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

      View entire list ››

An attempt to walk through almost 40 years of metal records, trying to pick one (and only one) record each year. The record that should be listened to at least once in life.
Some years are difficult because there are too many classics and in many situations the record that made it in the list is not my favorite by the band, but the one who had weaker competitors (and some of my favorite bands are not in the list too, for the same reason).

1.AC/DC - Back In Black

2.Motörhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

      View entire list ››

All my favorite albums (rated 9 or 10), in cronological order.

1.Iotunn - Access All Worlds

2.Soen - Imperial

3.Draconian - Under A Godless Veil

4.Soen - Lotus

5.Chapel Of Disease - ...And As We Have Seen The Storm, We Have Embraced The Eye

      View entire list ››

1.Judas Priest - Stained Class

2.Motörhead - Overkill

3.Judas Priest - British Steel

4.Venom - Welcome To Hell

5.Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance

      View entire list ››

1.Iron Maiden - Live After Death

2.Rainbow - Rising

3.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

4.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

5.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

      View entire list ››

This is my top 10 list of albums from Hamburg, Germany. That is, my favourite albums by bands based in that city.

1.Helloween - Walls Of Jericho

2.Gamma Ray - No World Order

3.Helloween - The Time Of The Oath

4.Iron Savior - Dark Assault

5.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

      View entire list ››

This is a list of my favourite album for each year. Made in October 2016. Compilations, cover albums, live albums, and things like that are ignored.

Top bands in this list:
Grave Digger: 6 albums
Helloween: 5 albums
Lake of Tears: 3 albums
Bunker 66: 2 albums
Darkthrone: 2 albums
Running Wild: 2 albums

1.Saxon - Wheels Of Steel

2.Venom - Welcome To Hell

3.Venom - Black Metal

4.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

5.Grave Digger - Heavy Metal Breakdown

      View entire list ››

One album per band/artist, in order.

1.Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum

2.Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale

3.An Axis Of Perdition - The Ichneumon Method (And Less Welcome Techniques)

4.Dødheimsgard - A Umbra Omega

5.Kayo Dot - Choirs Of The Eye

      View entire list ››

Mightiest = albums I can listen to almost anytime/anywhere - no matter how many times they never wear out - and always give me pleasure, power, euphoria, goosebumps, inspiration and many other nasty things.
One album per year obviously, with some years missing in case i have not yet found an album mighty enough from that year.
Recommendations appreciated.

1.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

2.Anaal Nathrakh - Desideratum

3.Battle Beast - Battle Beast

4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

5.Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

      View entire list ››

My personal ranking of all the Helloween studio albums. I found it surprisingly difficult to rank the albums from Master Of The Rings to The Dark Ride. I think all of those albums have great songs, but also have a few weak songs. The Keeper 1 and 2 albums sometimes switch position depending on mood. It is worrying that their 2 latest albums are in the bottom 3. My God-Given Right would definitely be bottom if the travesty that is Chameleon hadn't been released. I decided to leave Metal Jukebox out as it's a cover album.

1.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

2.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

3.Helloween - Walls Of Jericho

4.Helloween - Master Of The Rings

5.Helloween - The Time Of The Oath

      View entire list ››

1.Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

2.The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night

3.Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

4.The Beatles - Revolver

5.Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

      View entire list ››

1.Helloween - Walls Of Jericho

2.Anthrax - Spreading The Disease

3.Yngwie Malmsteen - Marching Out

4.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

5.Helloween - Helloween

      View entire list ››

An entirely subjective list of my all-time favourite metal albums, well lets better say albums/genres featured on MS, since not all here is precisely metal.
Objective quality is not a criteria here, just how much I like the album. Ordered by preference, top down.

1.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

2.Opeth - Morningrise

3.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

4.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

5.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

      View entire list ››

The best decade in history of heavy metal.

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

3.Accept - Breaker

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

      View entire list ››

1.Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

2.Yngwie Malmsteen - Marching Out

3.Anthrax - Spreading The Disease

4.Helloween - Walls Of Jericho

5.Accept - Metal Heart

      View entire list ››