Dream Theater are good for what they are, and what they are is a stepping stone into prog. To be fair, they have some great albums (WDADU, I&W, and Awake), but once Kevin Moore left, it's been a steady decline, leaving nothing but scattered moments.
These bands are, in a way, the 'next step.' They represent the meat of prog, in albums that showcase the range of the genre.

1.Anekdoten - Vemod

2.Arcane - Known / Learned

3.Arena - Contagion

4.Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two

5.Communic - Waves Of Visual Decay

      View entire list ››

LATEST EDIT: December 12/2016- Added a whole bunch of progressive rock albums; processing earlier suggestions on the list.

Assembled below are some choice selections in alternative metal, prog rock, prog metal, jazz and avant-garde metal. I don't necessarily consider these styles to be my favourite (I do have a penchant for post-metal and cavernous death metal these days), but they have been the foundations of my taste for the last seven or eight years.

1.

2.Soundgarden - Down On The Upside

3.Rishloo - Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth

4.Karnivool - Asymmetry

5.Blindead - Absence

      View entire list ››

1.Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's Piñata

2.Periphery - Periphery II: This Time It's Personal

3.Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I

5.Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind

      View entire list ››

There are a lot of great albums out there, but that doesn't mean A) your wallet has to suffer or B) you need to resort to stealing. This list is here to both provide you with some excellent music for cheap and also help these bands make a few bucks in the process. If you are particularly into black (mostly of the atmospheric variety), sludge, and/or doom; you might be best suited just going through the collection related to my site, Metaltrenches.com, here or THIS GUY'S COLLECTION.

1.Torrential Downpour - Truth Knowledge Vision

2.The Sixth Of November - Ashes

3.Corpse Light - Without Form

4.Ketha - #!%16.7

5.Tyrant Of Death - Ascendancy

      View entire list ››

Here's a list of albums that are so obscure it's almost a crime. The list is ordered so that albums scoring high in both obscurity and quality are near the top.

WORK IN PROGRESS. Some of the albums ending up here may already be "Metal Storm approved", but this might be used for broader reference.

1.Skein - Of Wings Unfolding

2.Oddland - The Treachery Of Senses

3.Turbid North - Orogeny

4.Chaos Divine - The Human Connection

5.Anthriel - The Pathway

      View entire list ››

1.Epica - The Phantom Agony

2.Tristania - Widow's Weeds

3.Atoma - Skylight

4.Godflesh - Streetcleaner

5.Septicflesh - Communion

      View entire list ››

My other lists:
Tasty Stuff Not Currently Featured On MS
So I Heard You Like Opeth...

A concise list of my metalhead man-crushes (now featuring ladies.)

While there is little introduction required for some of these bands and their front(wo)men, there are no words that can accurately describe such jaw-dropping talent anyhow. The albums and youtube links listed are meant to display the full capacity of vocalists' talents, not the bands' most quality or popular tracks - click the links below and behold the prowess.

1.Abstrakt Algebra - Abstrakt Algebra

2.Adagio - Underworld

3.Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

4.Amorphis - Silent Waters

5.Anaal Nathrakh - Vanitas

      View entire list ››

The best album of each year (and one close 2nd) from the past 20 years. Some years were much harder than others to choose the best 2 albums.

1.In Vain - Ænigma

2.Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn

3.Dissona - Dissona

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I

5.Obscura - Omnivium

      View entire list ››

2012 has been such a great year for metal releases. So in honor of that, here is my personal favourite Albums of 2012.

1.Indesinence - Vessels Of Light And Decay

2.Faal - The Clouds Are Burning

3.In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

4.Enochian Theory - Life... And All It Entails

5.Eternal Deformity - The Beauty Of Chaos

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

Because I reached the word limit on the previous list, and don't want to lose my quite excellent in-depth descriptions. Those without descriptions are from my other list.

1.Sylosis - Monolith

2.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

3.In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

4.Abigail Williams - Becoming

5.Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Area 52

      View entire list ››

Work in progress

1.Sybreed - God Is An Automaton

2.Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.Enslaved - RIITIIR

5.Devin Townsend - Epicloud

      View entire list ››

this is my list and i update it when i should

1.Enslaved - RIITIIR

2.Kråke - Conquering Death

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I

4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

5.Vision Divine - Destination Set To Nowhere

      View entire list ››

Unordered
Last Update: July 12th

1.Ancestors - In Dreams And Time

2.Akphaezya - Anthology IV: The Tragedy Of Nerak

3.Dark Empire - From Refuge To Ruin

4.Dawn Of Demise - Rejoice In Vengeance

5.Miseration - Tragedy Has Spoken

      View entire list ››

1.Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's Piñata

2.OSI - Fire Make Thunder

3.Beyond The Bridge - The Old Man And The Spirit

4.Dissona - Dissona

5.Devin Townsend - Epicloud

      View entire list ››