Top 40 Maiden songs

karljant

Ancient Mariner
Yes, it seems like a lot but, with almost 20 albums and many of them being top tier quality, it's way harder than it seems. Here is my favorite 40:
  • Phantom Of The Opera
  • Sanctuary
  • Murders In The Rue Morgue
  • Killers
  • Genghis Khan
  • The Number Of The Beast
  • Revelations
  • The Trooper
  • Still Life
  • To Tame A Land
  • Aces High
  • Powerslave
  • Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
  • Caught Somewhere In Time
  • Wasted Years
  • Heaven Can wait
  • The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
  • Moonchild
  • Infinite Dreams
  • Can I Play With Madness
  • The Prophecy
  • Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
  • Be Quick Or Be Dead
  • Sign Of The Cross
  • Man On The Edge
  • Fortunes Of War
  • Judgement Day
  • Futureal
  • The Clansman
  • The Wicker Man
  • The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
  • Montségur
  • Face In The Sand
  • These Colors Don't Run
  • The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
  • For The Greater Good Of God
  • The Talisman
  • When The Wild Wind Blows
  • The Book Of Souls
  • The Writing On The Wall
 
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Ok, I'll give it a try just for fun:

1. phantom of the opera
2. purgatory
3. children of the damned
4. the number of the beast
5. hallowed be thy name
6. where eagles dare
7. revelations
8. the trooper
9. to tame a land
10. aces high
11. powerslave
12. rime of the ancient mariner
13. caught somewhere in time
14. stranger in a strange land
15. alexander the great
16. infinite dreams
17. the evil that men do
18. seventh son of a seventh son
19. the clairvoyant
20. run silent run deep
21. be quick or be dead
22. fear of the dark
23. afraid to shoot strangers
24. judas be my guide
25. sign of the cross
26. the clansman
27. the wicker man
28. ghost of the navigator
29. blood brothers
30. rainmaker
31. dance of death
32. paschendale
33. brighter than a thousand suns
34. lord of light
35. the legacy
36. the alchemist
37. the book of souls
38. shadows of the valley
39. hell on earth
40. the parchment
(41. stratego)
 
2. purgatory
20. run silent run deep
36. the alchemist
Three deep cuts that didn't make into my top 40 yet I also love. If it was a deep cuts list only, I'd surely feature them in my rank (and TBH Purgatory is not that far from my top 40). Besides the ones you mentioned, other deep cuts I absolutely love are:
  • Invasion
  • Total Eclipse
  • Invaders
  • Back In The Village
  • Losfer Words
  • Only The Good Die Young
  • Fates Warning
  • Look For The Truth
  • When The River Runs Deep
  • Lost In A Lost World.
Then again, I must stress how deceptively hard this exercise is. If not, just check the array of classic tunes and hits I left out:
  • Running Free
  • Prowler
  • Transylvania
  • Wrathchild
  • Children Of The Damned
  • Hallowed Be Thy Name
  • Run To The Hills
  • Where Eagles Dare
  • Flight Of Icarus
  • 2 Minutes To Midnight
  • Sea Of Madness
  • Stranger In A Strange Land
  • Alexander The Great
  • Seventh Son
  • The Evil That Men Do
  • The Clairvoyant
  • Tailgunner
  • Afraid To Shoot Strangers
  • Fear Of The Dark
  • Lord Of The Flies
  • Edge Of Darkness
  • Blood Brothers
  • Dance Of Death
  • Paschendale
  • Rainmaker
  • Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
  • The Final Frontier
  • El Dorado
  • Isle Of Avalon
  • The Red And The Black
  • Stratego
  • Hell On Earth
I mean, IMO every single tune I mentioned above is top tier material (even those I'm tired of listening to like FOTD, HBTN, 2MTM or TETMD)... And what's more ridiculous is the number of songs I mentioned here are enough to build a new 40 track list! That alone speaks volumes about the length and quality of Maiden's catalogue.
 
