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

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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.

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

4.Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die

5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

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Maybe there is a million of records with ugly covers outside, but this is my choice
Great records bad covers and bad records bad covers, the art work it’s sometimes subjective…
Never judge a book by its cover

https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7737

1.Metallica - 72 Seasons

2.Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

3.Riot - Narita

4.Cyclone Temple - My Friend Lonely

5.Exodus - Force Of Habit

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1.Ossian - A Rock Katonái

2.Pokolgép - Koncertlemez

3.Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black

4.Iron Maiden - No Prayer For The Dying

5.Judas Priest - Painkiller

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1.Metallica - Metallica

2.Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II

3.Judas Priest - Painkiller

4.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

5.Dream Theater - Images And Words

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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.

1990 is the year where my all time favorite metal album came out, I had to make some tough cuts for this list especially Danzig ii, Riot's The Privilege Of Power and Suicidal Tendencies's Lights... Camera... Revolution. Also I respect Pantera more than I like there music and the same for Entombed

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Bathory - Hammerheart

3.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

4.Obituary - Cause Of Death

5.Queensrÿche - Empire

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1.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

2.Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black

3.Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian

4.Savatage - Gutter Ballet

5.Psyco Drama - The Illusion

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Bands almost unknown for the most, Cds or Vinyls out of print or never print, Sometimes record production sucks, thats why I love US power metal. An original style Classic and Epic Heavy Metal Mixed With Thrash, Speed and High Doses of Virtuosity, different than Europe PM with more testosterone and heaviness

1.Manilla Road - Crystal Logic

2.Jag Panzer - Ample Destruction

3.Riot - ThunderSteel

4.Savatage - Hall Of The Mountain King

5.Cirith Ungol - Frost And Fire

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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.S.V.E.S.T. - Veritas Diaboli Manet In Aeternum: Le Diable Est Ma Raison

2.Sabachthani - Miserable Endings

3.Sabaoth - Les Illuminations

4.Sabaton - Carolus Rex

5.Sabbat - Dreamweaver

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Must Listen: The First 7

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Queensrÿche - Empire

4.Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Black

5.Scorpions - Crazy World

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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 inspired me to pick up the guitar (and later drums) and start making music of my own.

So here are the albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the album give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of 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 25 EPs (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)

Genre-Specific:
Top 50 Black Metal Albums
Top 50 Melodic Death Metal Albums
Top 45 Thrash Metal Albums
Top 40 Power Metal Albums
Top 30 Doom Metal Albums
Top 30 Heavy Metal Albums

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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For now the albums aren't in no particular order. I was blown away and still love all this albums after years listening. Trying to put 1 per band maximum, maybe more if they have different but awesome eras. Still in progress

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

3.Death - Symbolic

4.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5.Metallica - Ride the Lightning

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1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Annihilator - Never, Neverland

4.Blind Guardian - Tales From The Twilight World

5.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

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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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1.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

2.Theatre Of Tragedy - Theatre Of Tragedy

3.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

4.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

5.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

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