I have finally caved in and made a top 200 list. The main focus here is metal, so no Rush, no King Crimson, Deep Purple, or GY!BE are in the list, but I do still love those bands and others that could have qualified.
The list mostly contains albums, but some EPs, demos, splits, and compilations are also featured every now and then. I also tried to avoid including demos or EPs that were too short but there’s still a few of them.
Enjoy!

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

2.Windir - Arntor

3.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

4.Sigh - Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien

5.Vektor - Terminal Redux

      View entire list ››

This alphabetical list presents bands that took the inspiration for their name from literature (novels, poems, plays, comics). The list shows the debut album cover along with the information of the corresponding source of inspiration.

Please feel free to suggest more examples of metal/hard rock band names that are inspired by literature.


AUTHORS

1st Place (52 bands):
J.R.R.Tolkien

2nd Place (21 bands):
H.P.Lovecraft

3rd Place (10 bands):
W.Shakespeare

4th Place (7 bands):
E.A.Poe

5th Place (3 bands):
F.Herbert, R.E.Howard, C.A.Smith

6th Place (2 bands):
A.Huxley, J.W.v.Goethe, B.Kane, S.King, C.S.Lewis, H.Melville, K.Miura, M.Moorcock, J.K.Rowling, H.Van Alkmer, O.Wilde

7th Place (1 band):
R.Adams, J.P.Ahonen, D.Alighieri, L.F.Baum, E.C.Bertin, R.Bloch, E.Bronte, L.Carroll, L.Carter, L.Chase, C.Dickens, A.Diggle, M.Ende, S.Erikson, W.Faulkner, J.&W.Grimm, Homer, A.Jodorowsky, Kakifly, U.KLeGuin, H.W.Longfellow, G.R.R.Martin, A.Miller, P.Mills, J.Milton, D.Quinn, S.Rohmer, P.Rothfuss, Y.Sadamato, M.Sandemo, W.Scott, H.Sienkiewicz, D.Simmons, W.Smith, J.Steinbeck, B.Stoker, Suetonius, L.Uris, L.Weisberger, H.G.Wells, Q.Yuan


CATEGORY

1.) Novels (93 bands)
2.) Short Stories/Novellas (34 bands)
3.) Drama (11 bands),
Poems (11 bands),
Comics/Mangas (11 bands)
4.) Religious Texts (4 bands)
5.) Author Names (3 bands)
6.) Magazines (2 bands)
7.) Biographies (1 band), Essays (1 band), Reports (1 band),

1.A Dream Of Poe - The Mirror Of Deliverance

2.Abhoth - Abhoth

3.Abigail Williams - In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Alice In Chains - Facelift

      View entire list ››

To add fuel to the fire of the "they'll never top their first album" rhetoric, here are all my favorite full length debuts in alphabetical order. Full lengths, not EPs.

1.Acid Witch - Witchtanic Hellucinations

2.Aeternus - Beyond The Wandering Moon

3.Agruss - Morok

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

      View entire list ››

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

2.Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant

3.Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

4.Dream Theater - Images And Words

5.Opeth - Orchid

      View entire list ››

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

2.Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

3.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

4.Metallica - Kill 'Em All

5.Slayer - Show No Mercy

      View entire list ››

1.Possessed - Seven Churches

2.Sepultura - Morbid Visions

3.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

4.Death - Leprosy

5.Autopsy - Severed Survival

      View entire list ››

The best debut records of all time by year…

1.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

2.KISS - Kiss

3.Rush - Rush

4.AC/DC - High Voltage

5.Motörhead - Motörhead

      View entire list ››

1.Agalloch - Pale Folklore

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

      View entire list ››

here another top for a band that have a huge impact in my life.

1.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

4.Opeth - Deliverance

5.Opeth - Watershed

      View entire list ››

Ratings go from:

WORSHIP ❤️❤️❤️: Absolute greatness, a mindblowing album.
LOVE ❤️❤️🖤: Amazing release with very few flaws.
LIKE ❤️🖤🖤: Enjoyable but far from perfect.
DISLIKE 💔: Not very good or maybe not fitting my tastes.

I've decided to stop rating albums with a numerical value as I tend to feel uncomfortable with that. This list has a minimalistic, subjective and visceral approach, based purely on sensations and personal tastes. Mainly for personal use and doesn't pretend to be a serious ranking, but emerges from the need to remember which bands and albums I enjoyed and the ones I disliked. I constantly revisit new releases so first impressions may change over time. It usually takes 8-10 spins for me to get completely sure of a rating.

1.Æther Realm - Tarot

2.Abhoria - Abhoria

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agrypnie - Metamorphosis

5.Allegaeon - Fragments Of Form And Function

      View entire list ››

My personal exploration of the year I was born, I'll keep updating this list as I find albums I enjoy

1.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

2.Death - Symbolic

3.Virgin Steele - The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part II

4.Motörhead - Sacrifice

5.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

      View entire list ››

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

3.Opeth - Damnation

4.Opeth - Still Life

5.Opeth - Deliverance

      View entire list ››

1.Opeth - Still Life

2.Dream Theater - Images And Words

3.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

4.Pain Of Salvation - Entropia

5.Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech

      View entire list ››

1.Agalloch - Pale Folklore

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

5.Ahab - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig

      View entire list ››

***NOTE: This is an opinion and everything is listed based on my own preferences. Feel free to disagree and tell me what your favorite Opeth albums are from best to worst.***

01. Blackwater Park

It would be nearly impossible to list any other album as #1 given that Blackwater Park is widely considered one of the best metal albums of all time regardless of genre. This is also the perfect place to describe what Opeth has historically offered as a musical entity and why it is worth delving deeply into their music catalog. Blackwater Park has all of the elements Opeth is known for: brutal death growls, soothing clean vocals, heavy, dense atmospheres seamlessly flowing into light, airy instrumentals. You never know what to expect from one moment to the next and that has always been one of the most exciting parts of any Opeth album.

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

3.Opeth - Still Life

4.Opeth - Watershed

5.Opeth - Morningrise

      View entire list ››