A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2008 was a really strong one for metal, Progressive metal had a very strong one, power metal at it's peak, strong output of Doom metal and 2000s Alternative going strong, 08 was one of the best.

1.Ayreon - 01011001

2.Septicflesh - Communion

3.Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls

4.Equilibrium - Sagas

5.Opeth - Watershed

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1.The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal

2.Between The Buried And Me - Colors

3.The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack

4.Heaven Shall Burn - Veto

5.Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect

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The albums below is my definition of extreme metal music, regardless of their genre. Entire list is based only on my personal preferences in metal.
Rules:
1. One album per band
2. 305 groups/305 albums

1.In Flames - Clayman

2.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

3.Chimaira - Chimaira

4.Death - Symbolic

5.Testament - The New Order

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1.Haste The Day - When Everything Falls

2.The Agony Scene - The Darkest Red

3.Feed Her To The Sharks - Savage Seas

4.Stick To Your Guns - Comes From The Heart

5.Chimaira - The Impossibility Of Reason

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.P.H.O.B.O.S. - Phlogiston Catharsis

2.Paara - Riitti

3.Pagan Altar - Mythical & Magical

4.Pagan's Mind - Enigmatic : Calling

5.Paganizer - Into The Catacombs

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1.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

2.Darkspace - Dark Space III

3.Equilibrium - Sagas

4.Septicflesh - Communion

5.Ayreon - 01011001

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1.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

2.Bleeding Through - The Truth

3.Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

4.Dry Kill Logic - The Darker Side Of Nonsense

5.Evergreen Terrace - Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise In This Business

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Back when I joined the site in 2011, I did a customary top 100 album list. Every year since then, when I've looked back at it it's become increasingly unrecognisable from my own tastes. Seeing bands I once listened to daily vanish from my playlists, new bands emerge as favourites, and bands even come and go in my reckonings during that time period (Iced Earth, Alcest, even Pain Of Salvation and more certainly peaked in my listening habits around 2011-12 to slowly vanish into obscurity). Now that it's just gone 5 years since I did that list, I thought I might do an updated list just to see how much my tastes have shifted. Whilst compiling the list, I pretty much worked on gut instinct, which was weird as I found myself almost disregarding albums I know I like whilst promoting albums I'm honestly undecided on - it almost seemed to veer away from album quality at times to embracing a subconscious effect the albums have had. Anyway, here it is, plus some honorable mentions that I was surprised missed out.

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Protest The Hero - Kezia

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Well, here I put my personal top with which to me have been the best albums of 2008. They are not all they are, but if they all are.

1.Septicflesh - Communion

2.Textures - Silhouettes

3.The Faceless - Planetary Duality

4.Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

5.Whitechapel - This Is Exile

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1.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

2.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I

4.Orphaned Land - Mabool

5.Protest The Hero - Fortress

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My top-20 all time favorite (metal) albums. Obviously subject to change over long periods of time. Left out most recent finds - these are albums that have resonated with me for at least a few years.

1.High On Fire - Death Is This Communion

2.3 Inches Of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom

3.Turisas - The Varangian Way

4.Keep Of Kalessin - Kolossus

5.Motörhead - Inferno

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These are some of my all time favourite albums. Not really any order, just what came to mind first.

1.John Cougar Mellencamp - Nobody's Fool

2.AC/DC - Back In Black

3.Anthrax - Attack Of The Killer B's

4.Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe

5.Shadows Fall - The Art Of Balance

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In no order, just the my favorite of that decade.

1.Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never Came

2.Equilibrium - Sagas

3.The Defaced - Karma In Black

4.Susperia - Vindication

5.Masterplan - Aeronautics

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My other lists:
Tasty Stuff Not Currently Featured On MS
So I Heard You Like Opeth...

A concise list of my metalhead man-crushes (now featuring ladies.)

While there is little introduction required for some of these bands and their front(wo)men, there are no words that can accurately describe such jaw-dropping talent anyhow. The albums and youtube links listed are meant to display the full capacity of vocalists' talents, not the bands' most quality or popular tracks - click the links below and behold the prowess.

1.Abstrakt Algebra - Abstrakt Algebra

2.Adagio - Underworld

3.Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

4.Amorphis - Silent Waters

5.Anaal Nathrakh - Vanitas

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Coolingsrock's Albums of 2008. What I managed to listen to that year and know very well. order: Best to worst.

1.Protest The Hero - Fortress

2.After The Burial - Rareform

3.Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh

4.Trivium - Shogun

5.Testament - The Formation Of Damnation

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