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1001 Metal Albums to Hear Before You Die
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Thumbs up: +6
An ongoing list for personal use as well as for reference for beginners (& veterans alike). This is solely my personal opinion and taste (Death & Prog mostly but do give every genre a try). Basically will include albums I've rated 8 & above. Sorted by year since I'll need a Venn diagram to sort by genre (seriously MS please make it happen if possible). Will feature multiple releases per year (obviously) and per band (since if a band is putting out better albums it deserves more recognition). Keeping the metal faith alive from India

Created by: metalriff | 05.02.2021


1. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
1969
2. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
1969
3. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
1970
4. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1970
5. Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself
1971
6. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
1971
7. Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality
1971
8. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1973
9. King Crimson - Red
1974
10. Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
1975
11. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
1975
12. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
1976
13. Rush - 2112
1976
14. Rainbow - Rising
1976
15. Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
1976
16. Van Halen - Van Halen
1978
17. Rush - Hemispheres
1978
18. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
1978
19. Motörhead - Overkill
1979
20. Rush - Permanent Waves
1980
21. Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations
1980
22. AC/DC - Back In Black
1980
23. Rush - Moving Pictures
1981
24. Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
1982
25. Metallica - Kill 'Em All
1983
26. Mercyful Fate - Melissa
1983
27. Accept - Balls To The Wall
1983
28. Metallica - Ride The Lightning
1984
29. Metal Church - Metal Church
1984
30. Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
1984
31. Possessed - Seven Churches
1985
32. Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
1985
33. Exodus - Bonded By Blood
1985
34. Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
1985
35. Metallica - Master Of Puppets
1986
36. Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
1986
37. Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver
1986
38. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
1986
39. Whitesnake - Whitesnake
1987
40. Testament - The Legacy
1987
41. Sodom - Persecution Mania
1987
42. Savatage - Hall Of The Mountain King
1987
43. King Diamond - Abigail
1987
44. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
1987
45. Anthrax - Among The Living
1987
46. Voivod - Dimension Hatröss
1988
47. Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare
1988
48. Testament - The New Order
1988
49. Slayer - South Of Heaven
1988
50. Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime
1988
51. Metallica - ...And Justice For All
1988
52. Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn
1988
53. Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II
1988
54. Forbidden - Forbidden Evil
1988
55. Death - Leprosy
1988
56. Crimson Glory - Transcendence
1988
57. Terrorizer - World Downfall
1989
58. Sepultura - Beneath The Remains
1989
59. Pestilence - Consuming Impulse
1989
60. Overkill - The Years Of Decay
1989
61. Obituary - Slowly We Rot
1989
62. Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness
1989
63. Kreator - Extreme Aggression
1989
64. Helstar - Nosferatu
1989
65. Faith No More - The Real Thing
1989
66. Coroner - No More Color
1989
67. Autopsy - Severed Survival
1989
68. Atheist - Piece Of Time
1989
69. Annihilator - Alice In Hell
1989
70. Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
1990
71. Primus - Frizzle Fry
1990
72. Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
1990
73. Nocturnus - The Key
1990
74. Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption
1990
75. Megadeth - Rust In Peace
1990
76. Judas Priest - Painkiller
1990
77. Artillery - By Inheritance
1990
78. Annihilator - Never, Neverland
1990
79. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
1991
80. Skid Row - Slave To The Grind
1991
81. Sepultura - Arise
1991
82. Sarcófago - The Laws Of Scourge
1991
83. Pestilence - Testimony Of The Ancients
1991
84. Overkill - Horrorscope
1991
85. Entombed - Clandestine
1991
86. Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream
1991
87. Death - Human
1991
88. Coroner - Mental Vortex
1991
89. Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious
1991
90. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
1991
91. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
1992
92. Solitude Aeturnus - Beyond The Crimson Horizon
1992
93. Sinister - Cross The Styx
1992
94. Sadus - A Vision Of Misery
1992
95. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
1992
96. Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
1992
97. Malevolent Creation - Retribution
1992
98. Iced Earth - Night Of The Stormrider
1992
99. Faith No More - Angel Dust
1992
100. Dream Theater - Images And Words
1992
101. Demolition Hammer - Epidemic Of Violence
1992
102. Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
1992
103. Alice In Chains - Dirt
1992
104. Paradise Lost - Icon
1993
105. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence
1993
