Metal Storm logo
Top 100 (+8) Of 2005-2009


Thumbs up: +1
2000-2004 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5844
2010-2014 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5828
2015-2019 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6722

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 grow 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 2005 to 2009, with at least 1 vote, were included.
The average expected rating (C) was determined by averaging all the Metal Storm ratings from 2005-2009.
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 +8.

C for 2005-2009 = 7.593
m = 20

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2005 - 26
2006 - 20
2007 - 23
2008 - 17
2009 - 23

Ratings are accurate as of 30/10/2023

Created by: Crys1s | 19.09.2019



1. Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
MS rating:9.141; Votes:1588; Bayes rating:9.141
2. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
MS rating:8.994; Votes:2278; Bayes rating:8.994
3. Be'lakor - Stone's Reach
MS rating:8.968; Votes:1205; Bayes rating:8.968
4. Gojira - From Mars To Sirius
MS rating:8.924; Votes:1173; Bayes rating:8.924
5. Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die
MS rating:8.944; Votes:590; Bayes rating:8.944
6. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell
MS rating:8.921; Votes:802; Bayes rating:8.921
7. Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet
MS rating:8.917; Votes:878; Bayes rating:8.917
8. Septicflesh - Communion
MS rating:8.902; Votes:1055; Bayes rating:8.902
9. Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor
MS rating:8.877; Votes:1139; Bayes rating:8.877
10. Kamelot - The Black Halo
MS rating:8.869; Votes:1231; Bayes rating:8.869
11. Primordial - To The Nameless Dead
MS rating:8.876; Votes:728; Bayes rating:8.876
12. Vektor - Black Future
MS rating:8.877; Votes:522; Bayes rating:8.877
13. Deathspell Omega - Kénôse
MS rating:8.966; Votes:178; Bayes rating:8.966
14. Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal
MS rating:8.864; Votes:610; Bayes rating:8.864
15. Insomnium - Above The Weeping World
MS rating:8.836; Votes:998; Bayes rating:8.836
16. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
MS rating:8.812; Votes:1337; Bayes rating:8.812
17. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
MS rating:8.819; Votes:769; Bayes rating:8.819
18. Equilibrium - Sagas
MS rating:8.793; Votes:721; Bayes rating:8.793
19. Shining - V - Halmstad
MS rating:8.805; Votes:482; Bayes rating:8.805
20. Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
MS rating:8.794; Votes:591; Bayes rating:8.794
21. Machine Head - The Blackening
MS rating:8.759; Votes:1124; Bayes rating:8.759
22. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
MS rating:8.751; Votes:1768; Bayes rating:8.751
23. Vader - The Art Of War
MS rating:8.833; Votes:233; Bayes rating:8.833
24. Between The Buried And Me - Colors
MS rating:8.769; Votes:584; Bayes rating:8.769
25. Rotting Christ - Theogonia
MS rating:8.759; Votes:681; Bayes rating:8.759
26. The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand
MS rating:8.874; Votes:135; Bayes rating:8.874
27. Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome
MS rating:8.757; Votes:382; Bayes rating:8.757
28. Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
MS rating:8.735; Votes:554; Bayes rating:8.735
29. Nile - Annihilation Of The Wicked
MS rating:8.713; Votes:818; Bayes rating:8.713
30. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
MS rating:8.698; Votes:1106; Bayes rating:8.698
31. God Is An Astronaut - All Is Violent, All Is Bright
MS rating:8.818; Votes:143; Bayes rating:8.818
32. Symphony X - Paradise Lost
MS rating:8.686; Votes:1056; Bayes rating:8.686
33. Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God
MS rating:8.669; Votes:1836; Bayes rating:8.669
34. Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty
MS rating:8.694; Votes:540; Bayes rating:8.694
35. Transatlantic - The Whirlwind
MS rating:8.860; Votes:100; Bayes rating:8.860
36. Swallow The Sun - New Moon
MS rating:8.677; Votes:600; Bayes rating:8.677
37. Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea
MS rating:8.691; Votes:424; Bayes rating:8.691
38. In Mourning - Shrouded Divine
MS rating:8.687; Votes:457; Bayes rating:8.687
39. Ayreon - 01011001
MS rating:8.662; Votes:797; Bayes rating:8.662
40. Gris - Il Était Une Forêt...
MS rating:8.784; Votes:134; Bayes rating:8.784
41. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
MS rating:8.688; Votes:280; Bayes rating:8.688
42. Swallow The Sun - Plague Of Butterflies
MS rating:8.716; Votes:201; Bayes rating:8.716
43. Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
MS rating:8.630; Votes:1161; Bayes rating:8.630
44. Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omniscient
MS rating:8.648; Votes:548; Bayes rating:8.648
45. Mors Principium Est - The Unborn
MS rating:8.665; Votes:370; Bayes rating:8.665
46. Kreator - Enemy Of God
MS rating:8.631; Votes:936; Bayes rating:8.631
47. Warning - Watching From A Distance
MS rating:8.693; Votes:241; Bayes rating:8.693
48. Primordial - The Gathering Wilderness
MS rating:8.657; Votes:399; Bayes rating:8.657
49. Negură Bunget - OM
