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

      View entire list ››

"CALENDAR MADE OF METAL"
December = Heavy Metal
Listening to as many albums as possible in said genre during said month and listing them here as I go. Suggestions welcome.

1.Anvil - Metal On Metal

2.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

3.Raven - Rock Until You Drop

4.Tygers Of Pan Tang - Spellbound

5.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

      View entire list ››

1.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

2.Venom - Welcome To Hell

3.Venom - Black Metal

4.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

5.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

      View entire list ››

1st Wave of Black Metal. Most bands here may not be considered black metal as we know it today or even in the 2nd wave, but had some sort of influence of the genre's subject matter, sound and imagery.

1.Bathory - Bathory

2.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

3.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

4.Blasphemy - Fallen Angel Of Doom

5.Bulldozer - The Day Of Wrath

      View entire list ››

this list is related to this forum thread, please check
this list is a collaborative one and will surely grow ; it is a proof of concept for a club feature, see here.

Hi people. I'd like to create a list of albums with the purpose of being as complete as possible. I'm looking for music that is technical or progressive, although I really don't like when things get out of hand, with crazy vocals in 4 different registers building tension and brutally stoping to yield it to a shredding solo in mixolydian helped by drums in 11/12 which try to imitate the synth syncopation in counterpoint, for ten seconds before jumping into something else.

1.Angra - Angels Cry

2.Angra - Holy Land

3.Angra - Fireworks

4.Angra - Rebirth

5.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

      View entire list ››

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 ››

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 ››

Some time ago I made a list for heavy metal albums I enjoyed the most. I got it cleaned up after ripening my tastes.I also tried to organize the list a bit, in subcategories. There is one album per band (choices were hard sometimes), with no strict order, but my favorite albums are usualy on top.

2020 EDIT:
I like heavy metal with atmoshpere, with melody, and ideally it should be some kind of gate to a fantastic universe. I don't care about modern HM with a shiny production and simplistic riffs. I don't care obscure occult band with horrendous prod and no musical ideas. Here's the list of what I consider classics of the genre, pinnacle of dreamy, groovy, beautiful and well composed oldschool heavy metal

1.Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny

2.

3.Angra - Angels Cry

4.

5.Fates Warning - No Exit

      View entire list ››

Note: these are only for the traditional style of metal borne out of the period of late 60s - late 80s. Modern bands are permitted but they need to be playing in that style.

Recommendations are welcome. I'll listen and if I like it, I'll add it.

1.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

4.Deep Purple - In Rock

5.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

      View entire list ››

1.Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

2.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

3.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

4.Slayer - Reign In Blood

5.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

      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 ››

1.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

2.Slayer - Show No Mercy

3.Mercyful Fate - Melissa

4.Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies

5.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

      View entire list ››

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare

3.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

4.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

5.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

      View entire list ››

My favorite albums on alphabetical order.

1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow

4.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

5.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

      View entire list ››

1.Rainbow - Rising

2.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

3.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

4.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

5.AC/DC - Powerage

      View entire list ››