My top ranked (in order from best down) favorite hard rock/heavy metal albums. I've also one included my top three favorite tracks from each album.

Enjoy!

1.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

2.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

3.Rush - Hemispheres

4.Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

5.Judas Priest - Painkiller

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Inc. Symphonic Metal.

1.Blind Guardian - At The Edge Of Time

2.Sabaton - The Art Of War

3.Unleash The Archers - Apex

4.Kamelot - The Black Halo

5.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

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1.Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

2.Manowar - Kings Of Metal

3.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

4.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

5.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

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An ongoing list for personal use as well as for reference for beginners (& veterans alike). This is solely my personal opinion and taste (Death & Prog mostly but do give every genre a try). Basically will include albums I've rated 8 & above. Sorted by year since I'll need a Venn diagram to sort by genre (seriously MS please make it happen if possible). Will feature multiple releases per year (obviously) and per band (since if a band is putting out better albums it deserves more recognition). Keeping the metal faith alive from India

1.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

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

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

4.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

5.Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself

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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.Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony

2.Cadaveria - In Your Blood

3.Caïna - Mourner

4.Caïnan Dawn - F.O.H.A.T.

5.Cain's Offering - Stormcrow

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1.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

2.Threshold - Hypothetical

3.Symphony X - V: The New Mythology Suite

4.Opeth - Still Life

5.Cynic - Traced In Air

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1.Queensrÿche - Rage For Order

2.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

3.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I

4.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

5.Running Wild - Port Royal

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Updated 14.4.2024

My rather personal and improvised take on the subject matter. The list is pretty wage, I'll be updating it a lot and the order might vary a little depending on some things, but they're all great and awesome records no matter what. If there are some great records missing, that doesn't necessarily mean I consider them bad, maybe I just forgot about them or just haven't listened to them enough to consider them personal favourites.

Limited to metal and rock albums found on Metal Storm. Most of them (at least 90%) are anyway, so doesn't matter. The absent ones are mostly more pop and synth oriented stuff and some really obscure jazz and fusion albums.

1.Marillion - Marbles

2.Anathema - Weather Systems

3.Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

4.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

5.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

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This is a list of all the power metal albums I have listened to that are worth remembering. Like my other genre lists, this is not meant to be a definitive guide to power metal or a binding judgment on what power metal is or is not. The list exists purely for my own organizational purposes and may contain bands or albums that are not strictly True Knights of the Eternal Thundersword.

The first cluster includes my favorite albums in the genre (and a significant number of my all-time favorites); beyond that, they are listed by rating from 9/10 down to 6/10 and alphabetically within each bracket.

Last updated November 27, 2021.

1.Blind Guardian - Nightfall In Middle-Earth

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

4.Jag Panzer - Thane To The Throne

5.X Japan - Art Of Life

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I've been listening to Metal since 2005 and it has become my biggest passion in life.

Rarely a day goes by where I don't listen to it in one form or another. The bands I listened to in my teens inspired me to pick up the guitar (and later drums) and start making music of my own.

So here are the albums that have stood out and made the largest impact on me. To be as transparent as possible, I've labelled albums as 'nostalgia bias' where my memories of the album give it an advantage over others.

(Score is an average of each album's song ratings, full list located here. There are a ton of albums that I've rated 9/10 in the 'TBR' tab that may never make it to this list, be sure to check those out.)

If you discovered any new albums or like the same sort of metal, be sure to give this list a thumbs-up and leave a comment so more people can find these amazing bands!

My other lists:
Top 25 EPs (ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
Top 200 Overrated Albums (trigger warning)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

Genre-Specific:
Top 50 Black Metal Albums
Top 50 Melodic Death Metal Albums
Top 45 Thrash Metal Albums
Top 40 Power Metal Albums
Top 30 Doom Metal Albums
Top 30 Heavy Metal Albums

1.Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Opeth - Still Life

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Due to my love for power metal recently being rekindled I thought I'd make a list of my all time favorite power metal albums. Some of those mentioned here are crossing over into different musical directions, but I still consider them to be mainly or at least to some extent power metal.
Also I'll limit myself to only one album per band.
The layout will be band/album/favorite song from the album

1.Crimson Glory - Transcendence

2.Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian

3.Blind Guardian - A Night At The Opera

4.Lethal - Programmed

5.Sanctuary - Refuge Denied

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For now the albums aren't in no particular order. I was blown away and still love all this albums after years listening. Trying to put 1 per band maximum, maybe more if they have different but awesome eras. Still in progress

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

3.Death - Symbolic

4.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

5.Metallica - Ride the Lightning

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1.The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced

2.Deep Purple - The Book Of Taliesyn

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

4.Deep Purple - In Rock

5.Deep Purple - Fireball

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Dream Theater are good for what they are, and what they are is a stepping stone into prog. To be fair, they have some great albums (WDADU, I&W, and Awake), but once Kevin Moore left, it's been a steady decline, leaving nothing but scattered moments.
These bands are, in a way, the 'next step.' They represent the meat of prog, in albums that showcase the range of the genre.

1.Anekdoten - Vemod

2.Arcane - Known / Learned

3.Arena - Contagion

4.Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two

5.Communic - Waves Of Visual Decay

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1.Opeth - Still Life

2.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

3.Ayreon - The Human Equation

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

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

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