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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This is my top 50 favorite albums. If I were to ever go on a really long road trip, I would take these 50 and blare them on the trip and extra loud while driving through a city .

1.Symphony X - The Odyssey

2.Symphony X - Paradise Lost

3.Judas Priest - Painkiller

4.Ayreon - The Human Equation

5.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

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Comprehensive list of my top 50 metal albums from the previous decade. Though a number of non-metal albums would make my 50, I have excluded them here.

1.Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Negură Bunget - OM

4.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

5.Green Carnation - Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness

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1.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

2.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

3.Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

4.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

5.Setherial - Nord

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I've been listened to Black Metal since the late 2000s starting with Emperor and Dimmu Borgir. Since then, I've discover dozens of amazing bands thanks to MS and it has become one of my favourite genres, especially the more melodic/symphonic/epic bands.

So here are my favourites of the genre with my rating, its sub-genre and release year:

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of black 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 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also 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)

1.Agalloch - The Mantle

2.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

5.Windir - 1184

      View entire list ››

1.The Faceless - Planetary Duality

2.Slayer - Reign In Blood

3.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

4.Death - Human

5.Obscura - Cosmogenesis

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1.Burzum - Filosofem

2.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

3.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

4.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

5.Marduk - Rom 5:12

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So it is have been 3 year without few days since my last update ( it took me a while ),
And this top 100 prove's that we like to look into new genres or move back to 70' and yearly 80' for something easier to listen to. For me it was ambient/nefolk, some heavy metal and hardrock but in the end mostly heavy shit, my favourite death metal also black, trash metal and grind.

1.Skuggsjá - A Piece For Mind & Mirror

2.Vader - Welcome To The Morbid Reich

3.Aborted - The Necrotic Manifesto

4.Aborted - Global Flatline

5.King Diamond - The Graveyard

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For many, some of the more extreme types of metal can be challenging to penetrate. I'll admit that my first time listening to Burzum was nearly the equivalent of listening to a buzz-saw. But over time, I found my ears became acclimated, so to speak. All of the beauty and subtlety within became more and more apparent. Now I find listening to Darkthrone to be little different from listening to Vivaldi. Okay, maybe that is an overstatement, but you get the idea. The point of this list to help those looking for a more gradual path from unkvlt to kvlt, if you will. IHopefully it provides some assistance. The top represents some of the more mainstream, well-produced (but still solid) releases, while working your way down results in a stripping away of sound quality, melody, and radio-friendly content. The list ends with a mixture of gritty second wave and mentally challenging avant guarde stuff. This is far from comprehensive, so feel free to hit the forums for some deeper cuts. I also welcome thoughts on reordering as this was no easy task for one set of ears.

1.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

2.Melechesh - Enki

3.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

4.Immortal - All Shall Fall

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

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1.Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never Came

2.Forest Stream - Tears Of Mortal Solitude

3.Draconian - Where Lovers Mourn

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II

5.Vital Remains - Dechristianize

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1.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

2.Falkenbach - Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty

3.Helloween - Rabbit Don't Come Easy

4.Kamelot - Epica

5.Arch Enemy - Anthems Of Rebellion

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1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Motörhead - Overkill

3.Týr - Ragnarok

4.Kamelot - The Black Halo

5.Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman

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These are albums that I'm currently enjoying. They may be classics that I'm revisiting or new gems I've recently discovered. (Ordered alphabetically)

- A star (⭐️) denotes a new discovery that I find exceptionally special!
- A flame (🔥) denotes an album that I've heard before, enjoyed, and am revisiting this month!

1.Burzum - Filosofem

2.Cobalt - Gin

3.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

4.Catacombs - In The Depths Of R'lyeh

5.Duelist - Spaghetti Western Black Metal

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Here is a list of MY favorite black(ish) metal albums (sometimes I like a little creamer...but no sugar). And yes I am aware that bands like Kreator and Amebix and not "Technically" black metal, but I don't care because they had a huge influence and their sound is very "blackened" on certain albums.

1.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler

4.Burzum - Filosofem

5.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

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1.Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar

2.After Forever - After Forever

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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