Pretty hard to make a list, making it easier by doing a top 10 of just metal and only 1 album from each of my fav bands..

10. Carcass - Swangsong. Every song on this album will stay in my head all day once listened too.
9. Metal Church - Metal Church. Not a single bad song on this album.
8. Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power. Walk is the only reason I chose this album above the others, they're all great.
7. Mudvayne - L.D 50. The only good album of this band, not sure what happened to them. Weird, creative and killer bass.
6. Metallica - Kill Em All. Hard which album to choose, but this one scrapes in at number one.
5. Megadeth - Rust In Peace. This album made me appreciate the band, before I heard this I wasn't that intrested in them, now I own all their stuff!
4. Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake. Heavy and Catchy, awesome!
3. Exodus - Shovel Headed Killing Machine. My favorite exodus album changes regularily, but this one is the current champion.
2. System Of A Down - System Of A Down. This bands sound is just so different from everything else out there and the self titled had a darker edge than the rest of their stuff.
1. Devildriver - Devildriver. Just brilliant - the first devildriver cd I heard and I love this band. This album wins because the songs sound the best live out of all their stuff.

Written by Aristarchos on 28.12.2010 at 16:30

Well man, what can i say?, Use Your Illusion II is Use Your Illusion II, and is hard to find a song that creates feelings as Estranged does, with an outstanding lyrics. I love all the album, maybe "My World" might have left behind but Axl was just a crazy mothefucker, my favorite segment is the "Trio" conformed by "Breakdown", "Pretty Tied Up" and "Locomotive"

Written by Andresopeth on 28.05.2009 at 23:11

1._ Guns N' Roses-Use Your Illusion II the first album of rock music i ever heard when i was 12 years and it kicked my ass and is still doing it, for their great songs (especially Estranged) and emotional reasons my favorite!

I'm glad someone more than I hold this over "Appetite". I also love Estranged (maybe my favourite song ever) and put the album as my second best. Here's my list:

1. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son - How epic metal should sound
2. Guns n' Roses - Use Your Illusion II - A mix between hard rock/punk/blues that sounds epic
3. Europe - Prisoners In Paradise - An old-time favourite, very overlooked
4. Dio - Holy Diver - How classic heavy metal should sound
5. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys pt. 2 - One of few power metal album I enjoy
6. Iron Maiden - Brave New World - Another epic masterpeace from Maiden
7. In Flames - Clayman - The perfect mix of aggresion and melodies
8. Nirvana - Nevermind - Great pop melodies in grunge
9. Queen - A Night At The Opera - Whatever genre they play it sounds great
10. Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast - Hallowed Be Thy Name

Normally i would write a big statement on why i like each of these albums and why they are my favorites, but im not because you dont really need a specific reason to like something, if its your favorite then its your favorite right? But all of these albums stand out in one way or another wether it be the guitars, vocals, originality, or some other reason.

1. Reign In Blood- Slayer

2. So Far So Good... So What!- Megadeth

3. Thrash Zone- D.R.I.

4. Dealing With It!- D.R.I.

5. Undisputed Additude- Slayer

6. Vugar Display of Power- Pantera

7. Practice What You Preach- Testament

8. Rust In Peace- Megadeth

9. Heartwork- Carcass

10. Suicidal Tendencies- Suicidal Tendencies

1 Slipknot- Slipknot
2 Machine Head-The More Things Change
3 Korn-Korn
4 Fear Factory-Demanufacture
5 Parkway Drive-Killing With A Smile
6 Parkway Drive-Horizons
7 August Burns Red-Messengers
8 Chimaira-Pass Out of Existence
9 40 Below Summer-Invitation To The Dance
10 Syx-Autopsy of Aquarius

1. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God : First death metal album and pure awesomeness
2. Be'Lakor - Stone's Reach : Fantastic melodeth album, enough said
3. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
4. Death - The Sound of Perseverence
5. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul
6. Godgory - Ressurection
7. Equilibrium - Sagas
8. Wintersun - Wintersun
9. Moonsorrow - V : Havitetty
10. Either Kalmah - Swamplord or Mercenary - 11 Dreams

Arg, see im not even sure I would still keep my first post damn it, its way too hard.

