1.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

2.Thurisaz - Scent Of A Dream

3.Opeth - Morningrise

4.Empyrium - A Wintersunset...

5.Anathema - Eternity

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Still in development

1.Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery

2.Sonata Arctica - Silence

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

5.Angra - Temple Of Shadows

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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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1.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

2.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

3.Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God

4.Amorphis - Skyforger

5.At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul

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1.Cradle Of Filth - Cruelty And The Beast

2.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

3.Therion - Vovin

4.Anathema - Alternative 4

5.Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals

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Based on which tracks I enjoy listening to the most

1.Opeth - Still Day Beneath The Sun

2.Opeth - Deliverance

3.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

4.Opeth - Blackwater Park

5.Opeth - Still Life

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***NOTE: This is an opinion and everything is listed based on my own preferences. Feel free to disagree and tell me what your favorite Opeth albums are from best to worst.***

01. Blackwater Park

It would be nearly impossible to list any other album as #1 given that Blackwater Park is widely considered one of the best metal albums of all time regardless of genre. This is also the perfect place to describe what Opeth has historically offered as a musical entity and why it is worth delving deeply into their music catalog. Blackwater Park has all of the elements Opeth is known for: brutal death growls, soothing clean vocals, heavy, dense atmospheres seamlessly flowing into light, airy instrumentals. You never know what to expect from one moment to the next and that has always been one of the most exciting parts of any Opeth album.

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

3.Opeth - Still Life

4.Opeth - Watershed

5.Opeth - Morningrise

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There are not a lot of albums out there that are true masterpieces. But I'd like to create a list of albums that earn that title in my opinion. At the moment I can only think of 6 titles.

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Negură Bunget - OM

3.Agalloch - The Mantle

4.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

5.Opeth - Still Life

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Just for my favorite
2016.09.16

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

2.Symphony X - The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

3.Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane

4.Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime

5.Circus Maximus - The 1st Chapter

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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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1.Opeth - Morningrise

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Opeth - Still Life

4.Opeth - Damnation

5.Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

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same as rym except this obviously limits to metal albums which might be interesting. ah well it just meant iron maiden are 2x more of the albums

1.Deep Purple - The Book Of Taliesyn

2.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II

3.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

4.Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality

5.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath Vol. 4

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Simple ranking of all my favorite albums. Favorite song from the album in the notes. Sure to change/expand as I learn and explore more within metal.
2023: This was starting to get too long so I split it into separate lists for albums at each ranking 10 to 7. This list will no longer be updated.
10: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=6891
9: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7213
8: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=7512
7: https://metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=8058

1.Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

2.Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side

3.Ayreon - 01011001

4.Ulcerate - The Destroyers Of All

5.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

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1.

2.Fates Warning - The Spectre Within

3.Slauter Xstoyes - Winter Kill

4.Watch Tower - Energetic Disassembly

5.Trilogy - Life On Earth

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My other lists:
Tasty Stuff Not Currently Featured On MS
Most Talented Vocalists In Metal

"Which bands sound like Opeth?" It seems that perennial question has plagued fans and non-fans of the band alike since their inception. I have created this list in an effort to guide those hapless souls to the answer. Feast your eyes the exhaustive list of bands who take the word influence too literally (barring the obvious) for the better or...for you to decide. Enjoy and don't hesitate to recommend any bands fitting this description.

Links to all bands not currently featured on Metal Storm are provided below:
Adeia
Orion (IN)

1.Adeia - Serenity

2.Alley - Amphibious

3.Altesia - Paragon Circus

4.Aquilus - Griseus

5.Barren Earth - Curse Of The Red River

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