Just to be clear, my opinion of many of these albums has changed since the first time I heard them. And I get that some other famous titles would be funny to put here, but I'm going to spoil the fun and say I want to at least be truthful.

1.Anathema - A Fine Day To Exit

2.Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal

3.Clutch - Pure Rock Fury

4.Devin Townsend - Addicted

5.Divinefire - Farewell

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I know this is a bit late, but whatever...

1.Insomnium - One For Sorrow

2.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

3.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

4.Opeth - Heritage

5.Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

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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

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Looking at this list I realise that 2011 was a better metal year than I remembered it to be. Interesting year with a lot of surprises. The Shining album is in my opinion awesome, one of their best. Power Quest released their best album since "Wings of Forever". Amon Amarth keep on surprising me with solid releases (and I thought I was over them years ago). Opeth's "Heritage" was way better than my expectations. Amebix gave me some of the best tracks of '11. Overall, a really good year.

1.Shining - VII - Född Förlorare

2.Lifelover - Sjukdom

3.Aquilus - Griseus

4.An Autumn For Crippled Children - Everything

5.Öxxö Xööx - Rëvëürt

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1.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

2.The Haunted - Unseen

3.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

4.Mastodon - The Hunter

5.Flotsam & Jetsam - The Cold

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1.Mastodon - The Hunter

2.foo fighters - wasting light

3.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

4.High Spirits - Another Night

5.Opeth - Heritage

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The only reason that this is a top 14 is that this is the number of albums from 2011 that I've heard thus far. Aside from my top 7 or so, I found this year to be a bit disappointing overall.

1.Iced Earth - Dystopia

2.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

3.Scar Symmetry - The Unseen Empire

4.Draconian - A Rose For The Apocalypse

5.Opeth - Heritage

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Might add albums later on. This list is not finalized yet...

1.Stratovarius - Elysium

2.Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstasy

3.Dragonland - Under The Grey Banner

4.Almah - Motion

5.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

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2011 is almost over and here is the list of the best music I listened this year.

1.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

2.Anthrax - Worship Music

3.Vektor - Outer Isolation

4.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

5.Havok - Time Is Up

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2011 for me was a year where experimentation really took the spotlight, although not entirely accepted by fans, critics brought more attention to bands trying out something new.

1.Opeth - Heritage

2.Fair To Midland - Arrows & Anchors

3.Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

4.Mastodon - The Hunter

5.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

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1.Leprous - Bilateral

2.Symphony X - Iconoclast

3.Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

4.Jolly - The Audio Guide To Happiness (Part 1)

5.Pagan's Mind - Heavenly Ecstasy

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2011 have been a good year for metal, and here is my top 30 favourites!

1.Hell - Human Remains

2.Ceremonial Perfection - Alone In The End

3.Children Of Bodom - Relentless Reckless Forever

4.Megadeth - Th1rt3en

5.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

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1.Edguy - Age Of The Joker

2.Magnum - The Visitation

3.Turisas - Stand Up And Fight

4.Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

5.Powerwolf - Blood Of The Saints

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Purely subjective list based on personal preferences for the year, unrelated to mass opinion of an album or a band's abilities (e.g. Trivium, Oranssi Pazuzu) - many albums lined up to listen to so will increase in size. Also, not entirely in order, middle order mainly just an approximation.

1.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

2.Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

3.Infestus - E x I s t

4.Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

5.Ouroboros - Glorification Of A Myth

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2011 Metal

1.Mastodon - The Hunter

2.Opeth - Heritage

3.Animals As Leaders - Weightless

4.Unearth - Darkness In The Light

5.Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy

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