1st Wave of Black Metal. Most bands here may not be considered black metal as we know it today or even in the 2nd wave, but had some sort of influence of the genre's subject matter, sound and imagery.

1.Bathory - Bathory

2.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

3.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

4.Blasphemy - Fallen Angel Of Doom

5.Bulldozer - The Day Of Wrath

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1.Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath

2.Sarcófago - I.N.R.I.

3.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

4.Hellhammer - Satanic Rites

5.Bathory - The Return Of The Darkness And Evil

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I've been listening to Metal since 2005 and it has become my biggest passion in life. Rarely a day goes by where I don't listen to it in one form or another. The bands I listened to in my teens…

1.Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Opeth - Still Life

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All my favorite albums (rated 9 or 10), in cronological order.

1.Iotunn - Access All Worlds

2.Soen - Imperial

3.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4.Soen - Lotus

5.Chapel Of Disease - ...And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye

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Note: these are only for the traditional style of metal borne out of the period of late 60s - late 80s. Modern bands are permitted but they need to be playing in that style.

Recommendations are welcome.

1.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

4.Deep Purple - In Rock

5.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

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1.Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

2.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

3.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

4.Slayer - Reign In Blood

5.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

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Back when I joined the site in 2011, I did a customary top 100 album list. Every year since then, when I've looked back at it it's become increasingly unrecognisable from my own tastes. Seeing…

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Protest The Hero - Kezia

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1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare

3.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

4.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

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

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My favorite albums on alphabetical order.

1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow

4.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

5.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

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Pretty self-explanatory, with a couple caveats: first, this is mostly just a list of my favorite metal bands in approximate order (after the top 10 or so the order matters far less), with extra weight…

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance

5.Slayer - Reign In Blood

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The must-have albums of old school heavy metal. Includes genres like Traditional, NWOBHM, U.S.P.M., Speed, Epic, Doom, and prog.

1.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

2.Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

3.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

4.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

5.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

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Metal albums (and yes, I consider metalcore to be metal) that rocked my world, with maximum 2 albums per band sorted by bands in alphabetic order. Live, EP and compilation albums allowed, also including…

1.Alabama Thunderpussy - Open Fire

2.Alice In Chains - Dirt

3.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

4.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

5.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

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1.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

2.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

3.Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith

4.Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force

5.Scorpions - Love At First Sting

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Hail the Metal Beginnings…

1.Venom - Black Metal

2.Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath

3.Slayer - Show No Mercy

4.Kreator - Pleasure To Kill

5.Possessed - Seven Churches

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1.Skeletonwitch - Beyond The Permafrost

2.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

3.Dio - The Last In Line

4.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

5.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

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