Would be easier if we could make a 10 album list per genre LOL

My favourite albums (not in particular order) are :
Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle Earth ,
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell ,
Grave Digger - Tunes Of War ,
Tarot - Spell Of Iron ,
Manowar - Kings Of Metal ,
Megadeth - Rust In Peace ,
Hammerfall - Renegade
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt 1 and 2
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power

1. Metallica - Black Album
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Blind Guardian - Night At The Opera

Without order

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
Baroness - Red Album
Boards of Canada - In A Beautiful Place Out in the Country [EP]
Mr. Bungle - California
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Gorguts - Obscura
The Beatles - Revolver
The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Warning - Watching From A Distance

Close ones

Slayer - Hell Awaits
Killing Joke - Killing Joke (1980)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
Deep Purple - Machine Head
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

Current Top 10: (No order)

Wintersun - Wintersun
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse
Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Humanity
Summoning - Minas Morgul
Summoning - Stronghold
Necrophagist - Epitaph
In Flames - The Jester Race
Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands
Immortal - Battles In The North

In no way is this list set in stone, but here's a rough idea of my top 10 (only using one album per band):

1. Megadeth - Rust In Peace
2. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
3. Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
4. Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter
5. Metallica - Ride The Lightning
6. Dio - Holy Diver
7. Behemoth - Demigod
8. Burzum - Burzum
9. Death - Symbolic
10. Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

Fuck if I can even come up with my all-time favorite album, let alone a top 10.

Let's see...

Metallica - And Justice For All...
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Pink Floyd - Animals
Dimmu Borgir - Spiritual Black Dimensions
Tristania - Beyond The Veil
Gojira - From Mars To Sirius
Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
Between The Buried And Me - Colors
Orphaned Land - Mabool
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound

I probably forgot to consider a couple of records, but it would be something like that.

Please i cant no no no (somone puts gun to my head) OK ILL DO IT

1. black sabbath- heaven and hell - my first heavy metal album and i have worn this album out so many times on both cd and cassette the riffs, the vocals, drums and the bass everything is top notch
2. candlemass- epicus doomicus metallicus- johans vocals are amazing and the record is heavy in all aspects
3. mercyful fate- melissa- my introduction to the king
4. slayer- show no mercy- love almost every slayer album but this one has i think toms best vocals IMO
5. blind guardian- a night at the opera- yeah its overblown and has so much multi tracking it sounds like their is 60,000 hansi kurschs in my room but is that a bad thing?
6. bathory- nordland I- i could picks many bathory albums blood fire death and hammerheart were also close but nordland is just a smidge better
7. king diamond- abigail- a great horror story thrown in with great vocals and musicianship
8. forefather- steadfast. just a great album great mix of clean and harsh vocals with very catchy riffs and vocals
9. iron maiden- somewhere in time. the synth was very well done and the songs are just great
10.sodom- persecution mania- when you hear the beginning of nuclear winter you know your about to get your ass kicked lol

In order:

Iron Maiden - Powerslave
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part 1
Savatage - Gutter Ballet
King Diamond - Abigail
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
Savatage - Hall Of The Mountain King
Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part I
Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Gamma Ray - Somewhere Out In Space

Sorry for the lack of attention, for a sec I thought this was someone's top 10 of all time list which was sparking up such a discussion that I absolutely needed to see it.

Now that I'm back on earth I definitely need some time to think about a list that I won't ever be able to come up with

Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Kylesa - Spiral Shadow
Baroness - Red Album
Mastodon - Leviathan
Sleep - Holy Mountain
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Death - Human
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

Written by DIRTYDANIII on 07.06.2012 at 06:55

Mastodon - Blood Mountain
Kylesa - Spiral Shadow
Baroness - Red Album
Mastodon - Leviathan
Sleep - Holy Mountain
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Death - Human
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

Sweet list!

Can't do top 10 but I think I can make a list of ten metal albums that I enjoy the most

Somewhere in Time - Iron Maiden: Love the sound, the melodies, guitar solos, everything
Defenders of the Faith - Judas Priest: Great songs, great sound, great band
Ride the lightning - Metallica: one of the few albums where almost every track imo is a classic hit
Brave new world- Iron Maiden: Great "come back" album, Maiden flexing there muscles once again
At the heart of winter - Immortal: Just wow
A flame to the ground beneath - Lost Horizon: An album close to my heart, Daniel Heiman and the boys doing their ultimate best
Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath: Dio doing his thing, Ozzy could've never done this album
Hissingen Blues - Graveyard: sounds so much 70's it's spooky
Clayman - In Flames: Aggression mixing with great melodies have never sounded this great
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden: Just great, the first track gives you what you came for

10. Fear of a Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree: This is one of the best produced albums I have heard, and that's saying a lot. Other than that, there's just some absolutely phenomenal prog rock on display here.

