1.Caligula's Horse - In Contact

2.Widek - Hidden Dimensions

3.The Contortionist - Clairvoyant

4.Ignea - The Sign Of Faith

5.Heretoir - The Circle

      View entire list ››

1.Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day

2.Enslaved - E

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Urn

4.Kauan - Kaiho

5.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

      View entire list ››

2000-2004 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5844
2005-2009 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5838
2010-2014 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5828

I sure do love this site and it's rating system, it makes finding great music so easy and, even more importantly, when an album is overlooked for a while but starts getting a buzz a few months later, boom, there it appears in the top 20.

All that being said, I still wish there was some way to get a weighted ranking that not only takes the rating of the album into account, but also the number of votes that were cast. For example, an album with a rating of 8.8 and 1000 votes would rank higher than an album with a rating of 8.9 and 20 votes. So, I scraped all the albums on the site with at least 1 vote into a database. Then, taking a leaf out of IMDb's book, I used Bayesian estimation (like the IMDb's Top 250) to calculate a weighted rating for each album based on its Metal Storm rating and the number of votes it had received.

The formula for calculating the Top 100 Albums gives a true Bayesian estimate:
Bayes rating (BR) = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) where:
C = average expected rating given...
m = minimum number of votes
R = average rating for the album = (Metal Storm rating)
N = number of votes for the album = (votes)

The way the Bayesian estimator works is that all albums in the database are given and additional m fake votes with an average rating of C, irrespective of how many true votes it already has. Then a new weighted rating is calculated...
If the album has no true votes ( N = 0 ), then BR = ( C × m + R × 0 ) ÷ ( m + 0) = C × m ÷ m = C (the average expected rating).
If the album has a number of true votes equal to the minimum ( N = m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × m ) ÷ ( m + m ) = ( C + R ) × m ÷ 2m = ( C + R ) ÷ 2 (halfway between the two ratings).
If the album has a very large number of true votes ( N >> m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) ≈ R × N ÷ N = R (the Metal Storm rating).
This means that the Bayes rating will never equal the Metal Storm rating but will approach it as the true votes grows arbitrarily large.

Now that the maths bit is out of the way, here was my methodology:
Only Studio and EP album types, from the years 2015 to 2019, with at least 1 vote, were included.
The average expected rating (C) was determined by averaging all the Metal Storm ratings from 2015-2019.
The minimum number of votes (m) was determined by calculating the 75th percentile of the votes, rounded to the nearest 10.
I also decided that if an album's Bayes rating was within 0.005 of #100, it would be included too; hence the +2.

C for 2015-2019 = 7.422
m = 20

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2015 - 31
2016 - 24
2017 - 18
2018 - 12
2019 - 17

Ratings are accurate as of 30/10/2023

1.Mgła - Exercises In Futility

2.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.Vektor - Terminal Redux

5.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

      View entire list ››

A list of the albums I listened to that came out in 2017.

Two rules were followed for the selection and ranking of these albums:
1. I listened to these albums at least 2 times in order to give them a fair chance.
2. When it's a tie between certain albums, I usually pick the one I listened to the most during the year.

1.Eruption - Cloaks Of Oblivion

2.Sorcerer - The Crowning Of The Fire King

3.Ascendant - A Thousand Echoes

4.Enrichment - Reanimate

5.Night - Raft Of The World

      View entire list ››

Favourite albums of 2017 (including only those which I would rate 7+)

1.The Contortionist - Clairvoyant

2.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

3.Heretoir - The Circle

4.Converge - The Dusk In Us

5.Ulver - The Assassination Of Julius Caesar

      View entire list ››

1.Bathsheba - Servus

2.Soen - Lykaia

3.Persefone - Aathma

4.Battle Beast - Bringer Of Pain

5.Striker - Striker

      View entire list ››

1.Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day

2.Disperse - Foreword

3.Sons Of Apollo - Psychotic Symphony

4.Caligula's Horse - In Contact

5.Panzerballett - X-Mas Death Jazz

      View entire list ››

1.Adagio - Life

2.Anathema - The Optimist

3.Annihilator - For The Demented

4.Anubis Gate - Covered In Black

5.Accept - The Rise Of Chaos

      View entire list ››

1.Soen - Lykaia

2.The Faceless - In Becoming A Ghost

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Urn

4.Persefone - Aathma

5.Leprous - Malina

      View entire list ››

This is my personal preference. Also, I'm always searching and finding new bands and new albums. Recommend me some good shit, I'll listen and maybe I'll change my mind on my personal top!

1.Altar Of Betelgeuze - Among The Ruins

2.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

3.Persefone - Aathma

4.Elder - Reflections Of A Floating World

5.Cradle Of Filth - Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness Of Decay

      View entire list ››

Honestly, top 25 albums would probably be a more fitting name, given that I have honourable mentions, and few other categories as well. Some of them are self explanatory, while I want to clarify about the few others.
-Greatest disappointment of the year doesn't necessarily mean the worst album of that year, closer to the point would be that it is an album from which I expected a lot more than I received.

1.Myrkur - Mareridt

2.Elvenking - Secrets Of The Magick Grimoire

3.Wintersun - The Forest Seasons

4.Hallatar - No Stars Upon The Bridge

5.Vintersorg - Till Fjälls Del II

      View entire list ››

Well, here I put my personal top with which to me have been the best albums of 2017. They are not all they are, but if they all are.

1.Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis

2.Persefone - Aathma

3.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

4.Enslaved - E

5.Dyscarnate - With All Their Might

      View entire list ››

My personal Top 50 of a fantastic Year. As you can see the major part of this list is kind of proggy, concluded with some heavier stuff and a few Rock Albums. There may be some more creative or boundary breaking releases left out, but these are the works that exited and convoyed me throughout 2017.
Please enjoy, suggestions are appreciated.

1.Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand

2.The Night Flight Orchestra - Amber Galactic

3.Soen - Lykaia

4.Voyager - Ghost Mile

5.Dodecahedron - Kwintessens

      View entire list ››

1.Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis

2.Leprous - Malina

3.Decapitated - Anticult

4.Archspire - Relentless Mutation

5.Wolves In The Throne Room - Thrice Woven

      View entire list ››

1.Ne Obliviscaris - Urn

2.Wintersun - The Forest Seasons

3.Persefone - Aathma

4.Septicflesh - Codex Omega

5.Soen - Lykaia

      View entire list ››