1.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2.Psygnosis - Human Be[ing]

3.Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds

4.Descend - Wither

5.Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend

      View entire list ››

An ongoing list for personal use as well as for reference for beginners (& veterans alike). This is solely my personal opinion and taste (Death & Prog mostly but do give every genre a try). Basically will include albums I've rated 8 & above. Sorted by year since I'll need a Venn diagram to sort by genre (seriously MS please make it happen if possible). Will feature multiple releases per year (obviously) and per band (since if a band is putting out better albums it deserves more recognition). Keeping the metal faith alive from India

1.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

2.King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King

3.Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

4.Black Sabbath - Paranoid

5.Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself

      View entire list ››

So here it is > These are the releases i tend to hear most of the time this year. Some of my all time favourite bands released weak albums while others suprised me while i was cooking pasta .Fell free to comment and tell me your positive opinion (or else you will reveive tons of shit etc)

1.Aenaon - Extance

2.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

3.Major Parkinson - Twilight Cinema

4.Mors Principium Est - Dawn Of The 5th Era

5.Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity)

      View entire list ››

My list of 2014 likes (to be expanded). Notes can and will change during the year, since I like listening to albums multiple times and have a really good view before the final note.

I'd say 3/5 is my default note, just an okay CD with nothing spectacular.

1.Soen - Tellurian

2.Opeth - Pale Communion

3.Evergrey - Hymns For The Broken

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

5.Threshold - For The Journey

      View entire list ››

Album Ratings & Positions subject to change as albums grow on me, or fail to stick with me.

9-10 = A
8-9 = B
7-8 = C
6-7 = D
0-6 = F

1.Behemoth - The Satanist

2.Goatwhore - Constricting Rage Of The Merciless

3.Job For A Cowboy - Sun Eater

4.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

5.Carnifex - Die Without Hope

      View entire list ››

Just an organized list of my favorite albums of the year, in order of most liked, onward.

How I rate albums has little to do with the order of this list. Obviously, I'm not going to give an album a low rating and include it (anything I rate below an "8" gets left out), but there's a sense of semblance, regardless. Also, just because I give a rating of 8+ doesn't mean I will include it. An album can be good and also be something I don't care to listen to more than a few times.

1.Insomnium - Shadows Of The Dying Sun

2.The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li

3.Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen

4.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

5.Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

      View entire list ››

Here are the albums coming up in 2014 that I have heard and will anticipate. Like last year, every album will be in order by what I hear first. Reviews and scores for each album to follow as the year goes.

1.Behemoth - The Satanist

2.Sunn O))) - Terrestrials [Collaboration]

3.Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us

4.Alcest - Shelter

5.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

      View entire list ››

Ratings go from:

WORSHIP ❤️❤️❤️: Absolute greatness, a mindblowing album.
LOVE ❤️❤️🖤: Amazing release with very few flaws.
LIKE ❤️🖤🖤: Enjoyable but far from perfect.
DISLIKE 💔: Not very good or maybe not fitting my tastes.

I've decided to stop rating albums with a numerical value as I tend to feel uncomfortable with that. This list has a minimalistic, subjective and visceral approach, based purely on sensations and personal tastes. Mainly for personal use and doesn't pretend to be a serious ranking, but emerges from the need to remember which bands and albums I enjoyed and the ones I disliked. I constantly revisit new releases so first impressions may change over time. It usually takes 8-10 spins for me to get completely sure of a rating.

1.Æther Realm - Tarot

2.Abhoria - Abhoria

3.Acid Bath - When The Kite String Pops

4.Agrypnie - Metamorphosis

5.Allegaeon - Fragments Of Form And Function

      View entire list ››

Ranking some of the albums I got this year. I will return to edit accordingly with my favorites. Thumbs up if you concur.

1.Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

2.Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

4.Mors Principium Est - Dawn Of The 5th Era

5.Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity)

      View entire list ››

Work In Progress.

Releases not featured on MS:

Nobody.One - Ocean Echo

Enabler - La Fin Absolute Du Monde

Widek - Outside The Universe

1.Mechina - Xenon

2.Allegaeon - Elements Of The Infinite

3.Revocation - Deathless

4.Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

5.Alcest - Shelter

      View entire list ››

Favorite albums of the year.

1.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

2.Rishloo - Living As Ghosts With Buildings As Teeth

3.Lantlôs - Melting Sun

4.Gates - Bloom and Breathe

5.Falloch - This Island, Our Funeral

      View entire list ››

The goats. The near perfect albums that never get old. Some are full of catchy bangers I'm always humming, and some are so full to the brim of details that I still haven't even uncovered them all.

A brief outline of my ratings:
8.5-9.0 = An excellent album with a few mild drawbacks (Weak song, slightly irritating vocals, odd flow)
9.0-9.5 = Perfect albums that haven't quite warranted the time-earnt 9.5+.
9.5-9.9 = Perfect albums that have stood the test of time, ranked by preference.
10 = I don't expect to hear another album like these, ever.

(I use 'perfect' lightly as it makes no sense for a man-made creation to be flawless. 'Perfect' is simply a term to outline how high a level of enjoyment is, specifically the level of enjoyment when minor faults become insignificant.)

(I evaluate albums outside of metal vastly differently to the ones here, which explains the lack of representation of my other favourite genres. Blue Sky Mining is an exception due to being structured very similarly to my optimal metal album. I may add some picks from other genres down the line.)


STATS:
I know y'all don't look at my lists, so these are purely for my own interest.

-Decades
'10s: 37
'20s: 25
'00s: 7
'90s: 2

-Genres (By best fit or most prominent)
Prog: 35
Death: 11
Power: 9
Symphonic: 4
Black: 4
Soundtrack: 3
Contemporary: 2
Folk: 1
Doom: 1
Rock: 1

1.Devin Townsend - Empath

2.Memories Of Old - The Zeramin Game

3.Wintersun - Time I

4.An Abstract Illusion - Woe

5.Persefone - Aathma

      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 ››

1.Septicflesh - Titan

2.Autumnal - The End Of The Third Day

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

4.Novembers Doom - Bled White

5.Epica - The Quantum Enigma

      View entire list ››

This is my personal list based on the albums i've enjoyed listening to the most this year, consider it a best to worst based on all the albums i've checked out from 2014. Bear in mind i'm a power metal fan for the most part - also this list does not reflect the views of others on MS, but some of the albums here are pretty decent and you should check some of them out.!!!!

1.Galneryus - Vetelgyus

2.Equilibrium - Erdentempel

3.Arch Enemy - War Eternal

4.The Algorithm - OCTOPUS4

5.Ancient Bards - A New Dawn Ending

      View entire list ››