What Are Your Favorite Metal Albums Ever?

Well...... TBH, you know how I am about lists.

MA: Nice. One can see a lot of consistency.... which is how an honest list would be. Sometimes you see "favorite lists" that it seems like people purposely list only one album or song from each group.. trying to prove the diversity of their tastes or some such. I see no "egregious" omissions or inclusions, at least not IMO, and since of course it is your list.. it looks fine. ... wait..... HOW DARE YOU NOT LIST EVERY DREAM THEATER ALBUM IN ORDER AS YOUR TOP ALBUMS!!!! What kind of Prog Metal lover are you!!!!!!!!!!

POSEUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

=P

I honestly can't categorically state my top 100 in order.. and then do it again tomorrow, and have ti the same. (I honestly don't believe anyone could blind, I don't think short of having an eidetic memory, anyone could seriously list their top 20 in order a week apart and have the same exact albums in the same order. Sorry. =P) So the only ones in order are my top 5.

1) MASTER OF PUPPETS - METALLICA

- People can pooh pooh it all they want. A perfect blend of Metal styles from classic Heavy Metal to Melodic Metal to Doom laden tracks like The Thing That Should Not Be to full on Thrash. All Killer, no Filler. There may be individual songs on other albums that I like better than ones on this, but as a complete package, track A-Z, no one album has ever captured the sound of Metal more perfectly for me.

--Top Track- THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE (and the S&M version is even better)

2) POWERSLAVE - IRON MAIDEN

- My all time fave album from my all time favorite band. Much like MoP, I love every second on that album, and the production, especially for it's time is nothing short of stunning. How did the fave from my fave get to be second? Because while I love Maiden more than Metallica in total, I still find myself listening to that first album more than any other one, even 24 years later.

--Top Track- 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT / POWERSLAVE (tie)

3) RIDE THE LIGHTNING - METALLICA

- I know many of the Metallica faithful list it the other way around, and they can give good reasons, But I find Trapped Under Ice, Fight Fire with Fire and Escape all to be a little boring TBH, so even though the Rest of the Album is amazing, with For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ktulu and Fade to Black being amongst the greatest thing sever done by Metallica...those 3 tracks drag the album down as a whole.

--Top Track- FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

4) SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON - IRON MAIDEN

- Another Maiden album that gets less love than it deserves. But much like Powerslave, I find no weak track on the whole album. So, while people might roll out Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind, or even the first 2 Maiden albums, and point to the myriad classic this from them... they also have almost as many mediocre songs on them.. and again.. we are talking about ALBUMS, not individual tracks. While it is true most of the younger generation, thanks to downloading don't view the world as album-centric as I do, I can't list an album as "THE BESTEST EVAH!" Just because it has one epic song.. if the rest is mediocre.

--Top Track- INFINITE DREAMS

5) LIGHTNING TO THE NATIONS - DIAMOND HEAD

- The fifth album I never go on a road-trip without. Mind you I also have a goodly dozen other albums mixed in, both new and old at any given time,. but this album opened the door for older 70s Metal for me, and of course, helped inspire bands like Metallica and Megadeth to start the whole Thrash thing... which as a Thrasher first and foremost I will forever be grateful.

--Top Track: AM I EVIL (favorite Metal song of all time)

6) Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer

7) Peace Sells but Who's Buying - Megadeth

8) Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

9) And Justice For All - Metallica

10) Rust in Peace - Megadeth

The top ten is pretty easy.. as almost everyone of them have been albums I have listened to, loved and never tired of in 20 years or so of listening. Yeah, not very diverse.. hey.. Iron Maiden and Metallica are my two favorite bands, and I grew up full on into Thrash, so TBH if I see a list that looks cherry picked for diversity, IMO, it seems a little less sincere, and trying to garner cred.

Now as for the rest, I am not even remotely gonna try to order them, just pop them in batches of ten so I can keep track. I'm also going to avoid listing any albums from this year, not as a knock, but so often we get all enthused about how great an album is.. then in 6 months, a year or whatever.. it kinda gets old and loses it's luster. So while I highly doubt I will lose my love of the Final Frontier, Ironbound or Relentless Retribution, for instance.. to be able to categorically state them as part of my top 100 of all times seems like I am speaking in the emotion of the moment to me, not being truly objective.

