Number of the Beast.
From the punch-in-the-face first opening machine gun riffs of Invaders until the last note of Hallowed Be Thy Name, they win every battle, song for song.
I was in basic the first time I ever heard Maiden.
Love at first listen. I'll admit it, I am biased because Bruce was already in place when I found Maiden, so to me, that's Iron Maiden.
So, anything before NOTB isn't up to snuff when comparing it the Dickinson years. It's what I cut my metal teeth on.
When a band replaces the original singer, more often that not, they lose something.
That's how it is for me when it comes to Maiden, only backwards. To me, Dickinson is the original singer. Therefore, that's my measuring stick.
Does that make any sense?