Welcome to what I consider the "1001 Metal Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" 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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just rating albums as I listen to them, work in progress

1.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

3.Wintersun - Wintersun

4.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

5.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

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

1.Ulcerate - Stare Into Death And Be Still

2.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

3.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

4.Ayreon - 01011001

5.Igric - Svet Svetlom Stvorený

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Simple ranking of all my favorite albums. Favorite song from the album in the notes. Sure to change/expand as I learn and explore more within metal.
2023: This was starting to get too long so I split it into separate lists for albums at each ranking 10 to 7. This list will no longer be updated.
10: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6891
9: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7213
8: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7512
7: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=8058

1.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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Take a look at the Top Album lists of recent years and you'll notice an obvious trend. In 2005 the average rating of the top 25 albums is 8.76. Jump to 2014 and the average among the top 25 has dropped to 8.26. An almost linear decrease is observable for the 10 years in between.

I was curious to see what a Top 100 for 2000-2014 would look like if I factored the votes to account for the 'rating decline'. I hope you find it interesting.

1.Agalloch - The Mantle

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI

4.Aquilus - Griseus

5.Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World

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Compilation of many Hard Rock or Metal Ballads I've heard. Bands and Albums are ordered by name alphabetically.

1.Accept - Balls To The Wall

2.Accept - Blood Of The Nations

3.Accept - Eat The Heat

4.Adagio - Underworld

5.Aerosmith - Aerosmith

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Since many of you felt annoyed by my previous list title I changed it and hopefully you will be ok with it.Power up everybody!!!

1.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

4.Riot - ThunderSteel

5.Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free

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I tried to put one album per band, so it was a fucking hard choice in many cases.
Anyway, all of them are great albums in it' genre.
No order followed.

1.Almah - Fragile Equality

2.Andre Matos - Mentalize

3.Arryan Path - Ira Imperium

4.Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part 1

5.Astral Doors - New Revelation

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1.Timeless Miracle - Into The Enchanted Chamber

2.Sieges Even - The Art Of Navigating By The Stars

3.Kamelot - The Black Halo

4.Sabaton - Primo Victoria

5.Galneryus - Advance To The Fall

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1.Timeless Miracle - Into The Enchanted Chamber

2.Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica

3.Crimson Shadows - Glory On The Battlefield

4.Wintersun - Wintersun

5.Violet Sun - Loneliness In Supremacy

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Simply a list of the 30 best Power Metal albums of the European/Melodic style in my opinion. One album per band and in order of preference, although the order may change over time.

1.Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free

2.Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twilight World

3.Kiuas - The Spirit Of Ukko

4.Dark Moor - The Hall Of The Olden Dreams

5.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

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1.Mors Principium Est - The Unborn

2.Masterplan - Aeronautics

3.Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell

4.Timeless Miracle - Into The Enchanted Chamber

5.Riverside - Second Life Syndrome

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1.Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech

2.Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

3.Wintersun - Wintersun

4.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

5.Mors Principium Est - The Unborn

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