Album art is a crucial element to what makes a great album become monumental to the music fan. It gives us a vision and a feeling through visual sensations that are linked in the mind to the sounds that embody those ideas. A great album is intertwined into those concrete images and the two aspects make them whole. The following is a list of albums by some of the most influential, well known illustrators in the Arts Community. These artists are key figures in relation to how famous their art has become either by the success of the bands they worked for or the popularity of their own work.

1.Electric Wizard - Electric Wizard

2.Darkthrone - F.O.A.D.

3.Cradle Of Filth - Midian

4.Converge - Jane Doe

5.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

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I realize the importance of these albums to the genres, and the influence they have had. however I do not find these albums really that great and pleasurable due to the competition and elimination through these decades of musical evolution. I respect these bands for releasing something so creative, conceptual and also brought us to the new dimension in the past.

1.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

2.Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Accept - Restless And Wild

5.Accept - Balls To The Wall

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1.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

2.Theatre Of Tragedy - Theatre Of Tragedy

3.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

4.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

5.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

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An entirely subjective list of my all-time favourite metal albums, well lets better say albums/genres featured on MS, since not all here is precisely metal.
Objective quality is not a criteria here, just how much I like the album. Ordered by preference, top down.

1.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

2.Opeth - Morningrise

3.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

4.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

5.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

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1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

3.Megadeth - So Far, So Good... So What?

4.Megadeth - Endgame

5.Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

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1.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

2.Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

3.Slayer - Reign In Blood

4.Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory

5.Queensrÿche - Rage For Order

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1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Slayer - Reign In Blood

5.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

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Albums I have downloaded and are in the process of obtaining

1.AC/DC - Back In Black

2.AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

3.AC/DC - High Voltage

4.AC/DC - Highway To Hell

5.AC/DC - Let There Be Rock

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These are the 211 essential hard rock/metal albums of the 80's, as were selected by the Greek Magazine "Metal Hammer" (August 2001 issue).

The albums followed by a star are the "must have", whereas the rest albums are the "could have".

1.Angel Witch - Angel Witch

2.AC/DC - Back In Black

3.Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell

4.Diamond Head - Lightning To The Nations

5.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

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1.Warning - Watching From A Distance

2.Aquilus - Griseus

3.King Diamond - Abigail

4.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

5.Candlemass - Nightfall

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1.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

4.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

5.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

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1.Dio - Holy Diver

2.Huntress - Spell Eater

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Judas Priest - British Steel

5.Nightmare - Insurrection

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Here is my personnal top 50 Thrash Metal album of all time, order by my preference. (even if it's really hard to order after the top 20 )
Feel free to suggest me some I've forgot to mention, there's so much excellent band and I should have not listen to all of them ! ^^
In my opinion, the best style to see live !!

1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

3.Slayer - Reign In Blood

4.Vektor - Black Future

5.Machine Head - Burn My Eyes

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Metal albums from 1986

1.Slayer - Reign In Blood

2.Dark Angel - Darkness Descends

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

5.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

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1.Slayer - Reign In Blood

2.Exodus - Bonded By Blood

3.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

4.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

5.Overkill - The Years Of Decay

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