Ninth essential listen is this album. I was toying with the idea of including it, but decided to include it.
Def Leppard High N Dry 1981
Along with Iron Maiden, Def Leppard were the biggest band to come out of the NWOBHM movement and the band quickly moved from their Sheffield home to London and quickly got into touring with the right bands and making the right connections, they quickly enjoyed chart success on both sides of the Atlantic with their debut album
On Through the Night. Unlike nearly all the other bands listed on here, Def Leppard put out a much lighter easier listening form of metal and I believe it was this factor, along with producer John "Mutt" Lange that helped them to become one of the biggest selling metal acts in the USA. Music wise the album has ten tracks, all of which have that instant likeable feel to them and helped to pave the way for the massive follow-up album of
Pyromania in 1982.