These are my top 100 favorite albums - they are the reason why I love metal!
Enjoy!
Format: Band | Album | (genre, release year, country) What I like about the album; Favorite songs
Statistics:
Genre:
Death: 28
Black: 20
Thrash: 19
Heavy: 15
Progressive: 9
Power: 4
Doom: 4
Symphonic: 1
Years with most album favorites:
1995: 8
1996: 7
1990: 7
1984: 5
Countries with most album favorites:
USA: 35
Sweden: 20
UK: 16
Norway: 6

----Last Update: June 15, 2022----

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

3.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Death - Spiritual Healing

      View entire list ››

Not really sure about the order at all 1 album per band.

1.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

2.Opeth - Still Life

3.Flesh Of The Stars - Mercy

4.Pallbearer - Heartless

5.SubRosa - For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages

      View entire list ››

This is buy or die stuff (in no particular order), the epitome of pure awesomeness!

1.Windir - Arntor

2.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

3.Cor Scorpii - Monument

4.Judas Priest - Painkiller

5.Summoning - Dol Guldur

      View entire list ››

Wanna know what I headbang to on the regular? The releases that have seen countless re-spins... Well, this is a very simple list and something you've probably seen a lot of other MS users do in the past. Basically, I'm just going to list what are essential metal albums for me, my all time gems & masterpieces (very subjective and some are also in there due to nostalgia and sentimental value).

There's no particular ''Genre'' that I'll be covering and I will also try to limit myself to two albums per band and a few of my favorite tracks or highlights per album. Of course everything in this list is just my opinion, meaning that I'm not saying these albums are all masterpieces or whatnot, it's just my personal favorites. I hope most of you will agree with me and those few who don't, well... it's okay to be wrong, the next step is acceptance

🇨🇦 = From Canada, My Country!

Last Updated: April 15th, 2024

1.Absu - The Third Storm Of Cythrául

2.AC/DC - High Voltage

3.Alestorm - Black Sails At Midnight

4.Alien Weaponry - Tū

5.Amon Amarth - Fate Of Norns

      View entire list ››

These are 10 albums that really blew me away and either broke down all of my notions of what I though a metal album could sound like, or really opened my eyes to new sub-genres. You'll notice most albums are from after 2006, that's because it wasn't really until 2007 or so that I started listening to metal.

1.Between The Buried And Me - Colors

2.The Ocean - Precambrian

3.Warning - Watching From A Distance

4.Mirrorthrone - Gangrene

5.Equilibrium - Sagas

      View entire list ››

Back when I joined the site in 2011, I did a customary top 100 album list. Every year since then, when I've looked back at it it's become increasingly unrecognisable from my own tastes. Seeing bands I once listened to daily vanish from my playlists, new bands emerge as favourites, and bands even come and go in my reckonings during that time period (Iced Earth, Alcest, even Pain Of Salvation and more certainly peaked in my listening habits around 2011-12 to slowly vanish into obscurity). Now that it's just gone 5 years since I did that list, I thought I might do an updated list just to see how much my tastes have shifted. Whilst compiling the list, I pretty much worked on gut instinct, which was weird as I found myself almost disregarding albums I know I like whilst promoting albums I'm honestly undecided on - it almost seemed to veer away from album quality at times to embracing a subconscious effect the albums have had. Anyway, here it is, plus some honorable mentions that I was surprised missed out.

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Protest The Hero - Kezia

      View entire list ››

These Are Albums that give metal a good name, and create metalheads who live for little else. Originality, Raw talent, Brilliant atmosphere, Brutality with a great technical aspect, and just plain ass kicking.

1.Lux Occulta - The Mother And The Enemy

2.Borknagar - The Archaic Course

3.Ancient - Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends

4.Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale

5.Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage

      View entire list ››

1.Opeth - Morningrise

2.Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

3.Haggard - And Thou Shalt Trust... The Seer

4.Therion - Theli

5.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

      View entire list ››

This is a list of some of the very first albums that got me into metal. And before you look, yes, A7X and DragonForce are on the list, deal with it, it happened, I still listen to plenty of great bands!

