I have finally caved in and made a top 200 list. The main focus here is metal, so no Rush, no King Crimson, Deep Purple, or GY!BE are in the list, but I do still love those bands and others that could have qualified.
The list mostly contains albums, but some EPs, demos, splits, and compilations are also featured every now and then. I also tried to avoid including demos or EPs that were too short but there’s still a few of them.
Enjoy!

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

2.Windir - Arntor

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien

5.Vektor - Terminal Redux

      View entire list ››

1.Slayer - Reign In Blood

2.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

3.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

4.Machine Head - The Blackening

5.Flotsam And Jetsam - Doomsday For The Deceiver

      View entire list ››

Right... Let's get this out of the way from the get-go. Alternative metal is hard to define. I guess that comes from it always wanting to experiment, explore and fuse heavy metal with non-metal music genres. It also makes it an ever changing and growing genre.

Also, before you guys flood me, yes my list contains a lot of Industrial & Nu Metal bands, as well as other genre.. As far as I'm concerned, my picks all fit quite well in the scope of an alternative metal list. Don't you agree? Wait... You disagree? Well, let's agree to disagree and move on.

As for the list itself, I'm going to try and list through time what I (me, myself & moi) consider as essential alternative albums. I will also limit myself to a maximum of 4 releases each year to prevent a messy list, which often makes it a difficult decision, especially in the early 2000's. So yes, it is possible your personal favourite won't be featured. You can tell me all about it in the comments below and we can discuss it, even argue it.

Now, have fun, enjoy my list and let me know what you think or would personally put in your favourite alt-metal list!

-Guib-

EDIT: I will now add my pick for best album of each year using the (best of xxxx) in the chosen album's description.

- - - - -

Guib's Best Alternative Metal Album Picks

Best Of 2022
Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die

Best Of 2023
Mutoid Man - Mutants

Best of 2024 So Far
...tbd

- - - - - - - - - -

Last Updated: March 27th, 2024

1.Living Colour - Vivid

2.Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking

3.Faith No More - The Real Thing

4.Godflesh - Streetcleaner

5.L7 - Smell The Magic

      View entire list ››

This is very simple, I took the ratings for a bunch of alternative metal albums on MS and ranked them accordingly

To qualify:
The album must have been released when the band was labelled as "Alternative Metal" by MS. So for example the three most recent Gojira albums count, but early Gojira does not.

The band must have more than 10 fans on MS

Therefore this is not a reflection of my opinions, rather a reflection of numbers so if you wanna get mad, get mad at the numbers, not me. And remember that this really isn't that serious

1.Mass Hysteria - Contraddiction

2.Tool - Lateralus

3.The Butterfly Effect - IV

4.Tool - Ænima

5.Mass Hysteria - Le Bien-Être Et La Paix

      View entire list ››

This is an alphabetical list of metal songs and albums that inspired the names of other artists.

While comparable lists often focus on the band name and explain its origin, this list turns the point of view and presents the influential albums and songs that were the basis for the inspiration of other artists and therefore highlights their general impact.

Please feel free to suggest more (MS listed) metal/hard rock examples.

SUMMARY
BANDS THAT INFLUENCED SEVERAL OTHER ARTIST NAMES WITH THEIR WORK

1st Place (14):
Black Sabbath

2nd Place (7):
Judas Priest

3rd Place (4):
Morbid Angel, Venom

4th Place (3):
Celtic Frost, Metallica

5th Place (2):
Cynic, Darkthrone, Deftones, Iron Maiden, Kreator, Motörhead



SUMMARY
ALBUMS THAT INFLUENCED THE NAMES OF SEVERAL OTHER ARTISTS

1st Place (3):
Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath),
Ride The Lightning (Metallica), Altars Of Madness (Morbid Angel), Welcome To Hell (Venom)

2nd Place (2):
Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Master Of Reality (Black Sabbath), Mob Rules (Black Sabbath), To Mega Therion (Celtic Frost), Focus (Cynic), Sin After Sin (Judas Priest), Stained Class (Judas Priest), Pleasure To Kill (Kreator)

1.Amebix - No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings

2.Anathema - Alternative 4

3.Arch Enemy - Black Earth

4.Architects - Ruin

5.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

      View entire list ››

1.Nokturnal Mortum - Goat Horns

2.Summoning - Dol Guldur

3.Bruce Dickinson - Accident Of Birth

4.Metallica - Re-Load

5.In Flames - Whoracle

      View entire list ››

1.Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine

2.Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

3.Korn - Korn

4.Soulfly - Prophecy

5.Linkin Park - Meteora

      View entire list ››

A personal list of non favorite metal songs, some better than others…
A bad song is the one I like the least and a great song is the one I love.
Beethoven

1.Hear 'n Aid - Stars

2.Black Sabbath - Never Say Die!

3.Metallica - Re-Load

4.Judas Priest - Ram It Down

5.Helloween - Pink Bubbles Go Ape

      View entire list ››

It's been like 20 years now, is it safe to post this yet?

1.Korn - Korn

2.System Of A Down - Toxicity

3.Sepultura - Roots

4.System Of A Down - System Of A Down

5.Disturbed - Ten Thousand Fists

      View entire list ››

1.Korn - Korn

2.Deftones - White Pony

3.System Of A Down - Toxicity

4.Korn - Untouchables

5.Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist

      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 ››

1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.As I Lay Dying - Shadows Are Security

5.Before The Dawn - Deadlight

      View entire list ››

1.Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force

2.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

3.Anthrax - Among The Living

4.Artillery - By Inheritance

5.Baphomet - The Dead Shall Inherit

      View entire list ››

As if my street-cred wasn't in the depths already, I submit to you the albums I undoubtedly get the most shit for listening to. There are a few on here that won't leave me beaten in a back alley, and I question the application of this genre to those albums. Nonetheless, all of the groups represented here were at least at one time associated with the 2nd Voldemort of metal. Anyone who says they don't have at least one of these albums is a filthy liar.

1.Deftones - White Pony

2.Deftones - Around The Fur

3.Korn - Issues

4.Korn - Korn

5.System Of A Down - System Of A Down

      View entire list ››

Smooth as a babe's bottom on a well oiled judas chair.

1.Pantera - Far Beyond Driven

2.Strapping Young Lad - Alien

3.Reverence - The Asthenic Ascension

4.Meshuggah - Contradictions Collapse

5.Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill

      View entire list ››