Power Metal is a genre I've gotten into quite a bit over the past few years. I'd only really listened to Symphony X before, but discovered Blind Guardian, Wuthering Heights, Gamma Ray and others thanks to MS!

So here are my favourites of the genre with my rating, its sub-genre and release year:

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of power metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2.Wuthering Heights - Far From The Madding Crowd

3.Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free

4.Symphony X - The Odyssey

5.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

      View entire list ››

1.Burst - Lazarus Bird

2.Orphaned Land - Mabool: The Story Of The Three Sons Of Seven

3.Dark Suns - Grave Human Genuine

4.Taal - Skymind

5.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

      View entire list ››

I've omitted Legacy Of The Dark Lands because, while I like it, it is not a conventional Blind Guardian studio album and does not feel relevant to this ranking. Additionally, while Beyond The Red Mirror is handily my least favorite BG album, it still hovers around a 7 or an 8, so the stratification is not that immense. All of these albums are at least "good," and most of them are masterpieces.

1.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Blind Guardian - A Twist In The Myth

4.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

      View entire list ››

1.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

2.Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part I

3.Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part II

4.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

      View entire list ››

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.

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

4.Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die

5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

      View entire list ››

Limiting my picks to one album per band (otherwise it would have been a much larger list), here are my top 50 favorite metal albums of all time including my favorite track for each album:

1.Stratovarius - Episode

2.Angra - Angels Cry

3.Helloween - Better Than Raw

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark

      View entire list ››

1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Disforia - The Age Of Ether

3.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

4.Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything

5.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

      View entire list ››

1.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

2.Sentenced - Amok

3.Paradise Lost - Draconian Times

4.Anathema - Alternative 4

5.Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding

      View entire list ››

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

1995 was amazing, great Black metal albums, Iconic power metal releases, Death second best album and one of the best years for gothic metal. I had to make some rough cuts, so as honorable mentions: Stormcrowfleet by Skepticism, De Profundis by Vader, Destroy Erase Improve by Meshuggah, Ночь Короче Дня by Aria and Orchid by Opeth, 95 was a great year for metal🤘🤘


My favorite non metal albums of 1995

1. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
By The Smashing Pumpkins (Alternative Rock, Dream Pop, Grunge)



2. Post
By Björk (Art Pop, Electronic)



3. Brown Sugar
By D'Angelo (Neo Soul, Contemporary R&B)



4. Wowee Zowee
By Pavement (Indie Rock, Noise Rock)



5. Liquid Swords
By Genius/GZA (East coast hip hop, Hardcore hip hop)




My favorite movie from 1995

1.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2.Death - Symbolic

3.Gamma Ray - Land Of The Free

4.The Gathering - Mandylion

5.Paradise Lost - Draconian Times

      View entire list ››

1 album per band per subgenre
work in progress, updating as I go through the song-by-song ratings on RateYourMusic.com
I will typically update my black metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6924
and my death metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6298
prior to updating this one

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.King Diamond - Abigail

3.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

4.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

5.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

1.Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twilight World

2.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

3.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

4.Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera

5.Blind Guardian - Follow The Blind

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

1.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

3.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

4.Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera

5.Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twilight World

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››