Kill Em All - Metallica

Act III - Death Angel

Frolic Through The Park - Death Angel

Coma of Souls - Kreator

Souls of Black - Testament

The New Order - Testament

Practice What You Preach - Testament

Enter the Grave - Evile

Infected Nations - Evile

Chaos AD - Sepultura

Those Once Loyal - Bolt Thrower

Realm of Chaos - Bolt Thrower

Warmaster - Bolt Thrower

... For Victory - Bolt Thrower

IV Crusade - Bolt Thrower

Human - Death

Individual Thought Patterns - Death

Symbolic - Death

Across the Open Sea - Unleashed

The Grand Leveller - Benediction

Elements - Atheist

Unquestionable Presence - Atheist

Piece of Time - Atheist

Testimony of the Ancients - Pestilence

Spheres - Pestilence

Focus - Cynic

Dance of Death - Iron Maiden

Brave New World - Iron Maiden

Piece of Mind - Iron Maiden

Reflections - Apocalyptica

Design Your Universe - Epica

The Divine Conspiracy - Epica

Consign to Oblivion - Epica

Century Child - Nightwish

Once - Nightwish

Doomsday Machine - Arch Enemy

Rise of the Tyrant - Arch Enemy

Seasons - Sevendust

Animosity - Sevendust

Home - Sevendust

Slania - Eluveitie

Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion - Eluveitie

Spirit - Eluveitie

Goi Rode Goi - Arkona

Ot Serdtsa K Nebu -Arkona

Vinland Saga- Leaves Eyes

Mare Nostrum - StormLord

Horror Show - Iced Earth

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Forlorn - Avathar

Comalies - Lacuna Coil

Karmacode - Lacuna Coil

Vovin - Therion

From Mars to Sirius - Gojira

Horrorscope -Overkill

Gods of the Earth - The Sword

Turning Season Within - Draconian

Operation Mindcrime - Queensryche

The Skull Collectors - Hibria

Death Penalty - Witchfinder General

Mind you for the most part I steered away form EPs for simplicities sake, except for Forlorn, which is just too epic not to mention, and away from Near Metal stuff like GLAM or Evanescence, or Proto-Metal, like BoC, Zeppelin, Budgie, etc.

MQ3: ehhhhhhhhhhh..... not trying to say you need to get out more or anything..... but ummmmmmmmmmm =/

Yeah... I ain't gonna touch it bro. Sorry.

I don't know that much about metal but it seems like a very good list. I'm glad to see that Never Say Die! is high up there as I think it's underrated.

MQ2:

1. Volume 4 - Black Sabbath

2. Ride The Lightning - Metallica

3. Master Of Puppets - Metallica

4. Rust In Peace - Megadeth

5. Number Of The Beast - Iron Maiden

6. Sabotage - Black Sabbath

7. The Downward Spiral - Nine Inch Nails

8. Troublegum - Therapy?

9. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine

10. Reign In Blood - Slayer

MQ3: I've been meaning to make a similar list on RYM too but I can never decide on the order, it just keeps changing. Anyway, there's a lot of albums on your list that I haven't listened to yet but I love the majority of the one's that I have heard. Overall, I'd say it's a great list.

Gotta be honest, man.

Apart from Therion, Helstar, Tank, Sortilège and Corrosion Of Conformity I've heard of all those bands, and listened to most of those albums as well (apart from the Lacuna Coil and Opeth ones). Although I don't agree on the order of the albums, a lot of them would definitely have their rightful place in my top 100 list.

Once by Nightwish is not a bad choice at 11!

However, my overall favorites are;

1 Just Quit Trying - The Cumshots

2 At The Edge Of Time - Blind Guardian

3 Animals As Leaders - Animals As Leaders

4 For Aeons Past - Solution .45

5 Mordium - Mordium

6 Insomnia - Pandemonium

7 Tyranny Of Souls - Bruce Dickinson

8 Ashes Of Existence - Burden Of Life

9 Last Sons Of Evil - The Cumshots

10 Hellfire Club - Edguy

11 Route 666 - Helltrain

12 Night Of The Stormrider - Iced Earth

13 A Sense Of Purpose - In Flames

14 Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

15 Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park

16 The Fury Of Our Maker's Hand - DevilDriver

17 Annihilation Principle - Lääz Rockit

18 The Artificial Theory For The Dramatic Beauty - Crossfaith

19 Overcome - All That Remains

20 The Farthest Reaches - Son Of Aurelius

Yes. Yes I did include Metalcore and Nu Metal into that list. Sue me.

