1.Alter Bridge - Blackbird

2.Alter Bridge - One Day Remains

3.Amorphis - Elegy

4.Amorphis - Tuonela

5.Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale

      View entire list ››

Thought I ought to have at least one little list here, so in a rare display of lack of creativity, here's a bunch of 9s and 10s that will likely never get old, though I might. "666" is obviously only a theoretical upper limit.

1.Tiamat - A Deeper Kind Of Slumber

2.King Crimson - Red

3.Cult Of Luna - Vertikal

4.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

5.Die Apokalyptischen Reiter - All You Need Is Love

      View entire list ››

Inc. Symphonic Metal.

1.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

2.Sabaton - The Art Of War

3.Unleash The Archers - Apex

4.Kamelot - The Black Halo

5.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

      View entire list ››

Must Have: The First 14

1.Anathema - Alternative 4

2.Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding

3.Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes

4.Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle

5.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

      View entire list ››

1.Therion - Vovin

2.Nightwish - Oceanborn

3.Theatre Of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear

4.Theatre Of Tragedy - Theatre Of Tragedy

5.Paradise Lost - Icon

      View entire list ››

1.Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

2.Nightwish - Once

3.Nightwish - Century Child

4.Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

5.Nightwish - Oceanborn

      View entire list ››

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. If there are some great records missing, that doesn't necessarily mean I consider them bad, maybe I just forgot about them or just haven't listened to them enough to consider them personal favourites.

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

      View entire list ››

This is a list of all the power metal albums I have listened to that are worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is not meant to be a definitive guide to power metal or a binding judgment on what power metal is or is not. The list exists purely for my own organizational purposes and may contain bands or albums that are not strictly True Knights of the Eternal Thundersword.

The first cluster includes my favorite albums in the genre (and a significant number of my all-time favorites); beyond that, they are listed by rating from 9/10 down to 6/10 and alphabetically within each bracket.

Last updated November 27, 2021.

1.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

4.Jag Panzer - Thane To The Throne

5.X Japan - Art Of Life

      View entire list ››

I thought about this A LOT, and here is the list:

Please share your thoughts!

The spots I'm most unsure of are 1. vs 2. and 4. vs 5.
The rest is really stable.

1.Nightwish - Oceanborn

2.Nightwish - Century Child

3.Nightwish - Imaginaerum

4.Nightwish - Once

5.Nightwish - Wishmaster

      View entire list ››

1.Nightwish - Once

2.Nightwish - Angels Fall First

3.Nightwish - Century Child

4.Nightwish - Wishmaster

5.Nightwish - Dark Passion Play

      View entire list ››

1.Nightwish - Oceanborn

2.Nightwish - Once

3.Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

4.Nightwish - Imaginaerum

5.Nightwish - Century Child

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

All my favorite albums (rated 9 or 10), in cronological order.

1.Iotunn - Access All Worlds

2.Soen - Imperial

3.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4.Soen - Lotus

5.Chapel Of Disease - ...And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye

      View entire list ››

The list shows 50 albums that have had a huge impact on me over my teens. Albums released before 2000 only.
In alphabetical order.

1.Aerosmith - Get A Grip

2.Alice In Chains - Alice In Chains

3.Amorphis - Elegy

4.Anathema - Alternative 4

5.Apes, Pigs & Spacemen - Transfusion

      View entire list ››

For now the albums aren't in no particular order. I was blown away and still love all this albums after years listening. Trying to put 1 per band maximum, maybe more if they have different but awesome eras. Still in progress

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

3.Death - Symbolic

4.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5.Metallica - Ride the Lightning

      View entire list ››