This list aims to be the counterpart to the Metal Storm Top 200 Albums (plus a few extras).

If you discover a new band or already like any of the ones here, please give this list a thumbs up and/or leave a comment so we can get these overlooked gems in front of more people.

Criteria:
• High-quality musicianship (9-10/10 IMO)
• 1 album per band

Ordered by number of votes then MS rating.

As these are albums with a low number of votes, the rating is likely to change frequently. I will update this list as often as I can.

Updated: 29-Jan-24

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Solipsist - The Human Equation

2.Ayahuasca - Beneath The Mind

3.Cryptomnesia - Primordial Oddity

4.Element (USA) - The Energy

5.Telepathy - 12 Areas

      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 ››

A top ten from another year being added a few years late...

1.MyGrain - MyGrain

2.Obscura - Omnivium

3.Benighted - Asylum Cave

4.Beyond Creation - The Aura

5.Neuraxis - Asylon

      View entire list ››

No word from DM giants like Gorguts, Quo Vadis, Cryptopsy, Viraemia, The Faceless, Augury, Kronos, Martyr.Yet DM unleashed an entire fleet of some mighty monsters,minions,imps and all sort of decibel devils.

This list includes everything from Post-death to Old school death n roll records.I also kinda like slick production a little better, not that i despise the rough one.It depends on the what kind of vibe the album tries to convey.

1.Deceased - Surreal Overdose

2.Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony

3.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

4.Monumental Torment - Element Of Chaos

5.Baring Teeth - Atrophy

      View entire list ››

Title says it all.

1.Vomitory - Opus Mortis VIII

2.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

3.Supreme Pain - Divine Incarnation

4.Woods Of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason

5.I Chaos - The Human Repellent

      View entire list ››

A list I created during 2011. No longer being edited. Just a nice snapshot in time of what albums really grabbed me in 2011.

1.Trap Them - Darker Handcraft

2.The Fallen Divine - The Binding Cycle

3.Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

4.Toxic Holocaust - Conjure And Command

5.Smohalla - Resilience

      View entire list ››

1.The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual

2.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

3.Abysmal Dawn - Leveling The Plane Of Existence

4.Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

5.Decapitated - Carnival Is Forever

      View entire list ››

my list of top headbangers (any album that will make me wanna move my body or do something crazy or anything that can feed my appetite for raw aggression) for the year 2011

1.Warbringer - Worlds Torn Asunder

2.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

5.Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

      View entire list ››

Favorite albums from 2011. No order.

1.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

2.Havok - Time Is Up

3.Amon Amarth - Surtur Rising

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Abysmal Dawn - Leveling The Plane Of Existence

      View entire list ››

1.Devin Townsend - Deconstruction

2.Symphony X - Iconoclast

3.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

4.Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

5.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

      View entire list ››