40 Big Rock + Metal Albums Turning 40 in 2024

How has it been 40 years since one of the greatest pop culture years in history passed? It’s hard to believe, but 1984 brought us so much in both music and entertainment, and here we’re taking you back 40 years to see the rock and metal albums that made it such a wonderful year to be alive.

Van Halen capitalized on the Orwellian date even going so far as to title their album 1984, while the year also gave us classic records from Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Ratt, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and plenty more.

It was a year where Prince became a movie star with Purple Rain, music worked its way into such films as Footloose, This Is Spinal Tap and Breakin’ and The Cars cleaned up at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards. At the box office, Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters had us rolling in the aisles, Nightmare on Elm Street kept us wide awake at night, The Karate Kid had us practicing our crane kicks and Terminator had us fearing technology. And speaking of technology, the first CD players were offered and Apple first grabbed our attention with a Super Bowl commercial.

READ MORE: Who Were the Winners of the Very First MTV Video Music Awards?

It was a year that brought us Wrestlemania champ Hulk Hogan, Miami Vice, Cabbage Patch Kids and the “Where’s the Beef” lady from Wendy’s. Time flies….. 40 years gone. But as previously stated, there’s some great music to revisit, so scroll below to see what albums rocked us like a hurricane in 1984.