A lot of bands have great debut albums. Obviously this list is just a fraction of all the great debut albums out there, but it's a start. I'll keep expanding this list continuously, so all suggestions are welcome (granted they are featured on MS). All the albums here are ranked according to genre and then alphabetically. If a certain album belongs to the (in your opinion) wrong genre, then definitely let me know.

1.

2.Aarni - Bathos

3.Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia

4.Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

5.Sadness - Ames De Marbre

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My top 100 metal albums of all time (featured on MS).

- one album per band.
- in alphabetical order.

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

2.Ævangelist - De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agruss - Morok

5.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

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- only studio albums
- only albums featured on MS

1.After Forever - Decipher

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

4.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

5.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

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My choices of albums with strong forms of atmospheric sound in metal. Recommendations are welcome, though I won't add all as this will be towards personal taste.

1.A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

4.Akelei - De Zwaarte Van Het Doorstane

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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The "better half" of my top 100 of the Zeroes. In list format, now with album covers!

1.Warning - Watching From A Distance

2.Negură Bunget - OM

3.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

4.Neurosis - Given To The Rising

5.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

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Doom on you! As with my Post-stonersludge list, this is a list of 25 doom albums by artists of varying stature that i enjoy. And by "enjoy", I mean "suffer through, eagerly awaiting the end ... whether the close of the album or my own imminent demise, so long as the misery stops." woe is me. and woe is you, too.

1.40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

2.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

3.Akelei - De Zwaarte Van Het Doorstane

4.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

5.Candlemass - Nightfall

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My favourites of the 00's. Bitch and moan girls, or check some of these out.

1.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

2.Shining - IV - The Eerie Cold

3.The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

4.Hjarnidaudi - Pain:Noise:March

5.Corrupted - El Mundo Frio

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This list contains most beautiful, majestic and soul-touching releases I've ever experienced.
My most favorite genres are Black Metal, Post Metal, Shoegaze, Doom Metal, Ambient and Neo-Classical in general .

Albums are ranked by the year,I think this way is more useful.

I will keep expanding my list as i can.

1.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

2.Blut Aus Nord - Ultima Thulée

3.Deinonychus - The Silence Of December

4.Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I - Fathers Of The Icy Age

5.Burzum - Filosofem

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More doom on the way: as of 14th June I'm slowly adding a few albums, hopefully to reach the 50 mark.

1.Candlemass - Nightfall

2.DoomSword - Let Battle Commence

3.Mourning Beloveth - The Sullen Sulcus

4.Skepticism - Lead And Aether

5.Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress

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1.40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

2.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

3.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

4.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

5.Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

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Here are the most captivating atmospheres I've ever heard. Including metal and non-metal albums. Grouped according to genre and one album per band.

1.Division By Zero - Independent Harmony

2.Beyond Twilight - The Devil's Hall Of Fame

3.Riverside - Out Of Myself

4.Suspyre - When Time Fades...

5.Redemption - The Fullness Of Time

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The following is a list of favorites that will steal your mind from this mortal realm; albums that will take you on an indelible journey.

1.Abyssal - Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

4.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

5.Arkona - Гой, Роде, Гой!

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Sometimes, samples can improve the atmosphere of a song just as much as the instruments (or even more). This is a compilationn of some of my favorite samples in metal. I'm trying to keep it one album per band but exceptions are just fine. Oh yeah, I forgot something: I'm not gonna be too specific about where these samples are. It's way more interesting to discover them on your own!

Recommendations are welcome! Just don't get upset if I don't like them. D:
Please write band AND album.

Rec's awaiting evaluation:
N.K.V.D. - Vlast
Will Haven - Voir Dire
The Monolith Deathcult - Trivmvirate
Necrophagia - Deathtrip 69
Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre
Ævangelist - De Masticatione Mortuorum In Tumulis
Fantômas - Delirium Cordia
Metallica - Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, ...And Justice For All
Deicide - Legion
Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre
Tool - Lateralus, Ænima
Impaled - Mondo Medicale
Queens Of The Stone Age - Queens Of The Stone Age
Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness
Heathen - Victims Of Deception
Fear Factory - Demanufacture
White Zombie
Strapping Young Lad - City
Static-X - Wisconsin Death Trip
Nailbomb - Point Blank
Impetigo - Horror Of The Zombies
Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
Buzz*Oven - ...At A Loss
Toxik - Think This
Hell - Human Remains
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
Bolt Thrower - Mercenary
The Ruins Of Beverast - Unlock The Shrine, Foulest Semen Of A Sheltered Elite
Agalloch - Faustian Echoes
Alrakis - Alpha Eri
Blacklodge - Solarkult

1.Aborted - Goremageddon: The Saw And The Carnage Done

2.Abruptum - Potestates Apocalypsis

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

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1.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

2.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

3.Katatonia - Discouraged Ones

4.My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River

5.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

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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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