2000-2004 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5844
2010-2014 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5828
2015-2019 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6722

I sure do love this site and it's rating system, it makes finding great music so easy and, even more importantly, when an album is overlooked for a while but starts getting a buzz a few months later, boom, there it appears in the top 20.

All that being said, I still wish there was some way to get a weighted ranking that not only takes the rating of the album into account, but also the number of votes that were cast. For example, an album with a rating of 8.8 and 1000 votes would rank higher than an album with a rating of 8.9 and 20 votes. So, I scraped all the albums on the site with at least 1 vote into a database. Then, taking a leaf out of IMDb's book, I used Bayesian estimation (like the IMDb's Top 250) to calculate a weighted rating for each album based on its Metal Storm rating and the number of votes it had received.

The formula for calculating the Top 100 Albums gives a true Bayesian estimate:
Bayes rating (BR) = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) where:
C = average expected rating given...
m = minimum number of votes
R = average rating for the album = (Metal Storm rating)
N = number of votes for the album = (votes)

The way the Bayesian estimator works is that all albums in the database are given and additional m fake votes with an average rating of C, irrespective of how many true votes it already has. Then a new weighted rating is calculated...
If the album has no true votes ( N = 0 ), then BR = ( C × m + R × 0 ) ÷ ( m + 0) = C × m ÷ m = C (the average expected rating).
If the album has a number of true votes equal to the minimum ( N = m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × m ) ÷ ( m + m ) = ( C + R ) × m ÷ 2m = ( C + R ) ÷ 2 (halfway between the two ratings).
If the album has a very large number of true votes ( N >> m ), then BR = ( C × m + R × N ) ÷ ( m + N ) ≈ R × N ÷ N = R (the Metal Storm rating).
This means that the Bayes rating will never equal the Metal Storm rating but will approach it as the true votes grow arbitrarily large.

Now that the maths bit is out of the way, here was my methodology:
Only Studio and EP album types, from the years 2005 to 2009, with at least 1 vote, were included.
The average expected rating (C) was determined by averaging all the Metal Storm ratings from 2005-2009.
The minimum number of votes (m) was determined by calculating the 75th percentile of the votes, rounded to the nearest 10.
I also decided that if an album's Bayes rating was within 0.005 of #100, it would be included too; hence the +8.

C for 2005-2009 = 7.593
m = 20

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2005 - 26
2006 - 20
2007 - 23
2008 - 17
2009 - 23

Ratings are accurate as of 30/10/2023

1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

3.Be'lakor - Stone's Reach

4.Gojira - From Mars To Sirius

5.Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die

      View entire list ››

No particular order

1.Graveworm - As The Angels Reach The Beauty

2.Graveworm - Scourge Of Malice

3.Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid

4.Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst

5.Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

      View entire list ››

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 ››

It's always changing.

1.Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty

2.Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet

3.Equilibrium - Sagas

4.Týr - Ragnarok

5.Finsterforst - Rastlos

      View entire list ››

1.Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

2.Slipknot - Iowa

3.Summoning - Stronghold

4.Septicflesh - Communion

5.Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn

      View entire list ››

My top 3 albums per year starting in 1999.

1.

2.Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter

3.Finntroll - Midnattens Widunder

4.Shaman (FIN) - Idja

5.

      View entire list ››

A bunch of albums with a big circle on the cover

1.Karnivool - Sound Awake

2.Skyclad - The Silent Whales Of Lunar Sea

3.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

4.Pentagram - Pentagram

5.Russian Circles - Empros

      View entire list ››

SPOILER ALERT: This is mostly just black metal.
****Alphabetical Order

1.Abigor - Nachthymnen (From The Twilight Kingdom)

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Arckanum - Fran Marder

5.Arckanum - Antikosmos

      View entire list ››

This is my personal favourite top 50 albums of all time, this list can change because i can enter new things and my tastes may differ over time.

IS NOT UPDATED!

1.Cult Of Luna - Somewhere Along The Highway

2.Ulver - Perdition City

3.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

4.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

5.Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal

      View entire list ››

Favorite means Favorite!

1.Wintersun - Time I

2.Wintersun - Wintersun

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

5.Týr - The Lay Of Thrym

      View entire list ››

1.Meshuggah - Catch Thirtythree

2.Vektor - Black Future

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

4.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

5.Opeth - Blackwater Park

      View entire list ››

1.The Bug - London Zoo

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Sarcófago - I.N.R.I.

4.Cheshyre - Cheshyre

5.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

      View entire list ››

This is a list of some of my favorite black metal albums, one per artist, semi-random order. Its not a list of what I consider to be the best black metal albums of all time, but the ones I like the most. I'll keep updating it as I keep discovering more of the genre.

1-7 - 10/10
8-17 9/10

1.The Meads Of Asphodel - The Murder Of Jesus The Jew

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

4.Nechochwen - Heart Of Akamon

5.Caladan Brood - Echoes Of Battle

      View entire list ››

So I finally decided to go through with creating this list. The reason is simple: Summoning is easily one of my favourite bands ever. On top of that, they're also one of the most consistent bands ever, despite the fact that all the albums sound so different from each other. Yes, you read that correctly: to a Summoning fan literally every album is unique in their own way and don't really sound so much alike as people want to make you believe. One thing is certain, most of their albums (not Lugburz) fall under the category of mid-paced Epic Atmospheric Black Metal, with some Folk elements added here and there. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Summoning is definitely the ultimate Tolkien-influenced band. I added ratings (yes, they're very high, I'm aware of that) as well as the best songs (my personal favourites) of each album to the list, and a short description as well. Choosing the best songs was particularly hard for the top 3 albums, because most of the songs on those albums are excellent. Lastly, let me know your opinion by leaving a comment. After all, opinions is what these kind of lists are about.

1.Summoning - Let Mortal Heroes Sing Your Fame

2.Summoning - Stronghold

3.Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn

4.Summoning - Minas Morgul

5.Summoning - Oath Bound

      View entire list ››

My all-time best recordings. No particular order. This list will grow over time...

1.Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond

2.Dalriada - Kikelet

3.Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

4.Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II

5.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

      View entire list ››