9. Blackjazz - Shining {NOR}: I love me some Industrial Jazz Metal, what can I say?

8. The Butchers Ballroom - Diablo Swing Orchestra: Unique, crazy, and catchy as sin, I just adore the this out of this album

7. Lateralus - Tool: It's an atmospheric album that also knows how to rock out. It's my favorite Tool Album, and IMO it's their most consistent.

6. Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins: Arguably the best mainstream release in the 90's. Shits all over Nevermind.

5. Still Life - Opeth: I prefer it over Blackwater Park. Just personal taste I guess.

4. Focus - Cynic: The guitar work on both this and Traced in Air is phenomenal. The vocals in this, and the arrangement of the songs, however, make this a clear winner.

3. Slim Shady LP - Eminem: Eminem's first after Infinite is still his best. It has the insanely awesome dark humor that later albums lacked, and it also has some touching moments as well.

2. Surfa Rosa - Pixies. Pixies may be one of the greatest Alt Rock bands of all time, and while they pioneered much of 90's and 00's rock, it is still infinitely better than what came after.

1. Bath/Leaving Your Body Map - Maudlin of the Well: I have never heard anything like this double album. A mixture of Death, Doom, Thrash, Folk, Jazz, Indie Pop, and classical, the music is both harsh and beautiful. And it's the album that got me into extreme metal, so that has to count for something right?

In no particular order:
Insomnium: Above The Weeping Moon
Opeth: Blackwater Park
Eluveitie: Slania
Korpiklaani: Tales Along This Road
Blind Guardian: A Twist In The Myth
Judas Priest: British Steel
Alcest: Ecailles De Lune
Children Of Bodom: Hatebreeder
Ayreon: Into The Electric Castle
Finntroll: Nattfodd

Hrm, this is tough. I'm not gonna order this. Maybe one day I'll look back and think differently, but this is a snapshot in time here.

Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element.
For the longest time my favorite album of all time. The only reason it fades at all is because I've listened to the damn thing too much. Seriously amazing piece of work though.

Pig Destroyer - Prowler in the Yard.
I love this band so much. They are an incredible mix of evil, devastation, intensity and incredible riffage. This album gets the nod because of the drum production, though later albums have better guitar. The drums on this album are so dynamic though.

Florence and the Machine - Ceremonies.
More recent, but this album gets better with every listen. The lyrics are so good and her voice is amazing. I love the epic production and the endless musical textures.

The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum.
Sure, it's really a bunch of eps (some better than others), but the cream of this work is unreal. And it's easier to pick this than one of the Acts. This band is great, I love what they do.

Tool - Lateralus.
Talk about great production. Plus the groove here is amazing. Best Tool album easily, just good music.

Aereogramme - Sleep and Release
Not a lot of people know about this band and it sucks they broke up, but man are they great. Such a nice mix of styles. Again great texture, it's something I really appreciate in a recording.

Opeth - Blackwater Park
Give it up to the gods, this is an amazing piece of work. Such excellent and epic songwriting. Timeless.

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Everything I just said about Opeth times 10. Except, this isn't the album everyone chooses, it's my favorite. These are my favorite Iron Maiden songs.

Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
I don't love all their stuff, but this album blew me away and still does. I constantly come back to it. These songs are so well done. The album itself well constructed. It always grabs me.

Absu - Tara
Amazing riffs, absurd drumming, incredible song construction. Each track sounds like it's about to conjure some mythical sorcerous entity to rain fire upon the land. It feels like a well done dark fantasy epic novel, except in music form. Just great.

Yeah, that's about right. If I had an 11th pick I'd put a Deathspell Omega album, but yeah, these are my top ten 'OF ALL TIME' at the moment. I'm sure it's bound to change.

Ordered Alphabetically:
Agalloch - The Mantle
Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
Autopsy - Mental Funeral
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I - Fathers Of The Icy Age
Deafheaven - Roads To Judah
Deathspell Omega - Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice
Drudkh - Autumn Aurora
Edge Of Sanity - Crimson
Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter
Nagelfar - Srontgorrth
Suffocation - Pierced From Within

Oh god, I forgot Marillion - Clutching at Straws. I'm already making revisions! but this is a must. What to replace though?
Sorry Absu, I still love you, but, this is just the way it must be.

Marillion - Clutching at Straws. This band is amazing and this is their best work. Fish is an amazing vocalist and brilliant lyricist. The guitars are so perfect and Marillion really knows how to somehow turn 'Progressive songs' into 'pop songs.' Some of the best pop songs ever written. This album never gets old.

1. Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
2. Judas Priest - Painkiller
3. Avantasia - The wicked Symphony
4. Stratovarius - Visions
5. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys pt.II
6. Megadeth - Rust in Peace
7. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
8. Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
9. Dream Theater - Images and Words
10. Elvenking - Hethenreel

Very, very tough to nail down just ten albums. Going to work on it and also post a larger 'list'. Many of my favorite albums ever came out recently and many were released in the early 80's. I'll see what I can come up with.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 24.05.2012 at 01:00

Fuck if I can even come up with my all-time favorite album, let alone a top 10.

This.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 24.05.2012 at 01:00

Fuck if I can even come up with my all-time favorite album, let alone a top 10.

me too. And what I really don't understand is people being able to come up with their favourite songs ever.

Sigh - Scenes From Hell
Cryptopsy - None So Vile
Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
Sigh - In Somniphobia
Behemoth - Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)
Sigh - Hangman's Hymn- Musikalische Exequien
Gorguts - Obscura
Månegarm - Nordstjärnans Tidsålder
Akercocke - Antichrist
Hate Eternal - I, Monarch

Kind of in order from top to bottom

My list may change over time, but this is how I feel at the time of typing this post. Three of my all-time albums are actually not metal, but I will list just the metal ones here:



10. Mental Torments - Spheric Universe Experience - A dreadfully underrated prog metal album. It features some great musicianship, very good vocals, and amazing keyboard work.

9. Nattestid Ser Porten Vid - Taake - Whenever i think of the words "black metal" the music, production, and most of all Hoest's shrieks displayed on this album are exactly what come to my mind. Definitely the best black metal album i have ever heard.

8. Skyforger - Amorphis - The first Amorphis album I ever heard. Every song is a powerhouse tour de' force that gets me pumped up every time I hear it. Tomi Joutsen's clean vocal and growling work is amazing. The music surrounding it is amazingly catchy and well-written, and makes for an utterly entertaining listen from beginning to end.

7. The Great Escape - Seventh Wonder - This album is the tightest this amazing Swedish prog metal band has done so far. It even features arguably the longest song I have ever heard in my life as a music fan (if I can consider The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky a song, as opposed to an opera), with the 30 minute title track. All of the other songs are fantastic anthems, the musicianship is spot-on, and the lead singer Tommy Karevik demonstrates some of the greatest vocal work I have heard in the genre.

6. The Mantle - Agalloch - If ever I was camping in the woods, this would be my soundtrack to make it through. There is an impeccably somber and haunting ambience and atmosphere that makes up the record and it is chilling to hear. There is a reason why this album is highly praised by many Metal Stormers including myself, if you have not heard this album in all of it's epic glory, do yourself a favor and buy it now, cause you're missing out.

5. Brave New World - Iron Maiden - 7th Son may have a good chance of supplanting this as fave Iron Maiden in the future, but as of now, I really love the songcraft on this album, The Mercenary, The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, The Nomad, Brave New World, and Blood Brothers in particular easily rival many of their 1980s classics.

4. Watershed - Opeth - Arguably my first Opeth album (I may have heard Ghost Reveries earlier, I don't remember), this is probably the most prog sounding album they have done, without abandoning the death style of course (I liked Heritage, but oh well, haters gonna hate ). It's very well-produced and every instrument shines like crystal. Mikael has never sounded more beautiful with his clean vocals, and as evil with his growls. This (or Ghost Reveries Idk) is also my first death metal album of any kind, I definitely lean towards the prog and doom sides myself. Awesome release.

3. A Night At The Opera - Blind Guardian - The most adventurous work in BG's catalogue, Hansi and company have crafted a true masterpiece in this album. Musically, it is probably the most complex album they have ever written, with Hansi recording several different harmonies in specific parts of every song, Andre and Marcus playing more prog influenced melodies, and Thomen playing some of his most difficult drum work to date. It must also be noted that my favorite song of all time, And Then There Was Silence is what finishes the album up on a glorious note (not counting the beautiful bonus track of course).

2. BE - Pain of Salvation - The greatest concept album I have ever heard, no doubt the magnum opus for Daniel and company. It is the most ambitious concept I have heard any band ever tackle, and the music surrounding it is the most diverse and perfect I have heard from this prog metal legend. Phenomenal.

1. Dance of December Souls - Katatonia - Everything about this record just works beautifully. The vocals, the bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, everything. The little atmospheric moments which break up the album really add a lot of depth into this haunting, melancholic work. While I love everything in the Katatonia discography to bits, this is the album where it all came together for me (though a few of their albums come extremely close). This is truly a gem.