My top prog albums. The list will be regularly updated.

1.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

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

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Gojira - Magma

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That's all.

1.Dream Theater - Awake

2.Dream Theater - Images And Words

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

4.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

5.Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity

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Another band that is difficult to rank, with no two lists that are the same.

1.Dream Theater - Awake

2.Dream Theater - Images And Words

3.Dream Theater - When Dream And Day Unite

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

5.Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity

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Dream Theater! Once my favourite band of all time, now number 2. I took an involuntary break from them for a while, and upon return realised my feelings had changed to a lot of their music. Also since at some point I stupidly deleted my old ranking of them, I feel now is the time to make a new one.

Feel free to bash my terrible taste.

1.Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

2.Dream Theater - Dream Theater

3.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

4.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

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

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Revisiting all the DT albums and updating my personal ranking

1.Dream Theater - Images And Words

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

3.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

4.Dream Theater - Awake

5.Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

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This is an alphabetical list dedicated for the celebration of great instrumental songs that have been included by vocal groups as original contribution to an album. Therefore, this list does not include instrumental-based groups like Apocalyptica, songs that have a significant part with spoken words / human voices or instrumental versions of vocal songs or other bonus material.

Please feel free to suggest more of your favorite songs for this list !

1.Accept - Objection Overruled

2.Anathema - Judgement

3.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

4.Arch Enemy - Will To Power

5.As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us

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1.Avantasia - Angel Of Babylon

2.Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony

3.Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

4.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

5.Accept - Blood Of The Nations

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The goats. The near perfect albums that never get old. Some are full of catchy bangers I'm always humming, and some are so full to the brim of details that I still haven't even uncovered them all.

A brief outline of my ratings:
8.5-9.0 = An excellent album with a few mild drawbacks (Weak song, slightly irritating vocals, odd flow)
9.0-9.5 = Perfect albums that haven't quite warranted the time-earnt 9.5+.
9.5-9.9 = Perfect albums that have stood the test of time, ranked by preference.
10 = I don't expect to hear another album like these, ever.

(I use 'perfect' lightly as it makes no sense for a man-made creation to be flawless. 'Perfect' is simply a term to outline how high a level of enjoyment is, specifically the level of enjoyment when minor faults become insignificant.)

(I evaluate albums outside of metal vastly differently to the ones here, which explains the lack of representation of my other favourite genres. Blue Sky Mining is an exception due to being structured very similarly to my optimal metal album. I may add some picks from other genres down the line.)


STATS:
I know y'all don't look at my lists, so these are purely for my own interest.

-Decades
'10s: 36
'20s: 22
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 35
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 3
Contemporary: 2
Folk: 1
Doom: 1
Rock: 1

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Memories Of Old - The Zeramin Game

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Persefone - Aathma

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1.Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)

2.Riverside - Shrine Of New Generation Slaves

3.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

4.Omnium Gatherum - Beyond

5.Haken - The Mountain

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

2.Dream Theater - Images And Words

3.Dream Theater - Awake

4.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

5.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

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Must Listen: The First 4

1.Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

2.Civil War - The Killer Angels

3.Trivium - Vengeance Falls

4.James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance

5.Pretty Maids - Motherland

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My Favorite Albums Of The Year \m/

1.Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything

2.Stratovarius - Nemesis

3.Ghost - Infestissumam

4.Powerwolf - Preachers Of The Night

5.Orphaned Land - All Is One

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1.Dream Theater - Awake

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

3.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

4.Dream Theater - Images And Words

5.Dream Theater - The Astonishing

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My personal favorite studio albums of 2013

1.Shade Empire - Omega Arcane

2.Kauan - Pirut

3.Ghost - Infestissumam

4.Wolfheart - Winterborn

5.Amorphis - Circle

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

2.Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

3.Dream Theater - Images And Words

4.Dream Theater - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

5.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

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