My choices of albums with strong forms of atmospheric sound in metal. Recommendations are welcome, though I won't add all as this will be towards personal taste.

1.A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

4.Akelei - De Zwaarte Van Het Doorstane

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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The saddest albums I've ever heard in alphabetical order.

1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Ahab - The Giant

4.Aoria - The Constant

5.An Autumn For Crippled Children - Everything

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A lot of bands have great debut albums. Obviously this list is just a fraction of all the great debut albums out there, but it's a start. I'll keep expanding this list continuously, so all suggestions are welcome (granted they are featured on MS). All the albums here are ranked according to genre and then alphabetically. If a certain album belongs to the (in your opinion) wrong genre, then definitely let me know.

1.

2.Aarni - Bathos

3.Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia

4.Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

5.Sadness - Ames De Marbre

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I know this is a bit late, but whatever...

1.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

2.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

3.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

4.Opeth - Heritage

5.Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

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Not a top year, but the finalists are:

1.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

2.Ghost Brigade - Until Fear No Longer Defines Us Melancholic Sludge/post-grunge. Good-a little bit below its predecessor

3.Junius - Reports From The Threshold Of Death

4.Black Sun Aeon - Blacklight Deliverance

5.Mastodon - The Hunter

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Top 10 albums are listed in order. Rest of the list in no particular order.

1.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

2.Benighted - Asylum Cave

3.Glorior Belli - The Great Southern Darkness

4.40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

5.Isole - Born From Shadows

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1.Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa

2.Shining - VII - Född Förlorare

3.Warbringer - Worlds Torn Asunder

4.MyGrain - MyGrain

5.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

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Purely subjective list based on personal preferences for the year, unrelated to mass opinion of an album or a band's abilities (e.g. Trivium, Oranssi Pazuzu) - many albums lined up to listen to so will increase in size. Also, not entirely in order, middle order mainly just an approximation.

1.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

2.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

3.Infestus - E x I s t

4.Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

5.Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

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Pending listen: Vektor, Blut Aus Nord, Iron Savior, Aenaon

By the end of the year, this will be my top 50.

1.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

2.Thy Catafalque - Rengeteg

3.Woods Of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason

4.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

5.Draconian - A Rose For The Apocalypse

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Ordered best to worst. This is entirely my opinion.

1.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

2.Graveyard - Hisingen Blues

3.Havok - Time Is Up

4.Toxic Holocaust - Conjure And Command

5.Deafheaven - Roads To Judah

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1.Opeth - Heritage

2.Mastodon - The Hunter

3.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

4.Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

5.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

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A list of my favourite albums i have heard in 2011 from best to worst.

1.Cormorant - Dwellings

2.Grayceon - All We Destroy

3.Vektor - Outer Isolation

4.Primordial - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

5.40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

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Best Folkish albums I've heard so far...!! Please feel free to post your Suggestions!!

1.Agalloch - The Mantle

2.Ensiferum - Iron

3.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

4.Blackmore's Night - Under A Violet Moon

5.Blackmore's Night - Shadow Of The Moon

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(still under Construction...!)

1.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

2.Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

3.Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa

4.Anathema - Falling Deeper

5.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

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1.Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

2.Fair To Midland - Arrows & Anchors

3.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

4.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

5.Moonsorrow - Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa

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