MS rating:8.657; Votes:389; Bayes rating:8.657
50. Dark Tranquillity - Character
MS rating:8.619; Votes:1025; Bayes rating:8.619
51. Drudkh - Кров У Наших Криницях (Blood In Our Wells)
MS rating:8.661; Votes:307; Bayes rating:8.661
52. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh
MS rating:8.619; Votes:855; Bayes rating:8.619
53. Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum
MS rating:8.659; Votes:308; Bayes rating:8.659
54. Uaral - Sounds Of Pain
MS rating:8.684; Votes:215; Bayes rating:8.684
55. Opeth - Watershed
MS rating:8.598; Votes:2091; Bayes rating:8.598
56. John Petrucci - Suspended Animation
MS rating:8.752; Votes:121; Bayes rating:8.752
57. Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs
MS rating:8.640; Votes:378; Bayes rating:8.640
58. Antimatter - Leaving Eden
MS rating:8.676; Votes:216; Bayes rating:8.676
59. Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
MS rating:8.618; Votes:524; Bayes rating:8.618
60. Redemption - Snowfall On Judgment Day
MS rating:8.667; Votes:228; Bayes rating:8.667
61. Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale
MS rating:8.653; Votes:262; Bayes rating:8.653
62. Virgin Black - Requiem - Mezzo Forte
MS rating:8.668; Votes:214; Bayes rating:8.668
63. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
MS rating:8.610; Votes:582; Bayes rating:8.610
64. Equilibrium - Turis Fratyr
MS rating:8.615; Votes:468; Bayes rating:8.615
65. Epica - Design Your Universe
MS rating:8.595; Votes:832; Bayes rating:8.595
66. Summoning - Oath Bound
MS rating:8.615; Votes:444; Bayes rating:8.615
67. Darkspace - Dark Space III
MS rating:8.672; Votes:180; Bayes rating:8.672
68. Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom
MS rating:8.600; Votes:507; Bayes rating:8.600
69. Tool - 10,000 Days
MS rating:8.579; Votes:1068; Bayes rating:8.579
70. Doom:VS - Dead Words Speak
MS rating:8.667; Votes:177; Bayes rating:8.667
71. Doom:VS - Aeternum Vale
MS rating:8.671; Votes:170; Bayes rating:8.671
72. Circus Maximus - Isolate
MS rating:8.624; Votes:272; Bayes rating:8.624
73. Kalisia - Cybion
MS rating:8.595; Votes:417; Bayes rating:8.595
74. The Foreshadowing - Days Of Nothing
MS rating:8.652; Votes:184; Bayes rating:8.652
75. Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light
MS rating:8.780; Votes:82; Bayes rating:8.780
76. Taake - ...Doedskvad
MS rating:8.630; Votes:230; Bayes rating:8.630
77. Wine From Tears - Through The Eyes Of A Mad
MS rating:8.692; Votes:130; Bayes rating:8.692
78. Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió
MS rating:8.642; Votes:188; Bayes rating:8.642
79. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
MS rating:8.574; Votes:570; Bayes rating:8.574
80. Melechesh - Emissaries
MS rating:8.595; Votes:284; Bayes rating:8.595
81. Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe
MS rating:8.561; Votes:524; Bayes rating:8.561
82. Heavenly - Virus
MS rating:8.614; Votes:207; Bayes rating:8.614
83. Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect
MS rating:8.576; Votes:356; Bayes rating:8.576
84. Epica - The Divine Conspiracy
MS rating:8.546; Votes:789; Bayes rating:8.546
85. Hypocrisy - Virus
MS rating:8.555; Votes:532; Bayes rating:8.555
86. Amorphis - Skyforger
MS rating:8.536; Votes:1082; Bayes rating:8.536
87. Wolves In The Throne Room - Two Hunters
MS rating:8.583; Votes:290; Bayes rating:8.583
88. Insomnium - Across The Dark
MS rating:8.542; Votes:782; Bayes rating:8.542
89. Eluveitie - Slania
MS rating:8.539; Votes:875; Bayes rating:8.539
90. Solitude Aeturnus - Alone
MS rating:8.656; Votes:128; Bayes rating:8.656
91. Finsterforst - ...Zum Tode Hin
MS rating:8.608; Votes:186; Bayes rating:8.608
92. Sólstafir - Köld
MS rating:8.581; Votes:234; Bayes rating:8.581
93. Swallow The Sun - Hope
MS rating:8.538; Votes:478; Bayes rating:8.538
94. Animals As Leaders - Animals As Leaders
MS rating:8.557; Votes:316; Bayes rating:8.557
95. Bloodbath - Unblessing The Purity
MS rating:8.565; Votes:271; Bayes rating:8.565
96. Dragonland - Astronomy
MS rating:8.567; Votes:263; Bayes rating:8.567
97. Alter Bridge - Blackbird
MS rating:8.598; Votes:180; Bayes rating:8.598
98. The Birthday Massacre - Walking With Strangers
MS rating:8.807; Votes:58; Bayes rating:8.807
99. Evoken - Antithesis Of Light
MS rating:8.601; Votes:168; Bayes rating:8.601
100. Scar Symmetry - Pitch Black Progress
MS rating:8.538; Votes:411; Bayes rating:8.538
101. Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind
MS rating:8.727; Votes:77; Bayes rating:8.727
102. Nightingale - Nightfall Overture
MS rating:8.733; Votes:75; Bayes rating:8.733
103. Bloodbound - Nosferatu
MS rating:8.639; Votes:122; Bayes rating:8.639
104. Cult Of Luna - Somewhere Along The Highway
MS rating:8.558; Votes:269; Bayes rating:8.558
105. Meshuggah - ObZen
MS rating:8.516; Votes:686; Bayes rating:8.516
106. Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest
MS rating:8.518; Votes:635; Bayes rating:8.518
107. Kalmah - The Black Waltz
MS rating:8.520; Votes:573; Bayes rating:8.520
108. Sieges Even - The Art Of Navigating By The Stars
MS rating:8.630; Votes:127; Bayes rating:8.630



Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
[ More lists by Crys1s ]




Hits total: 528 | This month: 5