Full list of their songs if it helps anyone




I can't really put them in order other than the top few but my 40 favourites

Rime of the ancient mariner
Phantom of the opera
Revelations
Dance of death
Paschendale
Powerslave
Sign of the cross
The Clansman
Caught somewhere in time
The Wicker Man
Wasted Years
Infinite Dreams
Futureal
Hell on earth
Only the good die young
Afraid to shoot strangers
Blood brothers
Bring your daughter... To the slaughter
Como estais amigos
If eternity should fail
Killers
Lord of the flies
The reincarnation of Benjamin breeg
The trooper
The writing on the wall
Man on the edge
Wrathchild
Flight of Icarus
Moonchild
No more lies
Remember tomorrow
Run to the hills
Seventh Son of a seventh Son
The evil that men do
Aces High
Still life
Holy smoke
Rainmaker
Brighter than a thousand suns
Judgment of Heaven


Don't think a single song from the final frontier made it.
 
  1. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
  2. Hallowed Be Thy Name
  3. The Trooper
  4. The Longest Day
  5. Aces High
  6. The Number Of The Beast
  7. Deja Vu
  8. The Prisoner
  9. Flash Of The Blade
  10. Speed Of Light
  11. The Evil That Men Do
  12. Run To The Hills
  13. Powerslave
  14. Rainmaker
  15. 2 Minutes To Midnight
  16. Wasted Years
  17. The Clairvoyant
  18. Infinite Dreams
  19. No More Lies
  20. Out Of The Silent Planet
  21. Fear Of The Dark
  22. Phantom Of The Opera
  23. Alexander The Great
  24. The Pilgrim
  25. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
  26. Lord Of Light
  27. Montségur
  28. Heaven Can Wait
  29. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
  30. The Red And The Black
  31. Judas Be My Guide
  32. Ghost Of The Navigator
  33. Sun And Steel
  34. Remember Tomorrow
  35. Hell On Earth
  36. Caught Somewhere In Time
  37. To Tame A Land
  38. Wrathchild
  39. Where Eagles Dare
  40. Prowler
 
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Top 50, then (from top to bottom it's something roughly along these lines):
  1. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
  2. Aces High
  3. Sign Of The Cross
  4. Revelations
  5. Wasted Years
  6. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
  7. Phantom Of The Opera
  8. The Prophecy
  9. Murders In The Rue Morgue
  10. Powerslave
  11. Heaven Can Wait
  12. Caught Somewhere In Time
  13. Moonchild
  14. Infinite Dreams
  15. For The Greater Good Of God
  16. Montségur
  17. The Talisman
  18. When The Wild Wind Blows
  19. Face In The Sand
  20. These Colors Don't Run
  21. To Tame A Land
  22. Still Life
  23. Man On The Edge
  24. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
  25. Fortunes Of War
  26. Be Quick Or Be Dead
  27. Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
  28. Sanctuary
  29. Judgement Day
  30. Can I Play With Madness
  31. The Number Of The Beast
  32. The Trooper
  33. Killers
  34. The Wicker Man
  35. Futureal
  36. The Clansman
  37. The Writing On The Wall
  38. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
  39. The Book Of Souls
  40. Genghis Khan
  41. Look For The Truth
  42. Stratego
  43. Back In The Village
  44. The Evil That Men Do
  45. Where Eagles Dare
  46. Hell On Earth
  47. Run To The Hills
  48. Hallowed Be Thy Name
  49. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
  50. Wrathchild
 
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Basically impossible. There are maybe 10 songs that truly stand out as the absolute crème de la crème of Maiden songs, and honestly, that anyone has ever written. But from there on there are about 60-70 candidates for the last 30 spots.

Anyway, at the moment I would choose these

In chronological order

Remember Tomorrow
Phantom of the Opera
Killers
Children of the Damned
The Prisoner
22 Acacia Avenue
The Number of the Beast
Run to the Hills
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Revelations

Flight of Icarus
The Trooper
Still Life
Aces High
2 Minutes to Midnight
Powerslave
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Caught Somewhere in Time
Wasted Years
Stranger in a Strange Land

Alexander the Great
Moonchild
Infinite Dreams
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Fear of the Dark
Sign of the Cross
Blood Brothers
Out of the Silent Planet
Dance of Death

Paschendale
Face in the Sand
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
The Longest Day
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
Lord of Light
If Eternity Should Fail
The Book of Souls
The Writing on the Wall
Hell On Earth
 
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