A lot of bands have great debut albums. Obviously this list is just a fraction of all the great debut albums out there, but it's a start. I'll keep expanding this list continuously, so all suggestions are welcome (granted they are featured on MS). All the albums here are ranked according to genre and then alphabetically. If a certain album belongs to the (in your opinion) wrong genre, then definitely let me know.

1.

2.Aarni - Bathos

3.Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia

4.Diablo Swing Orchestra - The Butcher's Ballroom

5.Sadness - Ames De Marbre

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Bands listed alphabetically, One album per band (With the exception of Carcass and Napalm Death who appear in the Grind and Death Metal sections). Some bands may not be pure old school (Death / Thrash, Doom Death / Death Doom and early Brutal / Technical Death Included) I have also Included some of the more extreme Thrash releases that pre-dated the genre but undoubtedly help pave the way for things to come, I included these as I wish to give a general summary of the way Death Metal began and evolved throughout the 80's and 90's.

1.

2.Abhorrence - Abhorrence [EP]

3.Acrostichon - Engraved In Black

4.Adramelech - PsychoStasia

5.Afflicted - Prodigal Sun

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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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*** MAX 3 ALBUMS PER ARTIST!!! (Except Death) Also... While extra weight will be given to classic death metal albums, this list will also include exceptional examples of melodic death, death-grind, technical/progressive death, death-thrash, and blackened death. LPs ONLY. *** /\ UNDER CONSTRUCTION /\

1.Cryptopsy - None So Vile

2.Death - Symbolic

3.Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten

4.Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious

5.Death - Human

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An entirely subjective list of my all-time favourite metal albums, well lets better say albums/genres featured on MS, since not all here is precisely metal.
Objective quality is not a criteria here, just how much I like the album. Ordered by preference, top down.

1.Anathema - The Silent Enigma

2.Opeth - Morningrise

3.Estatic Fear - Somnium Obmutum

4.My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

5.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss

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1.Obituary - Slowly We Rot

2.Entombed - Left Hand Path

3.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

4.Asphyx - The Rack

5.Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back To Life

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Almost all album titles fall in one of two categories: The album shares the title with one of its songs (the title track) or, alternatively, the album title is independent from the songs (no title track).

However, there are examples of songs that have a central link to the album title without sharing the same name. In these cases, certain lyrics from the song were chosen as the album title.

This (alphabetical) list shows the names of these “hidden title tracks” and the central lyrics that gave the name to the corresponding album.

Please feel free to suggest more of your favorite metal/hard rock examples of these “hidden title tracks”.

1.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

2.A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agalloch - The Mantle

5.Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

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These are my top 100 favorite albums - they are the reason why I love metal!
Enjoy!
Format: Band | Album | (genre, release year, country) What I like about the album; Favorite songs
Statistics:
Genre:
Death: 28
Black: 20
Thrash: 19
Heavy: 15
Progressive: 9
Power: 4
Doom: 4
Symphonic: 1
Years with most album favorites:
1995: 8
1996: 7
1990: 7
1984: 5
Countries with most album favorites:
USA: 35
Sweden: 20
UK: 16
Norway: 6

----Last Update: June 15, 2022----

1.Judas Priest - Painkiller

2.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

3.Megadeth - Rust In Peace

4.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

5.Death - Spiritual Healing

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My personal top 50 list.
(In no particular order)

1.Decrepit Birth - Polarity

2.Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse

3.Blue Öyster Cult - Blue Öyster Cult

4.Joe Satriani - Time Machine

5.Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull

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1.Behemoth - Evangelion

2.Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery

3.Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

4.Grave - Into The Grave

5.Behemoth - Demigod

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In no particular order. Will be expanding as I listen to more albums. Only one album per band, be sure to check the rest of the discography by yourself.

1.Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

2.System Of A Down - System Of A Down

3.Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler

4.Anacrusis - Manic Impressions

5.Death - Symbolic

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All my favourite songs ranked in order best down.

1.Rush - 2112

2.Deep Purple - In Rock

3.Jethro Tull - Aqualung

4.Rainbow - Rising

5.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

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1.Adramelech - PsychoStasia

2.Armageddon - Crossing The Rubicon

3.Asphyx - Last One On Earth

4.At The Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease

5.Atheist - Piece Of Time

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1.Carcass - Heartwork

2.Entombed - Clandestine

3.Napalm Death - Harmony Corruption

4.Pestilence - Testimony Of The Ancients

5.Gorefest - False

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It is not uncommon that album titles are chosen after the band`s name. However, song titles that include or are identical to the band`s name are relatively seldom found.
This is an alphabetical list of song titles with the (entire) band name / band names after (their own) song titles.

Please feel free to suggest further titles/bands.

1.(hed) p.e. - Broke

2.71TONMAN - 71TONMAN

3.Ænigmatum - ÆNIGMATUM

4.Æther Realm - One Chosen By The Gods

5.A Feast For Lampreys - Graveyard Abyss

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