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.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

2.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

3.Obituary - Slowly We Rot

4.Suffocation - Effigy Of The Forgotten

5.Deicide - Legion

      View entire list ››

My Favorites songs on drums…
A tribute to those great drummers…A Huge investigation about the name of those drummers and their best moments and songs

1.Rush - 2112

2.Van Halen - 1984

3.Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

4.Dream Theater - Train Of Thought

5.Dio - The Last In Line

      View entire list ››

Great Songs on the 4 Strings, Classic songs… Remember from the rehearsal of your band, when the guy on the bass start to move the fingers on that song? Well this is a tribute to that moment and a tribute to those genius of the 4 strings.

1.Metallica - Ride The Lightning

2.Tool - Lateralus

3.Rush - Moving Pictures

4.Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

5.Motörhead - Ace Of Spades

      View entire list ››

This list is meant to be an extensive, but by no means exhaustive, collection of the greatest (modern) metal albums and eps. Running the gamut from avant-garde to trve norweigan black metal. *As someone who is young in age, my tastes tend to revolve around the period of the 80s to the present.* Although certain metal albums from before will certainly be featured, the period of the 60s-70s will be under-represented. I refer you to this excellent list to gain a better appreciation for some of the best metal from that period: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/freis/martin_popoffs_the_top_500_heavy_metal_albums_of_all_time/

1.N.K.V.D. - Vlast

2.Naamah - Resensement

3.Nachtig - Nachtig

4.Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1

5.Nader Sadek - In The Flesh

      View entire list ››

jesus this is out of date, gotta take some time and update this....

1.Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris

2.Immolation - Close To A World Below

3.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

4.Cryptopsy - None So Vile

5.Suffocation - Pierced From Within

      View entire list ››

1.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

2.Thurisaz - Scent Of A Dream

3.Opeth - Morningrise

4.Empyrium - A Wintersunset...

5.Anathema - Eternity

      View entire list ››

These are the Must-Do's of Black and Death Metal. This list was made in no particular order.

1.Ruins - Spun Forth As Dark Nets

2.Origin - Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas

3.Odious Mortem - Cryptic Implosion

4.Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding

5.Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse

      View entire list ››

1.Atheist - Unquestionable Presence

2.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

3.Morbid Angel - Covenant

4.Cannibal Corpse - Butchered At Birth

5.Deicide - Deicide

      View entire list ››

1.Death - The Sound Of Perseverance

2.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

3.Meshuggah - Nothing

4.Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane

5.Nocturnus - The Key

      View entire list ››

Listen to metal for more than the half of my life, here is the list of my favorites albums of all time.

1.Alcest - Les Voyages De L'âme

2.Alcest - Kodama

3.Alcest - Spiritual Instinct

4.Alestorm - Sunset On The Golden Age

5.Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea

      View entire list ››

I started listening to metal music when I was a teenager, somewhere around the end of the 90's. After all these years, I thought it was high time to compose my personal top list of metal albums. What you see here is the absolute best of the best ... according to my taste.

To compile this list I have put all albums that I have given a 10/10 here on MS. Then I have put all these albums in a Ranking Engine (https://www.pubmeeple.com/ranking-engine) where they were put head to head and I had to choose which I liked more. The list below is what came out of this exercise.

1.Opeth - Deliverance

2.Opeth - Blackwater Park

3.Edge Of Sanity - Crimson

4.Edge Of Sanity - Purgatory Afterglow

5.Cobalt - Eater Of Birds

      View entire list ››

**Trigger warning**

Albums and EPs rated 8.6+ from 100+ votes which I've given an 8 or lower to.

I've listened to and rated every album on MS that meets this criteria (at time of most recent update) - some of them multiple times - so I feel I can give my honest opinion.

The purpose of this is to list and order the albums that I simply don't "get" and to try re-listening to them in the hope of understanding why they've received so many 9 and 10 votes.

Ordered by my rating then MS rating then number of votes.

Updated: 03-Jan-24

My other lists:
Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated)
Top 25 EPs (also ordered & rated)
Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres)
So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)

1.Anathema - Judgement

2.Paradise Lost - Draconian Times

3.Anathema - Alternative 4

4.Motörhead - Ace Of Spades

5.Motörhead - Overkill

      View entire list ››

1.Death - Scream Bloody Gore

2.Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law

3.Death - Leprosy

4.Autopsy - Severed Survival

5.Morbid Angel - Altars Of Madness

      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 ››