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 ››

My top 50 of the year. Rated 8 & Above

Alcest, Gojira, Les discrets and Blut Aus Nord make the french connection . Allez les bleus!

Black Sabbath announced their reunion, Wintersun reappeared with time Soundgarden too for the last time.

Nearly forgot the world was supposed to end....

Album count: 172
Average rating: 7.05

1.Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

2.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

3.Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension

4.Cult Of Fire - Triumvirát

5.Les Discrets - Ariettes Oubliées...

      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 ››

1.King Diamond - "Them"

2.Death - Human

3.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

4.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

5.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

      View entire list ››

Input:
10 years
20 decade lists
749 bands
973 albums

Output:
200 top albums from 2010-2019


FAQ

How are the points calculated?
Simple math.

Ranked top lists:
1st place = 150 pts.
2nd place = 149 pts.
...
100th place = 51 pts.
...
150th place = 1 pt.

Alphabetically sorted lists:
Each place = 100 pts.

Why just a Top 200?
Because 200 list entries are more than enough.

Is it by pure coincidence that the first four positions are occupied by bands with the initial letter "E"?
Yes.

Will your list be updated on a regular basis?
No.

Why is my favorite power metal abum not featured?
I don't know. Let's ask the list owners:

AgentOrange94 - Top 10 Albums Of The 10's
andreosokin - Top 25 Albums Of 2010s
ChapuLviz - Top 100 Grind List (2010-2019)
Chobo_jokeR - JokeR's Top Hunnid From 2010 - 2019
Desha - Me(tal) In The 2010s
Draugen - Top 100 of the 2010s
embracing - My Completely Subjective Top 10 Of The 2010-2019 Decade
Enemy of Reality (RIP) - 100 Album Guide To The Decade 2010-19
FullyOttoMatic - 50 Favorite Metal (And Metal-Adjacent) Albums Of The 2010's
Iron Men - A Decade Of Aggression
Kuroboshi - Top 100 Albums Of 2010-2019
Maco - 2010-2019 Top 100
musclassia - 150 Albums To Become An Adult To: 2010-2019
mz - Best Of 2010-2020 By Mz
Neachy - Neachy's Select: Top 100 Albums Of The 10s
nikarg - Old Nick's Top-101 Of The '10s
nonZero - My Top 50 Albums of the 2010s (deleted)
RaduP - You Know It's Technically 2011-2020, Right?
VIG (RIP) - VIG's Top 100 Of The 2010s
Zap - I Too Listened To Some Metal In The 2010's

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

2.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

3.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

4.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

5.Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death

      View entire list ››

I haven't used this website seriously in a long time, but I think it would be fun to catalog my favorite Metal releases from the past decade.

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Darkspace - Dark Space III I

3.Kayo Dot - Hubardo

4.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

5.Deftones - Koi No Yokan

      View entire list ››

1.Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

2.Audrey Horne - Audrey Horne

3.Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

4.Baroness - Yellow & Green

5.Bring Me The Horizon - Amo

      View entire list ››

While the order in each decade is purely personal preference, there are several rules for a song qualifying for the list. First off, the band has to be notable. I'm not going to define what that means, but I'm sure you'd agree all the bands in the list are notable. There are plenty of riffs from obscure bands I'd rather put, but I know my love for Tarby doesn't make him the greatest riff maker of the 21st century. Second, each artist can only appear once in a decade, this is to prevent the best riff makers from hogging the list and adding some variety, showing how metal has changed over time. Decades are measured by when the song was recorded, not released, and when it's unclear the beginning of recording is used. This is mainly because a lot of definitive early metal songs were released in 1970, but recorded in 1969. Third, the song itself has to be notable. Here are things that can qualify as being notable: the song was release as a single, has music video made for it, was released as a single, was the title track for an album (note that Crawl through Knives meets this criteria because it was the original title for Come Clarity, and there is no way in hell Come Clarity is getting best riff of the decade ), is included on a greatest hits compilation album, was nominated for a Grammy or musical award of similar caliber, was included as a track in a notable film or video game, was covered by a notable band, or has a Wikipedia page for some miscellaneous reason. Finally, the song needs to be metal. Misirlou gets the pass despite predating metal as it was probably the single most influential song on the development of metal, and while many of the other songs in the other songs are better classified as hard rock, I can find a source listing them as heavy metal.

1.

2.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

3.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

4.Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

5.Deep Purple - In Rock

      View entire list ››

My personal favorite studio albums of 2012

1.Wintersun - Time I

2.Kreator - Phantom Antichrist

3.Katatonia - Dead End Kings

4.Khors - Wisdom Of Centuries

5.If These Trees Could Talk - Red Forest

      View entire list ››

1.Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury

2.The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand

3.Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

4.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

5.Beherit - Drawing Down The Moon

      View entire list ››

1.Enslaved - RIITIIR

2.Meshuggah - Koloss

3.Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

4.In Mourning - The Weight Of Oceans

5.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

      View entire list ››

My personal top 20 albums of 2012 (in alphabetical order). I would have liked to add the debut album 'Lingua Franca' from T.R.A.M. but they are not on Metal Storm.

1.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

2.Aura Noir - Out To Die

3.Baroness - Yellow & Green

4.Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence

5.Deftones - Koi No Yokan

      View entire list ››

1.Deftones - Koi No Yokan

2.Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension

3.Kamelot - Silverthorn

4.Seven Kingdoms - The Fire Is Mine

5.Stone Sour - House Of Gold And Bones - Part 1

      View entire list ››

1.Anathema - Weather Systems

2.Anneke Van Giersbergen - Everything Is Changing

3.Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol

4.Calabrese - Dayglo Necros

5.Tarja - Act I

      View entire list ››

As title may indicate, this is just a list I made in a moment of boredom, and it include my 2012 top 10 albums based on my last.fm account scrobbles.

Some of my reviews, for some good 2012 albums, when I was writing for JorZine.com

Blaakyum - Lord Of The Night review

Soen - Cognitive review

Crow7 - Symphony Of Souls review

1.Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

2.Muse - The 2nd Law

3.Deftones - Koi No Yokan

4.El Rass & Munma - Kachf el Mahjoub / Unveiling the Hidden

5.Lamb Of God - Resolution

      View entire list ››