**WARNING: Mega-list ahead**

So you're seeking some good ol' (or new) Thrash Metal and you don't know where to look? Recommendations are running low and you're tired of wandering forums aimlessly, only to find one or two albums that you've probably already heard of?...If so, my friend, then stop searching and welcome to my little sanctuary. Nowadays, most would say that I'm a complete Thrash addict, always in need of his fix, and they would be right. In order to keep my addiction under control and share it with all of you Thrash Metal maniacs, I've created this monstrous list. You may use my precious creation as an ''Encyclopedia'' of sort, in which I stored what I consider to be the best Thrash releases of all time. From the acclaimed classics like *Exodus - Bonded By Blood* and *Kreator - Pleasure To Kill* to the more hidden jewels like *Believers - Extraction From Mortality* and *Anacrusis - Suffering Hour* or even more recent gems like *Exmortus - Necrophony* and *Vektor - Terminal Redux*, I've got it all. I know it might look exhausting & exhaustive but that's the best way to keep the addiction under control.

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- Browsing My List - A How To Guide -

1. First of all, albums are ordered by years of release so if you don't like modern thrash metal, keep to the 80's and 90's, there's more than enough stuff to satisfy your needs.

2. Also, I've added every single album's thrash style. So if you like Death, Crossover, Prog, Melodic, Tech, Power, Black, Grind and even Groove Thrash.. it's all there suit yourself.

3. Lastly, albums with a ''★'' after the genre's description represents albums that I.. Myself.. Moi consider as being classics of the genre or something you shouldn't miss, no I am not the all mighty reference guru in Thrash Metal, yes I do know a lot and yes it is possible for you to disagree with me on that matter. So please don't go writing stuff like "Whaa.. Dude.. No star on X or Y album?". Also 🇨🇦 = From Canada, My Country!!!

I do hope that this little guide did help you and if not, press Alt + F4, in order to gtfo. Have fun.

Edit: Now adding my favourites of each year using the mention -> (best of xxxx)
Also removed all mentions of ''Traditional'' or ''Resurgence''. It isn't needed.

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: Guib's Best Thrash Release of 2023:
Exmortus - Necrophony

Honorable Mention For 2023:
Terminalist - The Crisis As Condition

: Guib's Best Thrash Release Of 2024 So Far:
Messiah - Christus Hypercubus

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P.S. Feel free to recommend me new thrash please.
I do accept PMS but you can suggest here aswell

Also check Daggon's List here -- A Quick Guide For Thrash Metal, Sex and Tacos!
And ChapuLviz's List here -- Top 35 German Thrash Albums
And Vasil de Shumen's List over there -- Best of US THRASH

Last Updated: May 6th, 2024

1.Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing

2.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

3.Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies

4.Slayer - Show No Mercy

5.Dr. Know - Plug-In Jesus

      View entire list ››

Thrash Metal is, and will always be my favorite type of music. No matter how many sub-genres or idiotic names some bands give to their music style, they'll never reach the complex "simplicity" of Thrash metal. It's raw, heavy, fast, aggressive, and has a historical impact that probably no other type of heavy metal style will ever reach.

1.Venom - Welcome To Hell

2.Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing

3.Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies

4.Metal Church - Metal Church

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

      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 ››

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 ››

In no particular order. Will be expanding as I listen to more albums. Only one album per band, be sure to check the rest of the discography by yourself.

1.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

2.System Of A Down - System Of A Down

3.Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler

4.Anacrusis - Manic Impressions

5.Death - Symbolic

      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 ››

My Favorite Metal Songs. I tried to limit myself to one song per album, so this list also doubles as my favorite song off of each of these albums also. Probably stop the list at 666 if I ever get there.

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio

3.Testament - The Legacy

4.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

5.Wolf (UK) - Edge Of The World

      View entire list ››

Updated 14.4.2024

My rather personal and improvised take on the subject matter. The list is pretty wage, I'll be updating it a lot and the order might vary a little depending on some things, but they're all great and awesome records no matter what. If there are some great records missing, that doesn't necessarily mean I consider them bad, maybe I just forgot about them or just haven't listened to them enough to consider them personal favourites.

Limited to metal and rock albums found on Metal Storm. Most of them (at least 90%) are anyway, so doesn't matter. The absent ones are mostly more pop and synth oriented stuff and some really obscure jazz and fusion albums.

1.Marillion - Marbles

2.Anathema - Weather Systems

3.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

4.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

5.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

      View entire list ››

The choice of the albums was made according to aesthetic criteria, taking into account only the musical merits of the recordings. Neither the popularity among the fans nor the commercial success (or unsuccess) of the albums were taken into account in the selection.

1.Anacrusis - Screams And Whispers

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

4.Pantera - Cowboys From Hell

5.Death - Symbolic

      View entire list ››

From my generation (well, sorta). In order of preference but subject to change.
Please excuse Concrete Blonde and King's X; neither is really metal, but I love them both!

1.Artillery - By Inheritance

2.Metal Church - Hanging In The Balance

3.Running Wild - Black Hand Inn

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existence

      View entire list ››

What seems the most important albums for me in chronological order.
I wish I could carry the list year after year to see how my tastes changed and new findings.
I can help but notice that old albums immediately strike me, while in recent times most albums are good but nothing is groundbreaking. We have a tide of releases in the last decades, and standing above the other requires an impossible lot of talent.
Or is it my listen habbits that changed ? I felts I listened to the old albums albums for a lifetime while I'm only surface checking the new ones. Too little time, too little time to truly live...
Also the mixing technology, the sound is too flat nowadays and lack impact and personnality

1.Frank Zappa - Freak Out

2.The Who - Tommy

3.Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat

4.Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

5.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

Overall year rating:
3,5/5

1.Death - Human

2.Sepultura - Arise

3.Cathedral - Forest Of Equilibrium

4.Coroner - Mental Vortex

5.Bathory - Twilight Of The Gods

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

Thrash was one of the first metal genres I got into around 2005. I discovered Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, etc through Kerrang! magazine and their albums quickly became my favourites at the time. Now, I've discovered many more such as Vektor, Testament and Nevermore thanks to MS.

So here are my favourites of the genre with my rating, its sub-genre and release year:

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of thrash 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 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also 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)

1.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

2.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

3.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Slayer - Reign In Blood

      View entire list ››