Megadeth

Their early albums Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good! (1985) and Peace Sells...but Who's Buying? (1986) established their template of razor-sharp twin guitar attacks, complex arrangements, and Mustaine's sneering, confrontational vocal delivery. Peace Sells is widely considered one of the greatest thrash metal albums ever recorded, its title track becoming an anthem of political cynicism that resonated far beyond the metal world — the music video was used as the opening of MTV News for years. Rust in Peace (1990), featuring guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza, is considered their masterpiece and one of the technically finest metal albums ever made, with tracks like Holy Wars...The Punishment Due and Tornado of Souls showcasing musicianship of almost unparalleled sophistication for the genre.

Megadeth achieved their greatest mainstream commercial success with Countdown to Extinction (1992), which reached number two on the Billboard 200 and went double platinum — their most accessible album and the one that brought them closest to the commercial heights of their Big Four peers. Despite the critical success of Youthanasia (1994) and Cryptic Writings (1997), the band's trajectory was derailed in 2002 when Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage to his left arm, requiring extensive rehabilitation and leading to a temporary dissolution. He rebuilt Megadeth from scratch, releasing The System Has Failed (2004) and a string of acclaimed albums including Endgame (2009) and Dystopia (2016), the latter of which won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Megadeth were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.