2000-2004 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5844
2005-2009 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5838
2010-2014 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5828

I sure do love this site and it's rating system, it makes finding great music so easy and, even more importantly, when an album is overlooked for a while but starts getting a buzz a few months later, boom, there it appears in the top 20.

All that being said, I still wish there was some way to get a weighted ranking that not only takes the rating of the album into account, but also the number of votes that were cast. For example, an album with a rating of 8.8 and 1000 votes would rank higher than an album with a rating of 8.9 and 20 votes. So, I scraped all the albums on the site with at least 1 vote into a database. Then, taking a leaf out of IMDb's book, I used Bayesian estimation (like the IMDb's Top 250) to calculate a weighted rating for each album based on its Metal Storm rating and the number of votes it had received.

The formula for calculating the Top 100 Albums gives a true Bayesian estimate:
Bayes rating (BR) = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) where:
C = average expected rating given...
m = minimum number of votes
R = average rating for the album = (Metal Storm rating)
N = number of votes for the album = (votes)

The way the Bayesian estimator works is that all albums in the database are given and additional m fake votes with an average rating of C, irrespective of how many true votes it already has. Then a new weighted rating is calculated...
If the album has no true votes ( N = 0 ), then BR = ( C × m + R × 0 ) ÷ ( m + 0) = C × m ÷ m = C (the average expected rating).
If the album has a number of true votes equal to the minimum ( N = m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × m ) ÷ ( m + m ) = ( C + R ) × m ÷ 2m = ( C + R ) ÷ 2 (halfway between the two ratings).
If the album has a very large number of true votes ( N >> m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) ≈ R × N ÷ N = R (the Metal Storm rating).
This means that the Bayes rating will never equal the Metal Storm rating but will approach it as the true votes grows arbitrarily large.

Now that the maths bit is out of the way, here was my methodology:
Only Studio and EP album types, from the years 2015 to 2019, with at least 1 vote, were included.
The average expected rating (C) was determined by averaging all the Metal Storm ratings from 2015-2019.
The minimum number of votes (m) was determined by calculating the 75th percentile of the votes, rounded to the nearest 10.
I also decided that if an album's Bayes rating was within 0.005 of #100, it would be included too; hence the +2.

C for 2015-2019 = 7.422
m = 20

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2015 - 31
2016 - 24
2017 - 18
2018 - 12
2019 - 17

Ratings are accurate as of 30/10/2023

1.Mgła - Exercises In Futility

2.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.Vektor - Terminal Redux

5.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

      View entire list ››

Fuzz me up buttercup

1.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

2.Clutch - Clutch

3.Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

4.Mastodon - Leviathan

5.Melvins - Lysol

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1.Converge - The Dusk In Us

2.Sólstafir - Berdreyminn

3.Pharmakon - Contact

4.Oktoplut - Le démon normal

5.Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon

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1.Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

2.Cavalera Conspiracy - Psychosis

3.Black Anvil - As Was

4.Siberian Meat Grinder - Metal Bear Stomp

5.Dying Fetus - Wrong One To Fuck With

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1.Lör - In Forgotten Sleep

2.Æther Realm - Tarot

3.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

4.Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World

5.Dvne - Asheran

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1.Venenum - Trance Of Death

2.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

3.Converge - The Dusk In Us

4.The Ruins Of Beverast - Exuvia

5.Caligula's Horse - In Contact

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Still not full complete list. Some new ones will be added, and others changing spots. It's just there as of now to keep track.
Been many goodies this year at least for me and i might still be caught surprised.

1.Sunless - Urraca

2.Rebirth Of Nefast - Tabernaculum

3.Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon

4.Tchornobog - Tchornobog

5.Dodecahedron - Kwintessens

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1.Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun

2.Shadow Of Intent - Reclaimer

3.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Urn

5.Unleash The Archers - Apex

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1.Memoriam - For The Fallen

2.Necrot - Blood Offerings

3.Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

4.Attic - Sanctimonious

5.Havok - Conformicide

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These are my favourite albums from the year 2017, ranked in order from my most favourite at number 1 to my least favourite.

1.Leprous - Malina

2.Enslaved - E

3.Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World

4.Darkest Hour - Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora

5.Body Count - Bloodlust

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My glorious ranking of the year of our Lord 2017

Top 50 rated 8 and above

Album count: 132
Average rating: 7.1

1.Enslaved - E

2.Mors Principium Est - Embers Of A Dying World

3.Pallbearer - Heartless

4.Myrkur - Mareridt

5.Ulver - The Assassination Of Julius Caesar

      View entire list ››

A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2017 was an interesting year, overall a solid year but the most notable thing about it the nostalgia sound, many new and old bands reuniting to old sounds but in a new way, Thrash metal had a pretty solid year same with death metal and doom, black metal was in its peak with the ambient mix sound and Progressive metal had a solid showing along with power metal.

My favorite non metal albums of 2017

1. No Shape
By Perfume Genius (Art pop)


2. Brutalism
By Idles (Post-Punk, Post-Hardcore)


3. Melodrama
By Lorde (Synthpop, Art Pop)


4. Ctrl
By SZA (R&B, Neo-Soul)


5. Relatives in Descent
By Protomartyr (Post-Punk, Noise Rock)


My favorite movie from 2017

1.Kreator - Gods Of Violence

2.Power Trip - Nightmare Logic

3.Lingua Ignota - All Bitches Die

4.La Torture Des Ténèbres - IV - Memoirs Of A Machine Girl

5.Dvne - Asheran

      View entire list ››

1.Kyuss - Kyuss

2.Kyuss - Blues For The Red Sun

3.Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

4.Spiritual Beggars - Ad Astra

5.Soundgarden - Superunknown

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This is my personal preference. Also, I'm always searching and finding new bands and new albums. Recommend me some good shit, I'll listen and maybe I'll change my mind on my personal top!

1.Altar Of Betelgeuze - Among The Ruins

2.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

3.Persefone - Aathma

4.Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World

5.Cradle Of Filth - Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness Of Decay

      View entire list ››

My personal Top 50 of a fantastic Year. As you can see the major part of this list is kind of proggy, concluded with some heavier stuff and a few Rock Albums. There may be some more creative or boundary breaking releases left out, but these are the works that exited and convoyed me throughout 2017.
Please enjoy, suggestions are appreciated.

1.Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

2.The Night Flight Orchestra - Amber Galactic

3.Soen - Lykaia

4.Voyager - Ghost Mile

5.Dodecahedron - Kwintessens

      View entire list ››