Simple ranking of all my favorite albums. Favorite song from the album in the notes. Sure to change/expand as I learn and explore more within metal.
2023: This was starting to get too long so I split it into separate lists for albums at each ranking 10 to 7. This list will no longer be updated.
10: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6891
9: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7213
8: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7512
7: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=8058

1.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

My favorite progressive metal albums (derived/mixed genres included). Lot of stuff still missing here since I have a terrible memory I think everything here is at least 8,5/10.

Please, feel free to drop suggestions. I'd love to make it more or less complete one day.

I will eventually rate these albums too...

1.Dream Theater - Awake

2.Dream Theater - Images And Words

3.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

4.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

5.Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day

      View entire list ››

I'm thinking about adding Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens, but that might be closer to black metal than Emmure.

1.Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring

2.Ayreon - 01011001

3.Shining (NOR) - One One One

4.Orphaned Land - All Is One

5.Nemertines - 1

      View entire list ››

1.Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine

2.Ayreon - 01011001

3.Jeff Loomis - Zero Order Phase

4.All Ends - All Ends

5.Whitesnake - Good To Be Bad

      View entire list ››

1.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

2.Psychotic Waltz - Bleeding

3.Dream Theater - Awake

4.Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction

5.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

      View entire list ››

Well, I can't afford every album I want so I'm going off of my August 2013 count of about 700 albums. First time I've ever done this so it may be quite scattered.

This is personal and not like a Rust in Peace, then Black Sabbath, then Painkiller type of list. Time to destroy.

1.Stratovarius - Visions

2.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

3.Yes - Close to the Edge

4.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

5.Ayreon - 01011001

      View entire list ››

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Opeth - Still Life

3.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

4.Ayreon - 01011001

5.In Flames - Reroute To Remain

      View entire list ››

Music with a spacey touch...
Recommendations are welcome (only one album per band)

1.Aeons Confer - Symphonies Of Saturnus

2.Alrakis - Alpha Eri

3.Amestigon - Sun Of All Suns

4.Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies

5.Astral Silence - Astral Journey

      View entire list ››

These are my favorite progressive/power metal albums that I have listened to. Some of them are for musical technique and others are simply because they blew my mind with the crazy story lines or whatever!

1.Symphony X - Paradise Lost

2.Symphony X - The Odyssey

3.Masterplan - Aeronautics

4.Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

5.Theocracy - As The World Bleeds

      View entire list ››

This is unfinished

1.Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge

2.Alestorm - Black Sails At Midnight

3.Alestorm - Back Through Time

4.Almôra - Gates Of Time

5.Ancient Rites - Dim Carcosa

      View entire list ››

My ranking of all Ayreon's studio albums. The indisputable best album for me is Into The Electric Castle, followed up closely by The Human Equation (I think Disc II is superior to Disc I though). 01011001 is an amazing album that contains brilliant long and epic tracks, although it also suffers from a few pretty mediocre tracks, so it's not a very consistent album in my opinion. And although The Universal Migrator Part I: The Dream Sequencer is a great album, it contains a few weaker tracks. My absolute least favourite album is Actual Fantasy, which has more mediocre tracks than great tracks. I have included ratings as well as the best songs (which are my favourites) of each album (3 songs (1-disc album) or 6 songs (2-disc album)), although this was extremely hard for #1 on this list, since I love pretty much every song on that album.

1.Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle

2.Ayreon - The Human Equation

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything

5.Ayreon - The Final Experiment

      View entire list ››

1.Moonspell - Night Eternal

2.Iced Earth - The Crucible Of Man (Something Wicked - Part 2)

3.In Mourning - Shrouded Divine

4.Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery

5.Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine

      View entire list ››

TOP 20 METAL CONCEPT ALBUMS

I was always fascinated by the good concept albums, which manage to tell the story in a extraordinary fashion. So I decided to make a list of best concetual metal albums up to date. I decided to concentrate on truly conceptual albums, since loosening the criteria too much would leave me with having bunch of fantastic albums, which would simply be too much to put on the list. Yes, it would probably be a lot easier to make a huge list, but I wanted to concentrate on a truly top concept-related albums. So since they do not strictly tell about some event, or follow the same story, I decided to drop out loose conceptuals. Unfortunately the likes of "Sirenia - At Sixes and Sevens", "Sabaton - The Art of War" or "Nightwish - Century Child", "Bloodbound - Nosferatu" most of the Therion's albums, Amorphis and so on, went out of the list. I raised the criteria for the 'conceptual' since also there is really a lot of top-quality albums that are connected with a loose story, but they are simply not tight enough to label them as truly concept albums?Otherwise I might as well write a list of 100 albums. Also I tried to avoid multiple occurances of the same band, hence only one album from Ayreon, Symphony X, Evergrey, etc, otherwise they would probably fill up half of the bloody list.

1.Sabaton - Carolus Rex

2.Kamelot - Epica

3.Kamelot - The Black Halo

4.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

5.Turisas - The Varangian Way

      View entire list ››

My choices for the best things to happen to metal between 2000 and 2009.

1.Kayo Dot - Choirs Of The Eye

2.Ayreon - 01011001

3.Extol - Synergy

4.Opeth - Blackwater Park

5.Krallice - Krallice

      View entire list ››