1.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

2.Saturnus - Paradise Belongs To You

3.Radiohead - OK Computer

4.In Flames - Whoracle

5.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

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A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

1997 was surprisingly a solid year for metal, a lot of great releases in black and power metal, and a very strong year for gothic metal this period was by far the golden age of gothic metal

1.Stratovarius - Visions

2.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

3.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

4.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

5.Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech

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Welcome to what I consider the "1001 Metal Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" or in other words, a list of records of various genres in the arrays of Metal and Hard Rock that I deem essential or at least very recommended to listeners of hard and heavy music. This may be a very overwhelming list but I essentially try to collect all albums in the History of Metal that strike me as worthwhile. May this be a guideline for people that seek for an entrance to a particular genre or certain bands. In no means I am saying, that this list is indisputable by any means. I consider these my personal picks for albums that should be listened to by die-hard metal fans at least once. Hopefully you can discover some new music or relate with my picks. If I missed something that you would include in such a list, please tell me in the form of a comment. Enjoy! \,,/

1.High Tide - Sea Shanties

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

4.Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come

5.Josefus - Dead Man

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1.Shylmagoghnar - Emergence

2.Galneryus - Angel Of Salvation

3.Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI

4.Batushka - Litourgiya

5.Leprous - Bilateral

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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/

All bands will be limited to one album unless they had a significant change in style (e.g. Amorphis and Katatonia). It goes without saying that as this is my personal list the genres that are included more than others expresses my bias and I am open to listening to any suggestions on additional albums to add. This list will be separated by letters as including them all in one list would make it overly long. Just to give you an idea: my personal collection is over 10,000 songs, most of them in the metal genre.

Most of the bands featured here have other great albums so if you like the album featured here be sure to peruse their other works. Artists whose names start with 'The' or A/An' will be included in whatever letter follows, e.g. ' A Forest of Stars' will be included in F. This list(s) contains the most well-known bands e.g. Opeth, to the most obscure e.g. Vanguard x Mortem.

The list(s) will be updated periodically. If you have trouble locating an album on this list or think I missed a particular album feel free to contact me, and share this list far and wide so that more people can benefit from the incredible array of musical experience metal has to offer.

You can find me on all of these other websites: https://my.bio/friedrich-ux

(Broke 10k songs!, onward to 20k...): https://imgur.com/a/PvgLCy3

1.Labyrinth - Return To Heaven Denied Pt. II

2.Lacrimas Profundere - Memorandum

3.Lacrimosa - Elodia

4.Lacuna Coil - Comalies

5.Lahmia - Resilience

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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.Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

2.Slipknot - Iowa

3.Summoning - Stronghold

4.Septicflesh - Communion

5.Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn

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SPOILER ALERT: This is mostly just black metal.
****Alphabetical Order

1.Abigor - Nachthymnen (From The Twilight Kingdom)

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Arckanum - Fran Marder

5.Arckanum - Antikosmos

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1.Judas Priest - British Steel

2.Venom - Welcome To Hell

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Slayer - Show No Mercy

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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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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1.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

2.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

3.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

4.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

5.Satyricon - Nemesis Divina

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***Limit 2 albums per artist***

1.Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger

2.Burzum - Filosofem

3.Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

4.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

5.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

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Ordered. One album per band.

1.Limbonic Art - In Abhorrence Dementia

2.Judas Priest - Painkiller

3.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

4.Helloween - Walls Of Jericho

5.Slayer - Show No Mercy

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Only 1 album per band;
Rating:
10: 1-4.
9: 5-32.
8: 33-50.

1.Summoning - Stronghold

2.Dornenreich - Bitter Ist's Dem Tod Zu Dienen

3.Shining - V - Halmstad

4.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

5.Kampfar - Kvass

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