1.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

2.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

3.Satyricon - Nemesis Divina

4.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

5.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.D.C. Cooper - D.C. Cooper

2.Dali's Dilemma - Manifesto For Futurism

3.Damim - The Difference Engine

4.Dämmerfarben - Im Abendrot

5.Damned Spirits' Dance - Weird Constellations

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These are MY Top 250 Albums that are featured on Metal Storm in chronological order to celebrate 50 Years of Metal.

Some bands are featured on this list with more than one album, which means that they are perticulary amazing to me.

I listen to a wide spectrum of metal genres, which is why I tried to keep it diverse and not focus on one genre.

1.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

5.Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies

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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.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

2.Satyricon - Nemesis Divina

3.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

4.Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler

5.Dissection - The Somberlain

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No particular order

1.Graveworm - As The Angels Reach The Beauty

2.Graveworm - Scourge Of Malice

3.Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid

4.Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

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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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1.Skyclad - Wayward Sons Of Mother Earth

2.Running Wild - Pile Of Skulls

3.Skyclad - Jonah's Ark

4.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

5.Moonspell - Wolfheart

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1.Strapping Young Lad - City

2.October Tide - Rain Without End

3.Helmet - Aftertaste

4.Dawnbringer - Unbleed

5.Deströyer 666 - Unchain The Wolves

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1.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

2.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

3.Vader - Black To The Blind

4.Ahret Dev - Hellish

5.Bruce Dickinson - Accident Of Birth

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1.Burzum - Filosofem

2.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

3.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

4.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

5.Marduk - Rom 5:12

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1.Paradise Lost - Gothic

2.Tiamat - Wildhoney

3.Dissection - The Somberlain

4.Bolt Thrower - ...For Victory

5.Deicide - Deicide

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1.Paradise Lost - Gothic

2.Tiamat - Wildhoney

3.Dissection - The Somberlain

4.Bolt Thrower - ...For Victory

5.Deicide - Deicide

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Good musical pieces are those that initiate an emotional reaction or a subconscious shift of your subjective perception. The best music are those that elicit the most positive or dramatic of changes to our psyches. This is a list that I return to occasionally for these effects.

It is subjective of course.

1.Agalloch - The Mantle

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

5.Atoma - Skylight

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List of my favourite, 10/10 rated albums. One album per band.

Will be updated.

1.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Judas Priest - Painkiller

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Iron Maiden - Brave New World

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