106. Morbid Angel - Covenant
1993
107. Demilich - Nespithe
1993
108. Death - Individual Thought Patterns
1993
109. Cynic - Focus
1993
110. Carcass - Heartwork
1993
111. Soundgarden - Superunknown
1994
112. Samael - Ceremony Of Opposites
1994
113. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
1994
114. Machine Head - Burn My Eyes
1994
115. Kyuss - Kyuss
1994
116. Edge Of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow
1994
117. Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops
1994
118. Vader - De Profundis
1995
119. Suffocation - Pierced From Within
1995
120. Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve
1995
121. Fear Factory - Demanufacture
1995
122. Down - Nola
1995
123. Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane
1995
124. Death - Symbolic
1995
125. Therion - Theli
1996
126. Satyricon - Nemesis Divina
1996
127. Opeth - Morningrise
1996
128. Edge Of Sanity - Crimson
1996
129. Cryptopsy - None So Vile
1996
130. Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
1997
131. October Tide - Rain Without End
1997
132. In Flames - Whoracle
1997
133. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech
1997
134. Therion - Vovin
1998
135. Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse
1998
136. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment
1998
137. Gorguts - Obscura
1998
138. Diabolical Masquerade - Nightwork
1998
139. Dawn (SWE) - Slaughtersun (Crown Of The Triarchy)
1998
140. Taake - Nattestid...
1999
141. Opeth - Still Life
1999
142. Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black
1999
143. Necrophagist - Onset Of Putrefaction
1999
144. Mr. Bungle - California
1999
145. Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2
1999
146. Lacrimas Profundere - Memorandum
1999
147. Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter
1999
148. Graveworm - As The Angels Reach The Beauty
1999
149. Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory
1999
150. Anathema - Judgement
1999
151. The Crown - Deathrace King
2000
152. Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite
2000
153. Saturnus - Martyre
2000
154. Quo Vadis - Day Into Night
2000
155. Martyr - Warp Zone
2000
156. Immolation - Close To A World Below
2000
157. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
2000
158. Decapitated - Winds Of Creation
2000
159. Windir - 1184
2001
160. Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
2001
161. Tool - Lateralus
2001
162. Threshold - Hypothetical
2001
163. Thorns - Thorns
2001
164. System Of A Down - Toxicity
2001
165. Sodom - M-16
2001
166. Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape
2001
167. Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress
2001
168. Opeth - Blackwater Park
2001
169. Novembre - Novembrine Waltz
2001
170. My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours
2001
171. Kreator - Violent Revolution
2001
172. Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down
2001
173. Evergrey - In Search Of Truth
2001
174. Eternal Tears Of Sorrow - A Virgin And A Whore
2001
175. Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
2001
176. Ark - Burn The Sun
2001
177. Symphony X - The Odyssey
2002
178. Star One - Space Metal
2002
179. Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos
2002
180. Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
2002
181. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
2002
182. Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
2002
183. Opeth - Deliverance
2002
184. Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines
2002
185. Mourning Beloveth - The Sullen Sulcus
2002
186. Kalmah - They Will Return
2002
187. Isis - Oceanic
2002
188. Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness
2002
189. Decapitated - Nihility
2002
190. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
2002
191. Amon Amarth - Versus The World
2002
192. Windir - Likferd
2003
193. The Mars Volta - De-Loused In The Comatorium
2003
194. Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never Came
2003
195. Riverside - Out Of Myself
2003
196. Psycroptic - The Scepter Of The Ancients
2003
197. OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence
2003
198. Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath
2003
199. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
2003
200. Kamelot - Epica
2003
201. Enslaved - Below The Lights
2003
202. Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II
2003
203. Dream Theater - Train Of Thought
2003
204. Thurisaz - Scent Of A Dream
2004
205. Slumber - Fallout
2004
206. Quo Vadis - Defiant Imagination
2004
207. Necrophagist - Epitaph
2004
208. My Dying Bride - Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light
2004
209. Motörhead - Inferno
2004
210. Mercenary - 11 Dreams
2004
211. Mastodon - Leviathan
2004
212. Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
2004
213. Isis - Panopticon
2004
214. Hibria - Defying The Rules
2004
215. Exodus - Tempo Of The Damned
2004
216. Enslaved - Isa
2004
217. Disillusion - Back To Times Of Splendor
2004
218. Bloodbath - Nightmares Made Flesh
2004
219. Behemoth - Demigod
2004
220. Augury - Concealed
2004
221. Arsis - A Celebration Of Guilt
2004
222. Angra - Temple Of Shadows
2004
223. Uaral - Sounds Of Pain
2005
224. Taake - ...Doedskvad
2005
225. Sieges Even - The Art Of Navigating By The Stars
2005
226. Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
2005
227. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
2005
228. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
2005
229. Noumena - Absence
