1.Afgrund - Vid Helvetets Grindar

2.After Forever - After Forever

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

5.Alcest - Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde

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1.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

2.Rammstein - Mutter

3.Primordial - To The Nameless Dead

4.The Gathering - Mandylion

5.Alice In Chains - Dirt

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My absolute favorite prog rock/metal albums. None of these are less than a 9/10 to my ears. No particular order.

1.Spock's Beard - Snow

2.Devin Townsend Project - Terria

3.IQ - Dark Matter

4.Dream Theater - Awake

5.Marillion - Clutching At Straws

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1.Rotting Christ - Sanctus Diavolos

2.Behemoth - Demigod

3.My Dying Bride - Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light

4.Vader - The Beast

5.Wintersun - Wintersun

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A list with mini-reviews. The albums are in no particular order. Lists are fun, eh?

I will be adding more albums to this as time goes by.

1.Opeth - Morningrise

2.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

3.Spock's Beard - V

4.Enslaved - Isa

5.Aquilus - Griseus

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The music of progressive metal features complex, layered arrangements in longer than typical songs, often including lengthy instrumental passages allowing the performers to display technical proficiency and interplay. Many time signature changes are common, as is the incorporation of Western classical music influences. The sound is generally driven by the guitars and drums, but it is quite typical to add elements non-standard to rock or metal such as synthesizers and an array of orchestral elements.

1.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

2.Cynic - Focus

3.Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia

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AtoZ (Album)

1.Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

2.Ihsahn - After

3.Anthrax - Among The Living

4.Faith No More - Angel Dust

5.Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition

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For many, some of the more extreme types of metal can be challenging to penetrate. I'll admit that my first time listening to Burzum was nearly the equivalent of listening to a buzz-saw. But over time, I found my ears became acclimated, so to speak. All of the beauty and subtlety within became more and more apparent. Now I find listening to Darkthrone to be little different from listening to Vivaldi. Okay, maybe that is an overstatement, but you get the idea. The point of this list to help those looking for a more gradual path from unkvlt to kvlt, if you will. IHopefully it provides some assistance. The top represents some of the more mainstream, well-produced (but still solid) releases, while working your way down results in a stripping away of sound quality, melody, and radio-friendly content. The list ends with a mixture of gritty second wave and mentally challenging avant guarde stuff. This is far from comprehensive, so feel free to hit the forums for some deeper cuts. I also welcome thoughts on reordering as this was no easy task for one set of ears.

1.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

2.Melechesh - Enki

3.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

4.Immortal - All Shall Fall

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

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More like Best to less-best and one dud. My full reviews of each album are available under my same name at metal archives. Feel free to message me with what you think. My full reviews below:
Mardraum
Blodhemn
Isa
Frost
RUUN
Axioma
VV
In Times
RIITIIR
Monumension
Eld
BTL
Vertebrae

1.Enslaved - Mardraum - Beyond The Within

2.Enslaved - Blodhemn

3.Enslaved - Isa

4.Enslaved - Frost

5.Enslaved - Ruun

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Listen to these today. I limited later Enslaved releases, as they become less and less "black metal" as time goes on. That is not to say you should not check them out.

1.Immortal - Sons Of Northern Darkness

2.Enslaved - Mardraum - Beyond The Within

3.Enslaved - Isa

4.Gorgoroth - Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam

5.Absu - Tara

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1.Bathory - Under The Sign Of The Black Mark

2.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

3.Master's Hammer - Ritual

4.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

5.Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

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My top 100 Albums, sorted in descending order of favorites. Pretty rough list, I may update if I become un-lazy sometime. One album per band only. Some explanation and description provided for those who aspire to waste as much time on this site as I do.

1.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

2.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

3.Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor

4.Opeth - Still Life

5.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

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There are the albums that have impressed me. Alphabetical orders. Hope you enjoy this list.

1.Acatalepsy - Acatalepsy (EP)

2.Across Tundras - Dark Songs Of The Prairie

3.Aelter - Dusk Dawn/Follow You Beloved

4.A Forest Of Stars - The Corpse Of Rebirth

5.Ain Sof Aur - Atra Serpens

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Some albums are really good. Many of these are good all the way around. And, in many cases, there is a single song that stands out, sometimes it's the last song on the album. This is a list of those songs.

For a more in depth look at this, I've codified each into a given category:
Type 1 - 'The long song at the end.' Often the title track. These have a tendency to be most well written and dynamic pieces on the album.

1.!T.O.O.H.! - Order And Punishment (Řád A Trest)

2.Abigail Williams - Becoming

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Amon Amarth - Versus The World

5.Anekdoten - Vemod

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I must admit this is one of my favorite bands. I really like every Enslaved Album, from first to last, but some of them are better than others.

1.Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini

2.Enslaved - Isa

3.Enslaved - Below The Lights

4.Enslaved - In Times

5.Enslaved - Frost

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