Here's my AotY for each year from 1970, with a runner up (or two) following.
Pink Floyd and Yes aren't here, King Crimson is, so I'll include King Crimson

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

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1.Voivod - Nothingface

2.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

3.Voivod - Killing Technology

4.Voivod - The Outer Limits

5.Voivod - Synchro Anarchy

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This list shows only my preferences in metal. These albums are not necessarily the best of the bands written by, but I return to them again and again. In my opinion, all this masterpieces confirm the variety and greatness of metal music.
Rules:
1. One album per band.
2. Ordered from highest position (top) to lowest (bottom).
3. No heavy, power, doom, gothic, sludge/stoner albums.

1.Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper

2.Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia

3.In Flames - Clayman

4.Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos

5.Gojira - From Mars To Sirius

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The most interesting band in the metal scene with an unique style and great artwork

1.Voivod - Nothingface

2.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

3.Voivod - The Outer Limits

4.Voivod - Killing Technology

5.Voivod - Angel Rat

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Updated 14.4.2024

My rather personal and improvised take on the subject matter. The list is pretty wage, I'll be updating it a lot and the order might vary a little depending on some things, but they're all great and awesome records no matter what.

Limited to metal and rock albums found on Metal Storm. Most of them (at least 90%) are anyway, so doesn't matter. The absent ones are mostly more pop and synth oriented stuff and some really obscure jazz and fusion albums.

1.Marillion - Marbles

2.Anathema - Weather Systems

3.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

4.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

5.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

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1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Slayer - Reign In Blood

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

5.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

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Just a list of classic thrash albums I really enjoy, since thrash has had such a good year this year. They are in no particular order.

1.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

2.Anthrax - Among The Living

3.Anthrax - Spreading The Disease

4.Artillery - By Inheritance

5.Assassin - The Upcoming Terror

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1.Demolition Hammer - Epidemic Of Violence

2.Nuclear Assault - Survive

3.Sodom - Better Off Dead

4.Voivod - Killing Technology

5.Coroner - Mental Vortex

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Main criterias:
How much I love it(obviously)
Songwritting
Importance and originality
Consistency and diversity (consistency is more importance, but diversity can make a difference)

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

4.Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

5.Slayer - Haunting The Chapel

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Full Lengths Only

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

3.Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare

4.Slayer - Reign In Blood

5.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

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So here we are again . After many years of dedication and love to this music that we call progressive metal, here are some of the best albums that ever existed and made the earth a better place . Give to these albums the attention and the respect they deserve and you will be fully awarded. I think i will try and limit this list to 3 cd's maximum per band to make this thing more challenging .

1.Dan Swanö - Moontower

2.Cynic - Traced In Air

3.Cynic - Focus

4.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

5.Enslaved - Ruun

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Metal albums from 1987

1.Anthrax - Among The Living

2.Artillery - Terror Squad

3.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

4.Candlemass - Nightfall

5.Toxik - World Circus

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These are the 211 essential hard rock/metal albums of the 80's, as were selected by the Greek Magazine "Metal Hammer" (August 2001 issue).

The albums followed by a star are the "must have", whereas the rest albums are the "could have".

1.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

2.AC/DC - Back In Black

3.Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell

4.Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations

5.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

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RANKING CRITERIA :

- Originality
- Songwriting
- Performance

Neither the popularity among the fans nor the commercial success (or unsuccess) of the albums were taken into account in the selection.

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

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Thrash Metal is, and will always be my favorite type of music. No matter how many sub-genres or idiotic names some bands give to their music style, they'll never reach the complex "simplicity" of Thrash metal. It's raw, heavy, fast, aggressive, and has a historical impact that probably no other type of heavy metal style will ever reach.

1.Venom - Welcome To Hell

2.Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing

3.Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies

4.Metal Church - Metal Church

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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