My own top 230 essential metal albums sorted in alphabetical order by band name.

1.1349 - Beyond The Apocalypse

2.1349 - The Infernal Pathway

3.Acid Witch - Witchtanic Hellucinations

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Amon Amarth - Once Sent From The Golden Hall

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TOP 50 of 2014.

The great return of Empyrium!

Album rate 8 & above

Album count: 144
Average rating: 7.04…

1.Empyrium - The Turn Of The Tides

2.Mors Principium Est - Dawn Of The 5th Era

3.Fen - Carrion Skies

4.Anathema - Distant Satellites

5.Moanaa - Descent

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1.Sólstafir - Ótta

2.Thou - Heathen

3.Alcest - Shelter

4.Behemoth - The Satanist

5.Panopticon - Roads To The North

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1.Insomnium - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

2.Septicflesh - Titan

3.Entombed A.D. - Back To The Front

4.Pain Of Salvation - Falling Home

5.At The Gates - At War With Reality

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If you make a quick comparison between 2014 and the previous years Top 20 Album lists, you would notice that the top album of 2014, have the lowest rating average compared to 2013,2012, 2011 and 2010.

1.Swans - To Be Kind

2.Lunatic Soul - Walking On A Flashlight Beam

3.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

4.Behemoth - The Satanist

5.

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1.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

2.Behemoth - The Satanist

3.Sabaton - Heroes

4.Winterfylleth - The Divination Of Antiquity

5.Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen

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1.Mayhem - Esoteric Warfare

2.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

3.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

4.Sólstafir - Ótta

5.Darkest Hour - Darkest Hour

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Cos, y'know, same shiz different year. Ran out of space again so will post final album opinions in comments.

1.Infestus - The Reflecting Void

2.Dirge - Hyperion

3.Nero Di Marte - Derivae

4.Steve Rothery - The Ghosts Of Pripyat

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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My best album list to 2014 so far (january-september)…

1.Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails

2.Animals As Leaders - The Joy Of Motion

3.Serdce - Timelessness

4.Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

5.Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere

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100% subjective.
I also listened to albums far from metal or metal world (Hanggai, Lisa Gerrard, ...) but I decided not to list them there.

Updated constantly - feel free to recommend something to check…

1.Darkspace - Dark Space III I

2.Blues Pills - Blues Pills

3.Earth - Primitive And Deadly

4.Aenaon - Extance

5.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

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1.Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us

2.Chon - Woohoo!

3.Dark Fortress - Venereal Dawn

4.RX Bandits - Gemini, Her Majesty

5.Hannes Grossmann - The Radial Covenant

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My favourite albums of 2014. (In order of preference, and only including albums I would rate 7+).

1.The Contortionist - Language

2.Rings Of Saturn - Lugal Ki En

3.Archspire - The Lucid Collective

4.Xerath - III

5.Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails

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So here it is > These are the releases i tend to hear most of the time this year. Some of my all time favourite bands released weak albums while others suprised me while i was cooking pasta .Fell free…

1.Aenaon - Extance

2.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

3.Major Parkinson - Twilight Cinema

4.Mors Principium Est - Dawn Of The 5th Era

5.Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity)

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1.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

2.Threshold - For The Journey

3.Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us

4.Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo

5.Septicflesh - Titan

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Pretty much every album that's caught my attention over the year, including non-metal. (Variety is a virtue, y'know )

I'll only be commenting on albums that I've given enough time…

1.Swans - To Be Kind

2.Darren Korb - Transistor Original Soundtrack

3.Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies

4.Gazpacho - Demon

5.Vampillia - My Beautiful Twisted Nightmares In Aurora Rainbow Darkness

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