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

      View entire list ››

1.Wintersun - Wintersun

2.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

3.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

4.Septicflesh - Communion

5.Insomnium - Above The Weeping World

      View entire list ››

1.Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

2.Iron Maiden - Killers

3.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

4.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

5.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

      View entire list ››

Just a list of classic thrash albums I really enjoy, since thrash has had such a good year this year. They are in no particular order.

1.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

2.Anthrax - Among The Living

3.Anthrax - Spreading The Disease

4.Artillery - By Inheritance

5.Assassin - The Upcoming Terror

      View entire list ››

Like my other genre-based lists, this exists purely for my own organizational purposes and not to provide a definitive statement about or guidebook to the thrash genre. I've folded some speed metal and other occasional outliers into this list, maybe a few not-so-thrash albums by otherwise-thrash bands, since they're close enough and I wasn't going to make a separate list.

1.Slayer - Reign In Blood

2.Gama Bomb - Citizen Brain

3.Cross Examination - Menace II Sobriety

4.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

      View entire list ››

1.Metallica - ...And Justice For All

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

4.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

5.Kreator - Hordes Of Chaos

      View entire list ››

Mightiest = albums I can listen to almost anytime/anywhere - no matter how many times they never wear out - and always give me pleasure, power, euphoria, goosebumps, inspiration and many other nasty things.
One album per year obviously, with some years missing in case i have not yet found an album mighty enough from that year.
Recommendations appreciated.

1.Amorphis - Under The Red Cloud

2.Anaal Nathrakh - Desideratum

3.Battle Beast - Battle Beast

4.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

5.Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

      View entire list ››

Metal albums (and yes, I consider metalcore to be metal) that rocked my world, with maximum 2 albums per band sorted by bands in alphabetic order. Live, EP and compilation albums allowed, also including hard rock and stoner rock albums.

It will be updated as I discover new bands so check it sometime

1.Alabama Thunderpussy - Open Fire

2.Alice In Chains - Dirt

3.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

4.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

5.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

      View entire list ››

Metal and not so metal albums that had huge impact on my taste as metalhead and love for "heavy" music, ordered approximately by time I first listened to them

1.Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

2.Children Of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll

3.In Flames - The Jester Race

4.Lamb Of God - Sacrament

5.Sepultura - Arise

      View entire list ››

The perfect ones. The ones that I could listen to over and over and never get bored.
I will be adding as I remember or got new ones.

1.Alcest - Écailles De Lune

2.Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here

3.At The Soundawn - Shifting

4.Atoma - Skylight

5.Camel - The Snow Goose

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

And they said the germans don't have nice metal music...

1.Kreator - Pleasure To Kill

2.Kreator - Extreme Agression

3.Kreator - Coma Of Souls

4.Kreator - Enemy Of God

5.Kreator - Violent Revolution

      View entire list ››

Just for my favorite
2016.09.15 update

1.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

2.Metallica - Master Of Puppets

3.Testament - The Legacy

4.Anthrax - Among The Living

5.Annihilator - Alice In Hell

      View entire list ››

So it is have been 3 year without few days since my last update ( it took me a while ),
And this top 100 prove's that we like to look into new genres or move back to 70' and yearly 80' for something easier to listen to. For me it was ambient/nefolk, some heavy metal and hardrock but in the end mostly heavy shit, my favourite death metal also black, trash metal and grind.

1.Skuggsjá - A Piece For Mind & Mirror

2.Vader - Welcome To The Morbid Reich

3.Aborted - The Necrotic Manifesto

4.Aborted - Global Flatline

5.King Diamond - The Graveyard

      View entire list ››

From last.fm (27.07.12)

1.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

2.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

3.Machine Head - The Blackening

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Machine Head - Through The Ashes Of Empires

      View entire list ››