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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This list will expand later and the positions here will probably change a bit as well. An interesting feature is an album in top 10 from a band that's not featured on Metal Storm yet.

1.Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

2.Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows

3.MyGrain - MyGrain

4.Constantine - Divine Design

5.Chaos Divine - The Human Connection

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2008 might've been my first proper taste of metal, with the acquisition of albums from the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath and that most grandiose of gateway bands, DragonForce. 2009 might've seen me expanding my palette, with Iron Maiden, Alice In Chains, Avenged Sevenfold, and more entering my world, and Guns N' Roses triumphantly re-entering it. But 2010 was when I delved into more 'intense' stuff with Machine Head, In Flames, and most notably of all, Sylosis, and saw my relationship with metal shift from ever-increasing interest into full-blown love affair. To commemorate this 5-year anniversary, and because I love making lists, I decided to do a retrospective of the best albums and songs that have been released during this time period, and give brief tributes to them. Yay music!

1.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

2.Sylosis - Monolith

3.Protest The Hero - Volition

4.Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR

5.Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone

      View entire list ››

Albums which I'am waiting for the most in 2011.

1.Opeth - Heritage

2.In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading

3.Týr - The Lay Of Thrym

4.Trivium - In Waves

5.Korn - The Path To Totality

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1.Machine Head - Unto The Locust

2.Shining - VII - Född Förlorare

3.Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

4.Septicflesh - The Great Mass

5.Beyond Creation - The Aura

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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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Well it seems to be the popular thing to do (creating a 2011 faves list) so why shouldn't I jump on the bandwagon too...

Alphabetically of course...although if I was going to put one at the top it would be Archspire (it's unfortunate I haven't seen it on many lists)...

1.Abysmal Dawn - Leveling The Plane Of Existence

2.After Oblivion - Vultures

3.Archspire - All Shall Align

4.Before The Dawn - Deathstar Rising

5.Beyond Creation - The Aura

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My best to worst of 2011 so far. I'll keep this updated as the year progresses and as I listen to more.

1.Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning

2.Vektor - Outer Isolation

3.Haken - Visions

4.Esoteric - Paragon Of Dissonance

5.Thy Catafalque - Rengeteg

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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.Revocation - Chaos Of Forms

2.Hell - Human Remains

3.Obscura - Omnivium

4.Charred Walls Of The Damned - Cold Winds On Timeless Days

5.Disma - Towards The Megalith

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1.Avantasia - Angel Of Babylon

2.Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony

3.Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies

4.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

5.Accept - Blood Of The Nations

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1.The Autumn Offering - Embrace The Gutter

2.Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen

3.For Today - Fight The Silence

4.It Dies Today - Sirens

5.Bury Tomorrow - Black Flame

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Without repeating bands, not in mega particular order but roughly

1.Watain - The Wild Hunt

2.The Faceless - Autotheism

3.Behemoth - The Satanist

4.Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra

5.The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack

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1.All That Remains - The Fall Of Ideals

2.Protest The Hero - Kezia

3.Lacuna Coil - Comalies

4.Trivium - In Waves

5.Opeth - Blackwater Park

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1.Avenged Sevenfold - City Of Evil

2.DevilDriver - The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand

3.Five Finger Death Punch - War Is The Answer

4.Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes

5.Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache

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