1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Disforia - The Age Of Ether

3.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

4.Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything

5.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

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The goats. The near perfect albums that never get old. Some are full of catchy bangers I'm always humming, and some are so full to the brim of details that I still haven't even uncovered them all.

A brief outline of my ratings:
8.5-9.0 = An excellent album with a few mild drawbacks (Weak song, slightly irritating vocals, odd flow)
9.0-9.5 = Perfect albums that haven't quite warranted the time-earnt 9.5+.
9.5-9.9 = Perfect albums that have stood the test of time, ranked by preference.
10 = I don't expect to hear another album like these, ever.

(I use 'perfect' lightly as it makes no sense for a man-made creation to be flawless. 'Perfect' is simply a term to outline how high a level of enjoyment is, specifically the level of enjoyment when minor faults become insignificant.)

(I evaluate albums outside of metal vastly differently to the ones here, which explains the lack of representation of my other favourite genres. Blue Sky Mining is an exception due to being structured very similarly to my optimal metal album. I may add some picks from other genres down the line.)


STATS:
I know y'all don't look at my lists, so these are purely for my own interest.

-Decades
'10s: 36
'20s: 22
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 35
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 3
Contemporary: 2
Folk: 1
Doom: 1
Rock: 1

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Memories Of Old - The Zeramin Game

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Persefone - Aathma

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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/

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

2.T.R.A.M. - Lingua Franca

3.Taake - ...Doedskvad

4.Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster - Exegesis

5.Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi

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1.Brymir - Wings Of Fire

2.Avantasia - Moonglow

3.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

4.Borknagar - True North

5.Twilight Force - Dawn Of The Dragonstar

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1.Death Angel - Humanicide

2.Acid Reign - The Age Of Entitlement

3.Aeon Zen - INVERITAS

4.Allegaeon - Apoptosis

5.Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky

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In my opinion, Rhapsody from the Turilli era and Luca Turilli don't have bad albums. Except for "The Cold Embrace Of Fear" I'll leave out the EPs, the live albums and singles, so I'll just focus on the full albums.
Top 5 tracks:
1.- Emerald Sword/On The Way To Ainor
2.- War of the Universe
3.- Dark Fate of Atlantis
4.- Arcanum (Da Vinci's Enigma)
5.- Gothic Vision

1.Rhapsody - Power Of The Dragonflame

2.Luca Turilli - Prophet Of The Last Eclipse

3.Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Ascending To Infinity

4.Turilli / Lione Rhapsody - Zero Gravity (Rebirth And Evolution)

5.Rhapsody Of Fire - From Chaos To Eternity

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Here is a list of all the bands who received at least one write-in vote during MSA 2019.

Following the annoucement of the results, this information is lost, I post it here so you can continue to explore your favorite genres !

I'm still working on fixing links, if you find errors, feel free to notify in the comments !

1.Babymetal - Metal Galaxy

2.Cave In - Final Transmission

3.Mother Of Millions - Artifacts

4.Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

5.Soen - Lotus

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1.Gloryhammer - Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex

2.Twilight Force - Dawn Of The Dragonstar

3.Turilli / Lione Rhapsody - Zero Gravity (Rebirth And Evolution)

4.Galneryus - Into The Purgatory

5.Wind Rose - Wintersaga

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1.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

2.Soilwork - Verkligheten

3.Gloryhammer - Legends From Beyond The Galactic Terrorvortex

4.In Mourning - Garden Of Storms

5.Twilight Force - Dawn Of The Dragonstar

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1.Darkwater - Human

2.Swallow The Sun - When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light

3.Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

4.Belzebubs - Pantheon Of The Nightside Gods

5.Borknagar - True North

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1.Soen - Lotus

2.Ningen Isu - 新青年

3.Candlemass - The Door To Doom

4.Fleshgod Apocalypse - Veleno

5.Russian Circles - Blood Year

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This is a list of all the power metal albums I have listened to that are worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is not meant to be a definitive guide to power metal or a binding judgment on what power metal is or is not. The list exists purely for my own organizational purposes and may contain bands or albums that are not strictly True Knights of the Eternal Thundersword.

The first cluster includes my favorite albums in the genre (and a significant number of my all-time favorites); beyond that, they are listed by rating from 9/10 down to 6/10 and alphabetically within each bracket.

Last updated November 27, 2021.

1.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

4.Jag Panzer - Thane To The Throne

5.X Japan - Art Of Life

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1.Abbath - Outstrider

2.Hollow Haze - Between Wild Landscapes And Deep Blue Seas

3.Sabaton - The Great War

4.Lacrimas Profundere - Bleeding The Stars

5.Turilli / Lione Rhapsody - Zero Gravity (Rebirth And Evolution)

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1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Leprous - Pitfalls

3.Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination

4.Periphery - Periphery IV: Hail Stan

5.Issues - Beautiful Oblivion

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My Favorite Albums Of The Year \m/

1.Dream Theater - Distance Over Time

2.Eluveitie - Ategnatos

3.Cellar Darling - The Spell

4.Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

5.Elvenking - Reader Of The Runes - Divination

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