Fifty of the Most Kick-Ass Roller Coasters on Earth

For many people, the closest they’ll ever get to caressing the dangerous curves of the Mistress called Disaster is to get strapped into one of the most seemingly unsafe contraptions on Earth: The Roller Coaster. Flirting with imminent death, rubbing shoulders with terror, and defying every law of physics is to ride with just the least possible amount of protection in a roller coaster.

Towering hills, gravity-pressing curves and turns, and nauseating loops, these are the the very calling cards for what it is to be an amusement ride: A Roller Coaster. There are even those who do little more in their lives but travel from park to park, all over the country and even the world, locking themselves into the most ridiculous and frightening coasters around. But what are the best? Well, that’s a loaded and fiercely subjective question.

The best could mean the highest hills; the best could mean the harshest turns; the best could mean the most harrowing drops… to each indeed their own. So what we have done here is gathered 50 of the most kick-ass coasters from various lists and compilations from across the web and compiled them. Each has a description and a picture in the gallery to go with it, but they are in no particular order. We hope we haven’t missed a favorite of yours. So check ’em out and ride on, freaks… ride on!