Note: Tool intentionally ommitted because they don't consider themselves metal. Otherwise you'd see their first 4 albums in top 25.

Last updated: 27 March 2024.

1.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Opeth - Blackwater Park

4.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

5.Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath

      View entire list ››

2005-2009 list: http://www.metalstorm.net/users/list.php?list_id=5838
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 2000 to 2004, with at least 1 vote, were included.
The average expected rating (C) was determined by averaging all the Metal Storm ratings from 2000-2004.
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 +5.

C for 2000-2004 = 7.599
m = 30

Number of albums from each year in the list:
2000 - 15
2001 - 27
2002 - 14
2003 - 20
2004 - 29

Ratings are accurate as of 30/10/2023

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Agalloch - The Mantle

3.Tool - Lateralus

4.Wintersun - Wintersun

5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

      View entire list ››

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

3.Green Carnation - Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness

4.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

5.Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet

      View entire list ››

A little list series where I list my top 20 favorite metal albums every year starting from the year I was born in.

2001 was pretty great year... for metal that is, one of the best in my opinion, this year was especially great for Symphonic metal, power metal and Folk metal. Also 2001 saw the release of a couple of the most Iconic albums in progressive metal history.

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.System Of A Down - Toxicity

3.Rammstein - Mutter

4.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

5.Moonsorrow - Voimasta Ja Kunniasta

      View entire list ››

This is my top albums (only with those where I gave 8 or more). I will update the list now and then

1.Slipknot - Iowa

2.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

3.Opeth - Ghost Reveries

4.Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

5.Slipknot - Slipknot

      View entire list ››

Maximum three Albums per Year, starting in 1991

1.Bathory - Twilight Of The Gods

2.Master's Hammer - Ritual

3.Samael - Worship Him

4.Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky

5.Immortal - Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism

      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'll listen to this after I come back home"
I'm so sick of doing this.There are many,many albums that I KNOW will enjoy if I finally make time to listen too. This is more of a personal list,so I can keep track of what I need to hear.

1.Leaves' Eyes - Njord

2.Exodus - Pleasures Of The Flesh

3.Darkthrone - Circle The Wagons

4.Kreator - Coma Of Souls

5.Kreator - Violent Revolution

      View entire list ››

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

      View entire list ››

I feel these are the top ten albums that you must listen to if you consider yourself a fan of the genre. This list could have been dominated by Amon Amarth and Enslaved in particular if I hadn't made the restriction.

1.Bathory - Blood Fire Death

2.Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side

3.Borknagar - The Olden Domain

4.Enslaved - Blodhemn

5.Ensiferum - Ensiferum

      View entire list ››

1.Van Halen - Women And Children First

2.Rush - Moving Pictures

3.Rush - Signals

4.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

5.Iron Maiden - Powerslave

      View entire list ››

Overall year rating:
5/5

1.Opeth - Blackwater Park

2.Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress

3.Evoken - Quietus

4.Tool - Lateralus

5.Novembre - Novembrine Waltz

      View entire list ››

These are albums that I'm currently enjoying. They may be classics that I'm revisiting or new gems I've recently discovered. (Ordered alphabetically)

- A star (⭐️) denotes a new discovery that I find exceptionally special!
- A flame (🔥) denotes an album that I've heard before, enjoyed, and am revisiting this month!

1.Burzum - Filosofem

2.Cobalt - Gin

3.Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon

4.Catacombs - In The Depths Of R'lyeh

5.Duelist - Spaghetti Western Black Metal

      View entire list ››

Welcome to what I consider the "1001 Metal Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" or in other words, a list of records of various genres in the arrays of Metal and Hard Rock that I deem essential or at least very recommended to listeners of hard and heavy music. This may be a very overwhelming list but I essentially try to collect all albums in the History of Metal that strike me as worthwhile. May this be a guideline for people that seek for an entrance to a particular genre or certain bands. In no means I am saying, that this list is indisputable by any means. I consider these my personal picks for albums that should be listened to by die-hard metal fans at least once. Hopefully you can discover some new music or relate with my picks. If I missed something that you would include in such a list, please tell me in the form of a comment. Enjoy! \,,/

1.High Tide - Sea Shanties

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

4.Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come

5.Josefus - Dead Man

      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 ››