1.Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil

2.In Flames - Come Clarity

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

5.DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage

      View entire list ››

My top 100 Albums, sorted in descending order of favorites. Pretty rough list, I may update if I become un-lazy sometime. One album per band only. Some explanation and description provided for those who aspire to waste as much time on this site as I do.

1.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

2.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

3.Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor

4.Opeth - Still Life

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

      View entire list ››

AWesomest power metal albums I've heard in my life and Enjoy the most (and some which are extreme power which didnt feel right not to put them here..!), probably not ordered in the most right way...!!

1.Kamelot - The Black Halo

2.Sonata Arctica - Ecliptica

3.Dark Moor - Autumnal

4.Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes

5.Stratovarius - Visions

      View entire list ››

Hey Folks! It’s me… Again!

I’m coming back once more to explore the depths of a genre that arguably did not begin where you all thought it did! Yeah yeah… Alright, maybe Left Hand Path, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious, Like An Ever Flowing Stream & The Red In The Sky Is Ours aren’t exactly the sound you would expect, but they were certainly a sign of something incredible that was about to happen. The birth of Melodic Death Metal!

Most of you, them, us… Would agree that Melodic Death metal really appeared in the form of Carcass’s 1993 album Heartwork. Even though some shades of what would become staples of the genre were heard before, this one would truly be the first album to be called as such. Mixing OSDM with more classic heavy metal styled riffs & melodies, our beloved genre (along with Thrash) would become for a lot of our teenage selves, a gateway into the more extreme bowels of metal’s subgenres. I would argue that it’s an almost obligatory step in the grand metalhead’s journey. Ah, how amazing it was to first taste the somewhat delicate sound of melodeath before rattling our ears with the obscenities & nonsensical wankery of grindcore, brutal tech-death, dissonant death and post metal… Rrrrright.

As you have become accustomed to by now, I will attempt to honour the genre by listing the absolute best Melodic Death metal albums to be ever released throughout the years. And I will do so starting with a few albums that are arguably not Melodic Death metal… Because I can and I did, hah! F*ck you! Along the way, you might stumble upon some strange & unorthodox choices mixing a plethora of other genres as well and that’s ok. Truly. Take it easy, don’t hyperventilate over it and just go with the flow. The main goal here is to help people who don’t know much about melodeath discover it and where it came from. I also want to push forward some less known jewels amongst highly praised landmarks of the style and sprinkle a bit of my personality along the way because that’s always fun. The albums will be ordered in years of release and there will be no other restriction or specific rules.

I hope you have a blast going through my list and that it brings you joy and a slight tingle on your nostalgia strings. Though, if it pisses you off, if I forgot your absolute favourite album of all goddamn time or if you think I’m an idiot, well… Just remember that I’m right, always and forever, thank you. Regardless It will be a pleasure for me to hear your recommendations or discuss anything related to melodeath below. Cheers & have fun!

-Guib-

Note: Albums with a 🇨🇦 are from my country (Canada) and albums with a ★ are my personal favourites.

- - - - - - - - - -

Last Updated: April 27th, 2024

1.Entombed - Left Hand Path

2.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

5.Carcass - Heartwork

      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 ››

1.All time & genre (including Non-Metal on MS)
2.Only studio albums & EPs
3.I DON'T modify this list. So, this list is THE FINAL edition and based on my selection on 1 April 2017. (Modified on 12 February 2022)
4.The genre is primary one.
Last modified on 1 April 2017

...NOTICE: I'm reselecting albums & EPs for "The Timeless Ver2". This will be a bit more stringently selected than "ver1".

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

3.Krallice - Diotima

4.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

5.Deathspell Omega - Kénôse

      View entire list ››

Lots of genres, not repeating any Band (except Therion, but with 3 different styles). You cannot go wrong with this list, some nice Starts to any kind of Metal.
The list is sorted by year, but has not any particular order. Enjoy!

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

3.Therion - Symphony Masses - Ho Drakon Ho Megas

4.Cynic - Focus

5.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

      View entire list ››