LATEST EDIT: December 12/2016- Added a whole bunch of progressive rock albums; processing earlier suggestions on the list.

Assembled below are some choice selections in alternative metal, prog rock, prog metal, jazz and avant-garde metal. I don't necessarily consider these styles to be my favourite (I do have a penchant for post-metal and cavernous death metal these days), but they have been the foundations of my taste for the last seven or eight years.

1.

2.Soundgarden - Down On The Upside

3.Rishloo - Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth

4.Karnivool - Asymmetry

5.Blindead - Absence

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

I'm bored, so I'm doing this. My technique involves going to the page of every thrash band I've listened to, pulling out their top three albums that I'd rate over 8.5/10 (if there are three) and placing them in the list.

1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Coroner - No More Color

3.Coroner - Mental Vortex

4.Toxik - Think This

5.Slayer - Reign In Blood

      View entire list ››

So here we are again . After many years of dedication and love to this music that we call progressive metal, here are some of the best albums that ever existed and made the earth a better place . Give to these albums the attention and the respect they deserve and you will be fully awarded. I think i will try and limit this list to 3 cd's maximum per band to make this thing more challenging .

1.Dan Swanö - Moontower

2.Cynic - Traced In Air

3.Cynic - Focus

4.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

5.Enslaved - Ruun

      View entire list ››

1.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

2.Theatre Of Tragedy - Theatre Of Tragedy

3.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

4.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

5.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

These are the 211 essential hard rock/metal albums of the 80's, as were selected by the Greek Magazine "Metal Hammer" (August 2001 issue).

The albums followed by a star are the "must have", whereas the rest albums are the "could have".

1.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

2.AC/DC - Back In Black

3.Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell

4.Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations

5.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

      View entire list ››

Here is my personnal top 50 Thrash Metal album of all time, order by my preference. (even if it's really hard to order after the top 20 )
Feel free to suggest me some I've forgot to mention, there's so much excellent band and I should have not listen to all of them ! ^^
In my opinion, the best style to see live !!

1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

3.Slayer - Reign In Blood

4.Vektor - Black Future

5.Machine Head - Burn My Eyes

      View entire list ››

The label metal includes heavy, power, black...

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

2.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

3.Rush - 2112

4.Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite

5.Opeth - Still Life

      View entire list ››

Influences, avantgarde, progressive, thrash & others.

1.Alice Cooper - Welcome To My Nightmare

2.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

3.Toxik - Think This

4.Coroner - No More Color

5.Danny Elfman - Batman

      View entire list ››

RANKING CRITERIA :

- Originality
- Songwriting
- Performance

Neither the popularity among the fans nor the commercial success (or unsuccess) of the albums were taken into account in the selection.

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

      View entire list ››

This is a list dedicated to everything crazy, eclectic and technical. I know there are many many more albums that could be added, but these are the ones I personally recommend. One album per band order by the level of "technical madness" (whatever that metric is).

1.Blotted Science - The Machinations Of Dementia

2.Änglagård - Hybris

3.Coroner - No More Color

4.Invocator - Excursion Demise

5.Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

      View entire list ››

1.Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

2.Coroner - Punishment For Decadence

3.Hellhammer - Satanic Rites

4.Apocalypse - Apocalypse

5.Drifter - Reality Turns To Dust

      View entire list ››

Metal / Rock / Instrumental / Etc...

1.Fanisk - Noontide

2.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

3.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

4.

5.Anathema - A Moment In Time

      View entire list ››

I'm not a big fan of Thrash, these are perhaps the only albums I enjoy listening to, and even then only rarely. So enjoy if you can.

1.Prong - Beg To Differ

2.Morbid Saint - Spectrum Of Death

3.Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare

4.Demolition Hammer - Epidemic Of Violence

5.Exhorder - Slaughter In The Vatican

      View entire list ››