The MS top 200 is supposed to represent the absolute peak of metal music, the timeless classics. I have been listening to metal for about 6 years now and would consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the genre. Yet, I have barely heard half of what the top 200 has to offer. I am now on a quest to listen to it all and give an honest opinion on what I thought of it.
This list will show every album of the top 200 and if I've listened to it whether it's an all-time favourite of mine (+++), I really like it (++), I like it (+), it’s good (*), it’s not great (-), I really dislike it (--) or I hate it from the bottom of my heart (---). The same symbols will be used to characterize what I think my opinion of the albums I haven't heard yet will be, based on my knowledge of the bands and of the genre they play. (?) signifies that I have no idea of whether I'll enjoy it or not and (/) means that my opinion of the album is probably obsolete, and I need to listen to it again. A ★ means the album is in my own top 200.
Edit: The bottom of the top 200 has been changing a lot, with some stuff formerly in the list now closer to 240th, so this is now a top 250. I’m not sure I want to expand the list further down, but I’ll see whenever it’s completed if I feel like going for a top 300 or something like that.
Best discoveries so far: Wildhoney, Nightfall, Out Of Myself, Portal Of I, Autumn Aurora, Nemesis Divina, Abigail, V: Hävitetty, Sounds Of Pain.

1. Albums I am yet to hear:

2. -----------------------------

3. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol

4. Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die

5. Ensiferum - Ensiferum

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A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2002 was a really strong year especially for progressive metal, black metal came back rowing and power metal going through its golden age.

My favorite non metal albums of 2002

1. In absentia

1. Agalloch - The Mantle

2. Dark Tranquillity - Damage Done

3. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

4. Taake - ...Bjoergvin...

5. Symphony X - The Odyssey

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1. Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane

2. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia

3. Agalloch - The Mantle

4. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

5. Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos

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Welcome to what I consider the "Metal Bible" or in other words, a list of records of various genres in the arrays of Metal and Hard Rock that I deem essential or at least very recommended to listeners of hard and heavy music. This may be a very overwhelming list but I essentially try to collect all albums in the History of Metal that strike me as worthwhile. May this be a guideline for people that seek for an entrance to a particular genre or certain bands. In no means I am saying, that this list is indisputable by any means. I consider these my personal picks for albums that should be listened to by die-hard metal fans at least once. Hopefully you can discover some new music or relate with my picks. If I missed something that you would include in such a list, please tell me in the form of a comment. Enjoy! \,,/

1. High Tide - Sea Shanties

2. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

4. Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come

5. Josefus - Dead Man

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I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1. So Hideous - None But a Pure Heart Can Sing

2. Metallica - Re-Load

3. Faetooth - Remnants Of The Vessel

4. Inferi - The End Of An Era

5. Midnight Odyssey - Biolume Part 1 - In Tartarean Chains

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1. Sigh - In Somniphobia

2. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

3. Sigh - Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien

4. Sigh - Imaginary Sonicscape

5. Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

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Here are albums (ordered by subgenre) that I want to listen to, but haven't yet.
For some albums, I've heard one or two songs, but not the entire album. Therefore, these albums still await my judgement!
Recommendations are always welcome!

1. 🤘2023:

2. Malaise Shire - Reunion

3. Dauðaró - Hundrað Þúsund Þrælar – Part 1

4. Mephorash - Krystl​-​Ah

5. Farsoth - Morbid Symphonies

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The albums below is my definition of extreme metal music, regardless of their genre. Entire list is based only on my personal preferences in metal.
Rules:
1. One album per band
2. 305 groups/305 albums

1. In Flames - Clayman

2. Metallica - ...And Justice For All

3. Chimaira - Chimaira

4. Death - Symbolic

5. Testament - The New Order

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Be Patient dudes, This List is under Construction

1. Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

2. Mgła - Exercises In Futility

3. Hail Spirit Noir - Mayhem In Blue

4. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

5. Fires In The Distance - Echoes From Deep November

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Must Listen: The First 12

1. Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane

2. In Flames - Reroute To Remain

3. Sentenced - The Cold White Light

4. Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

5. Spiritual Beggars - On Fire

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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

1. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

2. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

3. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

4. Black Sabbath - Paranoid

5. Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1. Aara - En Ergô Einai

2. Aarni - Bathos

3. Aaskereia - Dort, Wo Das Alte Böse Ruht

4. Aastraal - Tuba mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum, coget omnes ante thronum

5. AATHMA - Avesta

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1. Agalloch - The Mantle

2. Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

3. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia

4. Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane

5. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

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2005-2009 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5838
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 an absolute ranking that not only takes the rating 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 recieved.

The formula for calculating the Top 100 Albums gives a true Bayesian estimate:
Bayes rating (BR) = ( C × m + N × R ) ÷ ( C + N ) where:
m = average rating we would expect given...
C = minimum number of votes
R = average rating for the album = (Metal Storm rating)
N = number of votes for the album = (votes)
So when N=0, BR = m (the average rating of all albums); when NC, BR is closer to R; and as N grows arbitrarily large, BR approaches R (the average rating of that album).
This means that the Bayes rating will always be lower than the rating on Metal Storm.

Only Studio and EP album types with at least 1 vote were included.
The average expected rating (m) was determined by averaging all the album ratings from 2000-2004.
The minimun number of votes need to be included (C) was determined by assessing the distribution of the data and determining at what point a certain number votes would more often result in a rating of m.

I also decided that if an album's Bayes rating was within 0.005 of #100, it would be included too; hence the +3.

C for 2000-2004 = 7.69
m = 10

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2000 - 15
2001 - 26
2002 - 13
2003 - 20
2004 - 29

Ratings are accurate as of 12/01/2023

1. Opeth - Blackwater Park

2. Agalloch - The Mantle

3. Tool - Lateralus

4. Wintersun - Wintersun

5. Ensiferum - Ensiferum

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Hi there!
My list is most alike the 'Musical Menu'. And this chapter is dedicated to mysterious sounds of Black Metal genre.

1. Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

2. Moonspell - Night Eternal

3. Covenant - Nexus Polaris

4. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

5. Rotting Christ - Sanctus Diavolos

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