Here's my AotY for each year from 1970, with a runner up (or two) following.
Pink Floyd and Yes aren't here, King Crimson is, so I'll include King Crimson

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

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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...

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1 album per band per subgenre
work in progress, updating as I go through the song-by-song ratings on RateYourMusic.com
I will typically update my black metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6924
and my death metal faves - https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6298
prior to updating this one

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.King Diamond - Abigail

3.Voivod - Dimension Hatröss

4.Mastodon - Crack The Skye

5.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

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1.All time & genre (including Non-Metal on MS)
2.Only studio albums & EPs
3.The genre is primary one.
4.Only ESPECIALLY favorite (a bit more stringently than ver1 and rating 10 is not enough)
5.The order: A to Z (initial of band's name), next release date
6.Black Wisdom, an album of Russian band Grey Heaven Fall, is deleted. When the situation gets better, I will repost.
Last modified on 3 March 2022

1.Akhlys - The Dreaming I

2.Altar Of Plagues - Mammal

3.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

4.Anthrax - Among The Living

5.Arkha Sva - Gloria Satanae

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The Icelandic Black Metal scene received quite a bit of hype and love in the middle of the last decade. As with most things, the supply of greatness couldn't live up to the demand. We have a handful of true gems from this scene and a lot of mediocre schlock.

Ordered from best to worst based on my opinion. Listen and decide for yourself.

1.Misþyrming - Söngvar Elds Og Óreiðu

2.Wormlust - The Feral Wisdom

3.Almyrkvi - Umbra

4.Carpe Noctem - In Terra Profugus

5.Wormlust - The Wormlust Collective

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* Updating this as I get around to doing song-by-song on RYM.
* 1 album per band
* limiting this to actual black metal releases, as opposed to releases by bands that were, at one time, black metal.
>> Some bands really do incorporate a lot of both death metal or doom (or avant garde or folk, etc) and black metal in their albums, so I consider them to be 'black metal adjacent' even if it might not be 'purely black metal'

1.Weakling - Dead As Dreams

2.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

3.Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum

4.Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi

5.Altar Of Plagues - Teethed Glory & Injury

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My personal hard rock/heavy metal album of the year that I own.
Truthfully, for several years, I just gave up trying to figure out what was in 2nd place (and sometimes, even in 1st).
Some years have so many options....

1.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

2.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

3.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4

4.Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

5.Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties

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This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.S.V.E.S.T. - Veritas Diaboli Manet In Aeternum: Le Diable Est Ma Raison

2.Sabachthani - Miserable Endings

3.Sabaoth - Les Illuminations

4.Sabaton - Carolus Rex

5.Sabbat - Dreamweaver

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- My TOP 75 from 90s (and 80s), 00s and 10s.
- Each TOP 75 ordered from my most favourite down.
- One album for every band in one TOP 75.
- Only full-lengths or EPs/demos with more than half an hour.

Description includes: Genre (traditional/true BM bands are labeled with their countries, e.g. Norwegian Black), year and my personal favourite song of the particular album with link.

Hall of Fame (bands in each time period): Agalloch, Blut Aus Nord, Enslaved, Immortal, Nokturnal Mortum, Summoning

1.

2.Windir - Arntor

3.Paysage d'Hiver - Paysage D'Hiver

4.Blut Aus Nord - Ultima Thulée

5.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

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Metal art of dissonance as I love it.
Rules:
- on album per band, unless the band has very different albums.
-I'm not picky for albums released before 2000.
-I'm not picky for genres that are to some degrees unusual for the dissonance, like sludge metal.

This list is open to suggestions.

1.Abyssal - Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius

2.Alkerdeel - Morinde

3.Altars - Paramnesia

4.Amnis Nihili - Christological Escalation

5.Antediluvian - λόγος

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My favorite BM records. Recommendation are more than welcomed.

1.777Babalon - Eschatological Beast Of The Revelation

2.Advent Sorrow - As All Light Leaves Her

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Agruss - Morok

5.Aion - Verses Of Perdition

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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

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My tastes seem to have changed quite a bit since I originally made this list. I have since updated it to better reflect my opinions of 2012 in retrospect. A well rounded and impressive year for metal.

1.Indesinence - Vessels Of Light And Decay

2.Faal - The Clouds Are Burning

3.Agruss - Morok

4.Lord Mantis - Pervertor

5.Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry

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