The best death metal albums pre 2000, in alphabetical order.
Work in progress.

1.Amorphis - The Karelian Isthmus

2.Amorphis - Privilege Of Evil

3.Asphyx - The Rack

4.Asphyx - Last One On Earth

5.Asphyx - Embrace The Death

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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.Metallica - Metallica

2.Sepultura - Arise

3.Death - Human

4.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

5.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

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My favorite death metal albums.

1.Death - Human

2.Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten

3.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

4.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

5.Demigod - Slumber Of Sullen Eyes

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This is a list about my 25 favorite Death Metal Bands and their Discography.

1.Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back To Life

2.Cannibal Corpse - Butchered At Birth

3.Cannibal Corpse - Tomb Of The Mutilated

4.Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding

5.Cannibal Corpse - Vile

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Death is the best death metal band, and all of their albums could tie for first place. Chuck Schuldiner was a genius and innovator, and an amazing guitarist. These are currently my favorite Death albums.

1.Death - Human

2.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

3.Death - Leprosy

4.Death - Spiritual Healing

5.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

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Just a list of my favorite albums, mostly Black or Death Metal !

There are some albums/bands I would love to put in this list, but they are not on MS.

1.1349 - Liberation

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Amon Amarth - Versus The World

4.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

5.Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising

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Metal albums that blow me away every time I hear them. Loosely ordered... list gets less organized as it goes on. My favorite song from each album is included.

1.Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

2.Faith No More - Angel Dust

3.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

4.Tool - Ænima

5.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

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My personal rankings of the legendary Death's studio albums.

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

2.Death - Spiritual Healing

3.Death - Symbolic

4.Death - Human

5.Death - Individual Thought Patterns

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Simple ranking of all my favorite albums. Favorite song from the album in the notes. Sure to change/expand as I learn and explore more within metal.
2023: This was starting to get too long so I split it into separate lists for albums at each ranking 10 to 7. This list will no longer be updated.
10: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6891
9: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7213
8: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7512
7: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=8058

1.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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1.Sepultura - Arise

2.Fates Warning - Parallels

3.Metallica - Metallica

4.Death - Human

5.Axel Rudi Pell - Nasty Reputation

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AtoZ (Album)

1.Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

2.Ihsahn - After

3.Anthrax - Among The Living

4.Faith No More - Angel Dust

5.Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition

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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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*** MAX 3 ALBUMS PER ARTIST!!! (Except Death) Also... While extra weight will be given to classic death metal albums, this list will also include exceptional examples of melodic death, death-grind, technical/progressive death, death-thrash, and blackened death. LPs ONLY. *** /\ UNDER CONSTRUCTION /\

1.Cryptopsy - None So Vile

2.Death - Symbolic

3.Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten

4.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

5.Death - Human

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My favarite death metal records. I avoided making this list for long because
a) I've suggested many of these albums on the lists of the others
b) many of them appear on my other lists
c) my knowledge on OSDM is extremely shallow
In the other words, this is a shit list and I admit it. Any help for improvement in the form of suggestions is appreciated.

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Pod Vládou Biče (Under The Reign Of The Whip)

2.Abyssal - Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius

3.Adversarial - Death, Endless Nothing And The Black Knife Of Nihilism

4.Altars - Paramnesia

5.Antediluvian - λόγος

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