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Thumbs up: +254
Beginner's Guide To Building A Prog Collection (Standards, And A Few Unorthodox Choices)

Limited to only those albums featured on Metal Storm.


1.Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
2.Rush - Moving Pictures
3.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
4.Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane
5.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

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Created by Introspekrieg on 03.03.2010



Thumbs up: +21
Top 500 Albums of All Time

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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Created by nonZero on 06.10.2018



Thumbs up: +19
Best Of 2015

My top albums from 2015, in list are those I have heard more then 3 times.
First 3 are in order, 4-11 also in some order as I like. rest no, just add them , because those what I have played and remember most from 2015
O yes what sucked. Virgin Steele, Iron maiden, WASP, Dis Pater listed in last 4, those last 4 places sucked big time , don't know what more, hmmm VS I think

1.Draconian - Sovran
2.Nightwish - Endless Forms Most Beautiful
3.Moonspell - Extinct
4.My Dying Bride - Feel The Misery
5.Ereb Altor - Nattramn

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Created by Bad English on 24.12.2015



Thumbs up: +19
All Metal Of All Time Top 300: Albums

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

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Created by Redel on 01.03.2014



Thumbs up: +17
MS Meta(l) List Of The 2010's - Top 200

Input:
10 years
20 decade lists
749 bands
973 albums

Output:
200 top albums from 2010-2019


FAQ

How are the points calculated?
Simple math.

Ranked top lists:
1st place = 150 pts.
2nd place = 149 pts.
...
100th place = 51 pts.
...
150th place = 1 pt.

Alphabetically sorted lists:
Each place = 100 pts.

Why just a Top 200?
Because 200 list entries are more than enough.

Is it by pure coincidence that the first four positions are occupied by bands with the initial letter "E"?
Yes.

Will your list be updated on a regular basis?
No.

Why is my favorite power metal abum not featured?
I don't know. Let's ask the list owners:

AgentOrange94 - Top 10 Albums Of The 10's
andreosokin - Top 25 Albums Of 2010s
ChapuLviz - Top 100 Grind List (2010-2019)
Chobo_jokeR - JokeR's Top Hunnid From 2010 - 2019
Desha - Me(tal) In The 2010s
Draugen - Top 100 of the 2010s
embracing - My Completely Subjective Top 10 Of The 2010-2019 Decade
Enemy of Reality (RIP) - 100 Album Guide To The Decade 2010-19
FullyOttoMatic - 50 Favorite Metal (And Metal-Adjacent) Albums Of The 2010's
Iron Men - A Decade Of Aggression
Kuroboshi - Top 100 Albums Of 2010-2019
Maco - 2010-2019 Top 100
musclassia - 150 Albums To Become An Adult To: 2010-2019
mz - Best Of 2010-2020 By Mz
Neachy - Neachy's Select: Top 100 Albums Of The 10s
nikarg - Old Nick's Top-101 Of The '10s
nonZero - My Top 50 Albums of the 2010s (deleted)
RaduP - You Know It's Technically 2011-2020, Right?
VIG (RIP) - VIG's Top 100 Of The 2010s
Zap - I Too Listened To Some Metal In The 2010's

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
2.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance
3.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole
4.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence
5.Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

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Created by Starvynth on 24.05.2020



Thumbs up: +17
2015 So Far...

All the albums I've listened to in 2015, from favorite to least favorite, and a small summary.

1.Shape Of Despair - Monotony Fields
2.Swallow The Sun - Songs From The North I, II & III
3.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
4.Leviathan - Scar Sighted
5.Ahab - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig

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Created by FullyOttoMatic on 07.03.2015



Thumbs up: +17
2015 Back to the Front with Tauros and Korah

----Updated every weeks----

I'm looking for all genres without exceptions, with currently little preferencies for Progressive, Death and Black metal! Listenning to every albums 2 or 3 times at less before including it in my list.
I specify my favourite songs in order of preferency

❤ = Amazing song!

1.Intronaut - The Direction Of Last Things
2.Between The Buried And Me - Coma Ecliptic
3.Periphery - Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega
4.Thy Catafalque - Sgùrr
5.Deafheaven - New Bermuda

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Created by Korah on 14.01.2015



Thumbs up: +14
150 Albums To Become An Adult To: 2010-2019

I began this decade in my final year of high school, in the early phases of my metal journey (Mastodon, Machine Head, Dream Theater, Pantera and Avenged Sevenfold were still recent discoveries). One Masters degree and one PhD later, I'm now a tax-paying Londonian, and have ploughed through what must be comfortably over 2000 new releases during the previous ten years. To commemorate the end of a turbulent decade, I've put together a list of the albums that have stuck with me throughout this decade - I wouldn't consider this to be a 'best albums' list, as there have been some truly ingenious works released in more avant-garde territories, but ultimately these are the albums that have ended up dominating my listening habits, or otherwise making a sufficient impression to make this list.

