Updated 14.4.2024

My rather personal and improvised take on the subject matter. The list is pretty wage, I'll be updating it a lot and the order might vary a little depending on some things, but they're all great and awesome records no matter what.

Limited to metal and rock albums found on Metal Storm. Most of them (at least 90%) are anyway, so doesn't matter. The absent ones are mostly more pop and synth oriented stuff and some really obscure jazz and fusion albums.

1.Marillion - Marbles

2.Anathema - Weather Systems

3.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

4.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

5.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

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1.Death - Symbolic

2.Morbid Angel - Covenant

3.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

4.In Flames - The Jester Race

5.Death - Human

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Current Top 100 as of September 2019. Having listened to metal for 45 years or so - here are my favourites (favourite track). One album limit per band. Enjoy!

1.Absu - Absu

2.AC/DC - If You Want Blood You've Got It

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

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

5.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

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No particular order

1.Graveworm - As The Angels Reach The Beauty

2.Graveworm - Scourge Of Malice

3.Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid

4.Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

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Stuff that got me hooked in the course of the years, from my very first blurred memories as a toddler to the present day.
Lots of catchy tunes, some cheese, very few flowers.
Songs that had a big impact on me and influenced my taste in music.
Stuff to let it all hang out, songs for campfire sing-alongs and soundtracks to slit your wrists to.

1.Queen - Jazz

2.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

3.Dio - Holy Diver

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Einstürzende Neubauten - Halber Mensch

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I've been listening to Metal since 2005 and it has become my biggest passion in life.

Rarely a day goes by where I don't listen to it in one form or another. The bands I listened to in my teens inspired me to pick up the guitar (and later drums) and start making music of my own.

So here are the albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the album give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 25 EPs (ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

Genre-Specific:
Top 50 Black Metal Albums
Top 50 Melodic Death Metal Albums
Top 45 Thrash Metal Albums
Top 40 Power Metal Albums
Top 30 Doom Metal Albums
Top 30 Heavy Metal Albums

1.Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Opeth - Still Life

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1.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

2.Rammstein - Mutter

3.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

4.The Gathering - Mandylion

5.Alice In Chains - Dirt

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Unfinished as I still have to catch up on more recent years. Also all of the places on the list are of course subject to change as I discover more music from each year.

My taste is very much centred around the power of the riff. That means most of the albums on this list are thrash, death, heavy, black, or some offshoot of those genres.

1.After The Burial - Dig Deep

2.Behemoth - The Satanist

3.Carcass - Surgical Steel

4.Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity

5.Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony

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My personal favorite metal albums of all time. In no particular order (although kinda alphabetical). Some of the albums might as well represent whole discographies.

1.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

2.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

3.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

4.Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal

5.Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity

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1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Amorphis - Skyforger

5.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

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1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.As I Lay Dying - Shadows Are Security

5.Before The Dawn - Deadlight

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Here's a little list displaying my personal favorite death metal albums, based on the same idea as my heavy metal list, thus stressing the raw and the genuine. For me death metal has to be crushing, then coloured with atmosphere. Some of my choices may seem exotic, considering the list overall, but it's what broadens it. Rules : one album per band, the order isn't strict (still bottom albums are weaker than their predecessors). Many good tbdm bands are lacking, mostly because of their unfitting sound. If you think some kick-ass piece are missing, don't hesitate to suggest them. Enjoy.

1.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

2.Suffocation - Pierced From Within

3.Cynic - Focus

4.Septicflesh - Εσοπτρον

5.Death - Symbolic

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1.Death - Symbolic

2.Slayer - Reign In Blood

3.Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power

4.Carcass - Heartwork

5.Overkill - The Years Of Decay

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1.In Flames - The Jester Race

2.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

3.Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery

4.In Flames - Whoracle

5.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

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Pretty self-explanatory, with a couple caveats: first, this is mostly just a list of my favorite metal bands in approximate order (after the top 10 or so the order matters far less), with extra weight given to influence and timelessness of sound; and second, the albums selected are not necessarily the band's "best" album, or even my personal favorite -- they are the albums that I feel best represent the band's classic sound and/or well-represent the span of their career. List includes all sub-genres of metal and some post-metal metal. Feel free to spew your hatred below. \m/ (xx) \m/

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance

5.Slayer - Reign In Blood

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