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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Updated 14.4.2024

My rather personal and improvised take on the subject matter. The list is pretty wage, I'll be updating it a lot and the order might vary a little depending on some things, but they're all great and awesome records no matter what. If there are some great records missing, that doesn't necessarily mean I consider them bad, maybe I just forgot about them or just haven't listened to them enough to consider them personal favourites.

Limited to metal and rock albums found on Metal Storm. Most of them (at least 90%) are anyway, so doesn't matter. The absent ones are mostly more pop and synth oriented stuff and some really obscure jazz and fusion albums.

1.Marillion - Marbles

2.Anathema - Weather Systems

3.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

4.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

5.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

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1.The Gathering - How To Measure A Planet?

2.Tiamat - Wildhoney

3.My Dying Bride - A Line Of Deathless Kings

4.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

5.Samael - Ceremony Of Opposites

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Stuff that got me hooked in the course of the years, from my very first blurred memories as a toddler to the present day.
Lots of catchy tunes, some cheese, very few flowers.
Songs that had a big impact on me and influenced my taste in music.
Stuff to let it all hang out, songs for campfire sing-alongs and soundtracks to slit your wrists to.

1.Queen - Jazz

2.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

3.Dio - Holy Diver

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Einstürzende Neubauten - Halber Mensch

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1.Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics

2.Prong - Rude Awakening

3.Spiritual Beggars - Another Way To Shine

4.Sacred Reich - Heal

5.Sacramentum - Far Away From The Sun

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Pretty self-explanatory, with a couple caveats: first, this is mostly just a list of my favorite metal bands in approximate order (after the top 10 or so the order matters far less), with extra weight given to influence and timelessness of sound; and second, the albums selected are not necessarily the band's "best" album, or even my personal favorite -- they are the albums that I feel best represent the band's classic sound and/or well-represent the span of their career. List includes all sub-genres of metal and some post-metal metal. Feel free to spew your hatred below. \m/ (xx) \m/

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Judas Priest - Screaming For Vengeance

5.Slayer - Reign In Blood

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1.HammerFall - Glory To The Brave

2.Grave Digger - Excalibur

3.Aria - Ночь Короче Дня

4.Rage - The Missing Link

5.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

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Autumn is gone, ushering in the mercilessly short days of skin-tenderizing, soul-weakening, weariness-inducing WINTER. Take thyself to a healthy state of depression for sake of joining the spirit instead of being beaten...so here's the soundtrack (with a few oddballs that don't fit the thematic mood, but that's just how I am).

1.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

2.Sentenced - Down

3.Mercyful Fate - In The Shadows

4.Arch Enemy - Stigmata

5.Carcass - Heartwork

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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

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1.Iced Earth - The Dark Saga

2.Helloween - The Time Of The Oath

3.Impellitteri - Screaming Symphony

4.Grave Digger - Tunes Of War

5.Sentenced - Down

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1.Sentenced - The Funeral Album

2.Sentenced - Crimson

3.Sentenced - Down

4.Sentenced - The Cold White Light

5.Sentenced - Frozen

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If you are looking to explore melancholic metal or you just want to discover some great bands you haven't heard yet, check out this list.

1.Sentenced - Down

2.End Of Green - Void Estate

3.The Man-Eating Tree - Harvest

4.Fall Of The Leafe - Vantage

5.Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs

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1.Sentenced - Amok

2.Sentenced - The Cold White Light

3.Sentenced - Frozen

4.Sentenced - The Funeral Album

5.Sentenced - Down

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1.Alter Bridge - Blackbird

2.Alter Bridge - One Day Remains

3.Amorphis - Elegy

4.Amorphis - Tuonela

5.Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale

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Must Listen: The First 8

1.Angra - Holy Land

2.Anathema - Eternity

3.Type O Negative - October Rust

4.Stratovarius - Episode

5.Grave Digger - Tunes Of War

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