2005
230. Nile - Annihilation Of The Wicked
2005
231. Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor
2005
232. Mors Principium Est - The Unborn
2005
233. Kreator - Enemy Of God
2005
234. Kamelot - The Black Halo
2005
235. Hypocrisy - Virus
2005
236. Gojira - From Mars To Sirius
2005
237. Galneryus - Advance To The Fall
2005
238. Dark Tranquillity - Character
2005
239. Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
2005
240. Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
2005
241. Tool - 10,000 Days
2006
242. Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die
2006
243. Persefone - Core
2006
244. Melechesh - Emissaries
2006
245. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
2006
246. Insomnium - Above The Weeping World
2006
247. Gorod - Leading Vision
2006
248. Drudkh - Кров У Наших Криницn
2006
249. Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom
2006
250. Benighted - Identisick
2006
251. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
2006
252. Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea
2006
253. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
2006
254. The Foreshadowing - Days Of Nothing
2007
255. Symphony X - Paradise Lost
2007
256. Swallow The Sun - Hope
2007
257. Skeletonwitch - Beyond The Permafrost
2007
258. Shining - V - Halmstad
2007
259. Sear Bliss - The Arcane Odyssey
2007
260. Rotting Christ - Theogonia
2007
261. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
2007
262. Municipal Waste - The Art Of Partying
2007
263. Machine Head - The Blackening
2007
264. Lazarus A.D. - The Onslaught
2007
265. In Vain - The Latter Rain
2007
266. Gris - Il Était Une Forêt...
2007
267. Cobalt - Eater Of Birds
2007
268. Circus Maximus - Isolate
2007
269. Blotted Science - The Machinations Of Dementia
2007
270. Between The Buried And Me - Colors
2007
271. Antimatter - Leaving Eden
2007
272. Anaal Nathrakh - Hell Is Empty, And All The Devils Are Here
2007
273. Alter Bridge - Blackbird
2007
274. Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde
2007
275. The Monolith Deathcult - Trivmvirate
2008
276. The Faceless - Planetary Duality
2008
277. Textures - Silhouettes
2008
278. Sylosis - Conclusion Of An Age
2008
279. Septicflesh - Communion
2008
280. Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe
2008
281. Russian Circles - Station
2008
282. Origin - Antithesis
2008
283. Opeth - Watershed
2008
284. Meshuggah - ObZen
2008
285. In Mourning - Shrouded Divine
2008
286. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
2008
287. Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale
2008
288. Equilibrium - Sagas
2008
289. Dead Congregation - Graves Of The Archangels
2008
290. Darkspace - Dark Space III
2008
291. Cynic - Traced In Air
2008
292. Wine From Tears - Through The Eyes Of A Mad
2009
293. Vektor - Black Future
2009
294. Ulcerate - Everything Is Fire
2009
295. Swallow The Sun - New Moon
2009
296. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
2009
297. Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day
2009
298. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
2009
299. Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest
2009
300. Mistur - Attende
2009
301. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
2009
302. Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light
2009
303. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome
2009
304. Karnivool - Sound Awake
2009
305. Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred For Mankind
2009
306. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
2009
307. Animals As Leaders - Animals As Leaders
2009
308. Overkill - Ironbound
2010
309. Ihsahn - After
2010
310. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
2010
311. Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI
2010
312. Accept - Blood Of The Nations
2010
313. Vektor - Outer Isolation
2011
314. The Human Abstract - Digital Veil
2011
315. Septicflesh - The Great Mass
2011
316. Obscura - Omnivium
2011
317. Leprous - Bilateral
2011
318. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
2011
319. Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
2011
320. Beyond Creation - The Aura
2011
321. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I
2012
322. Mgła - With Hearts Toward None
2012
323. Hypno5e - Acid Mist Tomorrow
2012
324. Cattle Decapitation - Monolith Of Inhumanity
2012
325. Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone
2012
326. The Ocean - Pelagial
2013
327. Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)
2013
328. Shade Empire - Omega Arcane
2013
329. Persefone - Spiritual Migration
2013
330. Enshine - Origin
2013
331. Shylmagoghnar - Emergence
2014
332. Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
2014
333. Mgła - Exercises In Futility
2015
334. Kauan - Sorni Nai
2015
335. Batushka - Litourgiya
2015
336. Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud
2015
337. Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary
2016
338. Vektor - Terminal Redux
2016
339. Be'lakor - Vessels
2016
340. Allegaeon - Proponent For Sentience
2016
341. Caligula's Horse - In Contact
2017
342. Archspire - Relentless Mutation
2017
343. Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology
2018
344. Riverside - Wasteland
2018
345. Amorphis - Queen Of Time
2018
346. Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination
2019
347. Soen - Lotus
2019
348. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats' Nest
2019
349. Borknagar - True North
2019
350. Paradise Lost - Obsidian
2020


Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
[ More lists by metalriff ]



Comments

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Comments: 11   Visited by: 86 users
28.09.2021 - 12:19
F3ynman2000
Nocturnal Bro
contributor
Wow - cool list!
I've seriously need to check out the early 2000's
----
* Music I'm currently enjoying (April 2024)
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28.09.2021 - 14:17
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
Missing 723.
----
"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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30.09.2021 - 16:38
metalriff
Written by Karlabos on 28.09.2021 at 14:17

Missing 723.
I didn't quite get you
----
1001 Metal albums to hear before you die
https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6531
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30.09.2021 - 17:59
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
contributor
I agree with all the one's on this list I've listened too, so judging by your music taste, I will check out the rest of the albums on this list at some point
----
http://Andy's 2024 album ranking
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30.09.2021 - 18:27
Starvynth
i c deaf people
staff
Written by metalriff on 30.09.2021 at 16:38

Written by Karlabos on 28.09.2021 at 14:17

Missing 723.
I didn't quite get you

a little hint: 278 + 723 = 1001
----
signatures = SPAM
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07.10.2021 - 11:00
metalriff
Written by Starvynth on 30.09.2021 at 18:27

Written by metalriff on 30.09.2021 at 16:38

Written by Karlabos on 28.09.2021 at 14:17

Missing 723.
I didn't quite get you

a little hint: 278 + 723 = 1001

Sheesh I'm bad at math. Reminds me yet again that I'm a doctor
----
1001 Metal albums to hear before you die
https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6531
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07.10.2021 - 11:01
metalriff
Written by AndyMetalFreak on 30.09.2021 at 17:59

I agree with all the one's on this list I've listened too, so judging by your music taste, I will check out the rest of the albums on this list at some point

Yayy
----
1001 Metal albums to hear before you die
https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6531
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22.12.2021 - 02:29
F3ynman2000
Nocturnal Bro
contributor
Came by just to say that I appreciate your tastes in music! I often see you liking comments in threads of my favorite albums, so it seems we have similar preferences

I'll admit I'm mostly familiar with albums from the 80s and 90s. In this list you have a lot of ones from the 2000s. I'll have to venture more into that era, but the ones I recognize I also like (albums from Bolt Thrower, Nile, Septicflesh, Edge of Sanity, and Vektor)

I'll try to use this list (as well as my list called "F3ynman's Checklist") as a metal to-do list!
----
* Music I'm currently enjoying (April 2024)
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22.12.2021 - 05:14
metalriff
Written by F3ynman2000 on 22.12.2021 at 02:29

Came by just to say that I appreciate your tastes in music! I often see you liking comments in threads of my favorite albums, so it seems we have similar preferences

I'll admit I'm mostly familiar with albums from the 80s and 90s. In this list you have a lot of ones from the 2000s. I'll have to venture more into that era, but the ones I recognize I also like (albums from Bolt Thrower, Nile, Septicflesh, Edge of Sanity, and Vektor)

I'll try to use this list (as well as my list called "F3ynman's Checklist") as a metal to-do list!

Thanks a lot man. I'm glad we share a similarly peculiar taste in music.
I believe that every era has amazing albums according to their own accord and especially that METAL IS NOT DEAD 🤘
----
1001 Metal albums to hear before you die
https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6531
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11.08.2022 - 15:55
F3ynman2000
Nocturnal Bro
contributor
I just counted the number of albums in this list that I've listened to: 120 out of 348. Pretty good, I think. But there's still a lot to discover!
----
* Music I'm currently enjoying (April 2024)
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27.07.2023 - 05:21
Guib
Thrash Talker
Absolutely fantastic list, we have very similar taste. Love it!
----
- Headbanging with mostly clogged arteries to that stuff -
Guib's List Of Essential Albums
- Also Thrash Paradise
Thrash Here
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