1.Sylosis - Monolith
2.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth
3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud
4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone
5.Cult Of Luna - Vertikal

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Created by musclassia on 27.12.2019



Thumbs up: +13
Current Top 100, 5 Years On

Back when I joined the site in 2011, I did a customary top 100 album list. Every year since then, when I've looked back at it it's become increasingly unrecognisable from my own tastes. Seeing bands I once listened to daily vanish from my playlists, new bands emerge as favourites, and bands even come and go in my reckonings during that time period (Iced Earth, Alcest, even Pain Of Salvation and more certainly peaked in my listening habits around 2011-12 to slowly vanish into obscurity). Now that it's just gone 5 years since I did that list, I thought I might do an updated list just to see how much my tastes have shifted. Whilst compiling the list, I pretty much worked on gut instinct, which was weird as I found myself almost disregarding albums I know I like whilst promoting albums I'm honestly undecided on - it almost seemed to veer away from album quality at times to embracing a subconscious effect the albums have had. Anyway, here it is, plus some honorable mentions that I was surprised missed out.

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words
2.Sylosis - Monolith
3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth
4.Agalloch - The Mantle
5.Protest The Hero - Kezia

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Created by musclassia on 23.03.2016



Thumbs up: +9
2015 : An Official Guide To Honesty And Beyond.

1.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2.Arcturus - Arcturian
3.Symphony X - Underworld
4.Leprous - The Congregation
5.Soilwork - The Ride Majestic

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Created by Hazelnut Nero on 20.03.2015



Thumbs up: +9
Kai's Most Anticipated Releases Of 2015

Self-explainatory list.

Used mostly for personal reminders of releases I should check.

Your recommandations & suggestions are welcome! :-)

Favorite 2015 album: "Leprous - The Congregation"

1.Riverside - Love, Fear And The Time Machine
2.Kamelot - Haven
3.Cain's Offering - Stormcrow
4.Xandria - Fire & Ashes
5.Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls

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Created by Kais on 28.02.2015



Thumbs up: +9
2015 - My Best To Worst

Here's another list based on the albums i've enjoyed listening to most in 2015. Consider it a best to worst based on all the albums i've checked out. This list does not reflect the views of others on MS, but some of the albums here are really awesome and you should check out some of them, you might find you liked it as much as I did.

1.Galneryus - Under The Force Of Courage
2.Wilderun - Sleep At The Edge Of The Earth
3.Orden Ogan - Ravenhead
4.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud
5.Sunless Rise - Unrevealed

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Created by Sword_Chant on 08.02.2015



Thumbs up: +7
Making My Way Through The MS Top 200

The MS top 200 is supposed to represent the absolute peak of metal music, the timeless classics. I have been listening to metal for about 6 years now and would consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the genre. Yet, I have barely heard half of what the top 200 has to offer. I am now on a quest to listen to it all and give an honest opinion on what I thought of it.
This list will show every album of the top 200 and if I've listened to it whether it's an all-time favourite of mine (+++), I really like it (++), I like it (+), it’s good (*), it’s not great (-), I really dislike it (--) or I hate it from the bottom of my heart (---). The same symbols will be used to characterize what I think my opinion of the albums I haven't heard yet will be, based on my knowledge of the bands and of the genre they play. (?) signifies that I have no idea of whether I'll enjoy it or not and (/) means that my opinion of the album is probably obsolete, and I need to listen to it again. A ★ means the album is in my own top 200.
Edit: The bottom of the top 200 has been changing a lot, with some stuff formerly in the list now closer to 240th, so this is now a top 250. I’m not sure I want to expand the list further down, but I’ll see whenever it’s completed if I feel like going for a top 300 or something like that.
Best discoveries so far: Wildhoney, Nightfall, Out Of Myself, Portal Of I, Autumn Aurora, Nemesis Divina, Abigail, V: Hävitetty, Sounds Of Pain.

1.
2.
3.W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol
4.Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die
5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

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Created by Roman Doez on 13.04.2023



Thumbs up: +7
2015 List Of Albums That I Listened To And Quite Liked, In Rank Order Of Awesomeness

It's starting to seem like and endless circle...

1.Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
2.Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
3.Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell
4.The Aristocrats - Tres Caballeros
5.Enslaved - In Times

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Created by Xylem on 26.01.2015



Thumbs up: +6
1001 Metal Albums to Hear Before You Die

An ongoing list for personal use as well as for reference for beginners (& veterans alike). This is solely my personal opinion and taste (Death & Prog mostly but do give every genre a try). Basically will include albums I've rated 8 & above. Sorted by year since I'll need a Venn diagram to sort by genre (seriously MS please make it happen if possible). Will feature multiple releases per year (obviously) and per band (since if a band is putting out better albums it deserves more recognition). Keeping the metal faith alive from India

1.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
2.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King
3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
4.Black Sabbath - Paranoid
5.Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself

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Created by metalriff on 05.02.2021