The Essential Judas Priest is a 2006 2-disc compilation album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It contains 34 songs from throughout their career right up to their then-most recent album Angel of Retribution, but excludes the Tim “Ripper” Owens era. It was re-released in 2008 as a limited-edition 3-disc package.
Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Original album Length
1. “Judas Rising” Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton Angel of Retribution (2005) 3:52
2. “Breaking the Law” Halford, Downing, Tipton British Steel (1980) 2:35
3. “Hell Bent for Leather” Tipton Killing Machine (1978) 2:40
4. “Diamonds & Rust” (Joan Baez cover) Joan Baez Sin After Sin (1977) 3:26
5. “Victim of Changes” Al Atkins, Halford, Downing, Tipton Sad Wings of Destiny (1976) 7:47
6. “Love Bites” Halford, Downing, Tipton Defenders of the Faith (1984) 4:47
7. “Heading Out to the Highway” Halford, Downing, Tipton Point of Entry (1981) 3:45
8. “Ram It Down” Halford, Downing, Tipton Ram It Down (1988) 4:48
9. “Beyond the Realms of Death” Halford, Les Binks Stained Class (1978) 6:51
10. “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” Halford, Downing, Tipton Screaming for Vengeance (1982) 5:09
11. “Jawbreaker” Halford, Downing, Tipton Defenders of the Faith 3:25
12. “A Touch of Evil” Halford, Downing, Tipton, Chris Tsangarides Painkiller (1990) 5:54
13. “Delivering the Goods” Halford, Downing, Tipton Killing Machine 4:16
14. “United” Halford, Downing, Tipton British Steel 3:35
15. “Turbo Lover” Halford, Downing, Tipton Turbo (1986) 5:33
16. “Painkiller” Halford, Downing, Tipton Painkiller 6:06
17. “Metal Gods” Halford, Downing, Tipton British Steel 4:04
Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Original album Length
1. “The Hellion” Halford, Downing, Tipton Screaming for Vengeance 0:41
2. “Electric Eye” Halford, Downing, Tipton Screaming for Vengeance 3:39
3. “Living After Midnight” Halford, Downing, Tipton British Steel 3:30
4. “Freewheel Burning” Halford, Downing, Tipton Defenders of the Faith 4:42
5. “Exciter” Halford, Tipton Stained Class 5:33
6. “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)” (Fleetwood Mac cover) Peter Green Killing Machine 4:42
7. “Blood Red Skies” Halford, Downing, Tipton Ram It Down 7:05
8. “Night Crawler” Halford, Downing, Tipton Painkiller 5:44
9. “Sinner” Halford, Tipton Sin After Sin 6:43
10. “Hot Rockin’” Halford, Downing, Tipton Point of Entry 3:17
11. “The Sentinel” Halford, Downing, Tipton Defenders of the Faith 5:04
12. “Before the Dawn” Halford, Downing, Tipton Killing Machine 3:23
13. “Hell Patrol” Halford, Downing, Tipton Painkiller 3:37
14. “The Ripper” Tipton Sad Wings of Destiny 2:50
15. “Screaming for Vengeance” Halford, Downing, Tipton Screaming for Vengeance 4:43
16. “Out in the Cold” Halford, Downing, Tipton Turbo 6:27
17. “Revolution” Halford, Downing, Tipton Angel of Retribution 4:42
Disc three (Limited Edition 3.0 only)
No. Title Writer(s) Original album Length
1. “Dissident Aggressor” Halford, Downing, Tipton Sin After Sin 3:07
2. “Better by You, Better than Me” (Spooky Tooth cover) Gary Wright Stained Class 3:24
3. “Grinder” Halford, Downing, Tipton British Steel 3:58
4. “Desert Plains” Halford, Downing, Tipton Point of Entry 4:36
5. “Riding on the Wind” Halford, Downing, Tipton Screaming for Vengeance 3:07
6. “Rock Hard Ride Free” Halford, Downing, Tipton Defenders of the Faith 5:34
7. “All Guns Blazing”