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

      View entire list ››

1.Disillusion - The Liberation

2.Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination

3.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

4.Tool - Fear Inoculum

5.Iapetus - The Body Cosmic

      View entire list ››

1.Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination

2.Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

3.Borknagar - True North

4.Eternal Storm - Come The Tide

5.Soen - Lotus

      View entire list ››

1.Leprous - Bilateral

2.Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I

3.Persefone - Spiritual Migration

4.Threshold - March Of Progress

5.Witherscape - The Northern Sanctuary

      View entire list ››

1.Death Angel - Humanicide

2.Acid Reign - The Age Of Entitlement

3.Aeon Zen - INVERITAS

4.Allegaeon - Apoptosis

5.Alter Bridge - Walk The Sky

      View entire list ››

Here is a list of all the bands who received at least one write-in vote during MSA 2019.

Following the annoucement of the results, this information is lost, I post it here so you can continue to explore your favorite genres !

I'm still working on fixing links, if you find errors, feel free to notify in the comments !

1.Babymetal - Metal Galaxy

2.Cave In - Final Transmission

3.Mother Of Millions - Artifacts

4.Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

5.Soen - Lotus

      View entire list ››

1.Babymetal - Metal Galaxy

2.Cave In - Final Transmission

3.Mother Of Millions - Artifacts

4.Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

5.Soen - Lotus

      View entire list ››

Another 2010-2019 list! I guess a lot of people will hate on me for #2, but I love that album. Enjoy!

1.Møl - Jord

2.The Haunted - Unseen

3.The Moth Gatherer - A Bright Celestial Light

4.Vola - Applause Of A Distant Crowd

5.Liberteer - Better To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees

      View entire list ››

1.Borknagar - True North

2.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

3.Alcest - SPIRITUAL INSTICT

4.Soilwork - Verkligheten

5.Rammstein - Rammstein

      View entire list ››

Well, here I put my personal top with which to me have been the best albums of 2019. They are not all they are, but if they all are.

1.Shadow Of Intent - Melancholy

2.Memoriam - Requiem For Mankind

3.Infant Annihilator - The Battle Of Yaldabaoth

4.Equipoise - Demiurgus

5.Disillusion - The Liberation

      View entire list ››

I began this decade in my final year of high school, in the early phases of my metal journey (Mastodon, Machine Head, Dream Theater, Pantera and Avenged Sevenfold were still recent discoveries). One Masters degree and one PhD later, I'm now a tax-paying Londonian, and have ploughed through what must be comfortably over 2000 new releases during the previous ten years. To commemorate the end of a turbulent decade, I've put together a list of the albums that have stuck with me throughout this decade - I wouldn't consider this to be a 'best albums' list, as there have been some truly ingenious works released in more avant-garde territories, but ultimately these are the albums that have ended up dominating my listening habits, or otherwise making a sufficient impression to make this list.

1.Sylosis - Monolith

2.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

3.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

5.Cult Of Luna - Vertikal

      View entire list ››

Top 100 albums of 2010-2019

1.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

2.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

3.Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence

4.Elysian Blaze - Blood Geometry

5.Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole

      View entire list ››

1.Myrath - Shehili

2.Leprous - Pitfalls

3.Devin Townsend - Empath

4.Wilderun - Veil Of Imagination

5.Opeth - In Cauda Venenum

      View entire list ››

The best of 2019

1.Disillusion - The Liberation

2.Soen - Lotus

3.Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear

4.Waste Of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis

5.Lacrimas Profundere - Bleeding The Stars

      View entire list ››

(Top 130... won't make it to 200 until early next year... but I don't mind, do you? *sound of crickets* well, ok then, soliloquy over =) )

update: never got to 200, but I'm hoping the 2020's list will - or at least a top 150

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Finsterforst - Zerfall

3.Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

4.Borknagar - True North

5.Insomnium - Heart Like A Grave

      View entire list ››