Nightfall in Middle Earth - Blind Guardian

Vo Slavu Velikim - Arkona

Keeper of the 7 keys- Helloween

Hey Karl. It is good to see you around again. I don't really feel like thinking too hard right now. I don't really have a list compiled together and stored somewhere like you do, lol. Though if I had to give out awards for albums that reached "perfect" status, these albums may very well do the trick.

Isis- Celestial

Between The Buried and Me- Colors

Dark Tranquillity- Fiction

In Flames- The Jester Race

Jason Becker- Perpetual Burn

Jeff Loomis- Zero Order Phase

Porcupine Tree- Stupid Dream

Tool- Aenima

Amorphis- Am Universum

Iron Maiden- Somewhere In Time

MA: Well, I can't say that I am really surprised by anything that you have on your list. You have brought those bands up on this site many times before, so I guess that is showing how loyal you truly are to some of these bands.

MA3: That is very long, lol. I will see if I can take a look at it later though. Nice lists.

EDIT: Trolls in R&P? *sigh* Some things never change.

MA: I like several albums there, focuses on Classic/Power/Doom Metal, I differ in than I'd have more Progressive and Post Metal.

MA2:

Lateralus - Tool

... And Justice for All - Metallica

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Dream Theater

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Panopticon - Isis

The Sound of Perseverance - Death

Focus - Cynic

Blackwater Park - Opeth

Welcome to Sky Valley - Kyuss

Demons & Wizards - Uriah Heep

MA3: See comment on RYM 8) ... yeah I am not really shocked by any choices... tho Ratt being above Bitches Brew kinda made me double-take. :P And I love Asia's debut so I never mind seeing them high on a list.

Looks good. I like what I know, but I'm not familiar with a lot of them. I'm not that into metal. It's not that I don't like it, it's just I mainly only listen to it when I'm really pissed off, working out or skateboarding, and I tend to always listen to the same albums in rotation...

MA2: It's probably a little cliche, but this is what I listen to most...

Paranoid - Black Sabbath

The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden

Master of Puppets - Metalica

Into the Everflow - Psychotic Waltz

Focus - Cynic

Elements - Atheist

Sad Wings of Destiny - Judas Priest

Blackwater Park - Opeth

Symbolic - Death

Rust in Peace - Megadeth

Perfect Symmetry - Fates Warning

MA3: Awesome. Kinda surprised to see Asia that high up, but it's all good. Did you write all those reviews? That really kicks ***! I gotta get around to making one of those lists...

MA: Great list. Took a lot of time and patience i presume. :P

MA2: Top 20 (not is any order apart from the top 5)

1) Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

2) Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick

3) Morbid Angel - Covenant

4) Dream Theater - Images and Words

5) Anathema - Alternative 4

Wintersun - Wintersun

Orphaned Land - Sahara

Ahab - The Call Of The Wretched Sea

Disembowelment - Transcendence into the Peripheral

Doom:vs - Aeternum Vale

Death - Symbolic

Rigor Mortis - Rigor Mortis

Kalisia - Cybion

Vinterland - Welcome My Last Chapter

Skepticism - Stormcrowfleet

Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death

Veil - Sombre

Coldworld - Melancholy ^2

Akercocke - Antichrist

Gojira - From Mars to Sirius

1) Blood Fire Death- Bathory

2) Transilvanian Hunger- Darkthrone

3) Bathory- Bathory

4) The Return of Darkness and Evil - Bathory

5) Nordland- Bathory

6) Sonic Brew- Black Label Society

7) Cowboys from Hell- Pantera

8) Fire up the Blades- 3 Inches of Blood

9) Once Sent from The Golden Hall- Amon Amarth

10) Enemy of God- Kreator

11) Demigod- Behemoth

12) Filosofem- Buruzm

13) Belus- Burzum

14) Under a Funeral Moon- Darkthrone

15) Sacrament- Lamb of God

16) No Remorse- Motorhead

17) Nemesis Divina- Satyricon

18) World Painted Blood- Slayer

19) Impressions in Blood - Vader

20) Follow the Reaper- Children of Bodom

I would list a top 100 but I do not have the time. Perhaps I'll come back and edit this question later.

What do I think of your list? I like it. However I'm not exactly the biggest Metallica fan out there. Good choices other than that

1. Load - Metallica

2. Greatest Hits - Metallica

3. Master Of Puppets - Metallica

4. Greatest Hits Volume 1 - KoRn

5. Sacrament - Lamb Of God.