely get your neck sprained listening to this, got mine. Speed metal at its best.”

18. Lucretia (Rust in Peace, 1990)

“I call Marty’s solo on this song the best Megadeth solo there is. It just fits so well with a great groove to it. It reminds me of old school video games soundtracks for some reason. Definitely one of my favourite Megadeth songs. Very underrated.”

17. Ashes in Your Mouth (Countdown to Extinction, 1992)

“This is honestly one of the most original songs I’ve ever heard, Sod cannot compare to this song. This song has every reason that makes megadeth amazing.”

See more: Megadeth Albums Ranked

16. Five Magics (Rust in Peace, 1990)

“Great song, it never leave my top 10 Megadeth song list. Hearing them play it a few years back on tour when they played Rust in its entirety was a heavy metal high point for me. This along with Ashes in your Mouth are the two most under rated Megadeth songs!”

15. The Conjuring (Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986)

“This is a hard core tune in topic and musicianship. Despite Mustaine’s feelings about not wanting to play this song live anymore, its one of the greatest thrash metal songs ever and deserves to be played just for the amazing guitar, bass and drums.”

14. Countdown To Extinction (Countdown To Extinction, 1992)

“It’s a tough call between this and Addicted to Chaos but I have to go with this. The last chorus kicks serious ass. Guitar-work in this one is simply amazing + the chorus is the best one of out all the Megadeth songs”

13. Angry Again (Rude Awakening, 2002)

“At first Megadeth was just a classic metal band with only a couple of songs like symphony of destruction or hangar 18 but after listening to this song it opened my eyes to a whole new classic rock. Megadeth are the kings of classic rock not slayer not anthrax not pantera and not Metallica.”

12. Rust In Peace… Polaris (Rust In Peace, 1990)

“The masterful drums and blend of lead and rhythm guitar, combined with excellent song writing and structure, are what drive this song and make it one of, if not the best Megadeth song. I would’ve picked Holy Wars, but that song already gets plenty of recognition, so I decided to go with one of the underdogs.”

11. Trust (Cryptic Writings, 1997)

“Mustaine’s lyrics are always awesome, the guitar sound is great too, this song has something special that makes it different to the other songs of cryptic writings, I like it and the first time I heard it, I knew it would be one of Megadeth’s favorite songs.”

10. Good Mourning / Black Friday (Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986)

“One of the most beautifully written songs by the band. In the beginning, it starts out with a bit of a sad tone, but eventually it conjures up (no pun intended) and becomes one of the most legendary songs in thrash history. Easily Megadeth’s greatest song.”

9. Sweating Bullets (Countdown To Extinction, 1992)

“From the eerie intro all the way to the last notes, this song rocks and is without a doubt the best song to sing along to. The lyrics are such a blast and trying to imitate Dave’s voice is such a fun experience and the entire song is just 5 minutes of awesome.”

8. Wake Up Dead (Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986)

“I think people are not really listening; otherwise this song would have been high up in the list. For those who voted Holy Wars, and only listened to Tornado and things like that: give this song a try. Give the whole album a try really. Let go of the preconceived notions about how you want this band to sound like or how you want metal to sound like for that matter. And listen. You will be surprised.”

7. A Tout Le Monde (Youthanasia, 1994)

“The most earnest, honest Megadeth song to date. No military, no politics, just honest feelings and genuine concern for the world while still being more heavy than any other band as Megadeth does”

See more: Metallica Albums Ranked

6. In My Darkest Hour (So Far, So Good… So What?, 1988)

“This song is just a masterpiece. The lyrics are strong, the riffs are catchy, and the solos are unique. Not to mention the part where Mustaine says “you just laughed” as he makes a laughing noise with his guitar… Classic Megadeth”

5. Symphony of Destruction (Countdown To Extinction, 1992)

“One of Megadeth’s Best and well known songs. This song is what first got me into megadeth in the first place. Like others have said, the solo is great, lyrics are top notch and the solo is amazing.”

4. Peace Sells (Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986)

“Classic song, one of the first thrash metal songs to get play on popular radio. Intelligent song, very political, and shows Megadeth’s talent and intelligence that they write about stuff other than demons and devils.”

3. Tornado of Souls (Rust In Peace, 1990)

“This song is amazing first time I heard it blew me away. Every-time I hear that main riff for some reason the sound actually reminds me of a tornado or a cyclone or something spinning around and around, genius guitar work there.”

2. Hangar 18 (Rust In Peace, 1990)

“Finally something that is in nearly in its proper place on this website. Hangar 18 – Megadeth’s most uber song with a slightly slow tempo that builds up into a load of insanity, with solos all over the place. Mustaine’s last solo in this song remains my most favourite Mustaine solo to this day.”

1. Holy Wars… The Punishment Due (Rust In Peace, 1990)

“Everything about this song is perfect thrash metal. It starts off fast with an instantly recognizable opening riff, and it goes through a bunch of different riffs before getting to the slow paced breakdown. After that, it comes back with a new heavy and fast riff and a blistering guitar solo. The guitar work is unbelievable and the drumming and lyrics add to this incredible thrash metal staple.”