This isn't necessarily the albums with my favourite songs, because sometimes the best songs are on albums that aren't necessarily that great as a whole. Here's some solid ones I find good enough to mention here though. I tried to limit my list to one per artist, with the exception of Amorphis, which I had to list three albums for, because I can't decide which one of the three is my favourite overall, and it's my favourite band by far. Anywhere, here be the albums, listed alphabetically because I suck at ranking, with a pick by me from each album for listening if you care.
Before diving into the Amorphis albums though, first a word about Amorphis in general: the genres listed for Amorphis in Wikipedia are progressive metal, melodic death metal, and folk metal, and in my opinion Amorphis has a sound I haven't quite found anywhere else yet. Also, in case anyone gets intrigued, I should probably recommend Queen of Time and particularly The Bee from it, since apparently people like them a lot, but they're among not my favourites, so you won't find them below.
Amorphis - Halo (2022)
Halo definitely doesn't have my favourite songs from Amorphis, but the album overall has probably the fewest misses on any Amorphis album - and even the other albums have good songs at worst. Halo has a bit of a heavier sound that other albums by Amorphis, with a bit of a more progressive side as well. Windmane here is probably the most progressive song by Amorphis in a really long time, so not necessarily the most representative song but I like it, so you shall have it:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kLv3xtfb3EqRE-MkbujhzeSBkizeEo-uk
Amorphis - Skyforger (2009)
Skyforger on the other hand has some of my favourite songs, but there's also a couple of misses on the album. I also feel like the album feels a bit similar overall (i.e. maybe a tad too little diversity), but still, there's some great songs on it, some of the best of Amorphis. Not much to say about the album otherwise, it's just a great Amorphis album. This one's definitely a solid pick:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0u9Q8P-FpM
Amorphis - Under the Red Cloud (2015)
Under the Red Cloud has a heavier sound than some of the previous albums by Amorphis, with a fair bit of keyboard presence as well. I don't like all the songs, but it feels like a very consistent album to me. Death of a King is well regarded but not my favourite, so you'll get Dark Path instead, with both growls and clean vocals, and what I feel is a certain kind of catchiness even:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJdyRYa6cg
Haloo Helsinki! - III (2011)
Finnish rock, mostly female vocals, one of the few artists whose lyrics resonate with me in any way. Nothing special, I guess, but just great rock music. Not the best songs from Haloo Helsinki! on this album, but probably the fewest misses and overall very nice songs too. Could use with a bit more diversity, but can forgive the lack of diversity if the songs are good enough. There's many songs I could pick from the album, but you'll get this one:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOnwNH8Icf3Th2B0djJ6akRBkkvXY0NSL
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)
I don't have to tell you about Linkin Park, do I? Anyway, here's a random pick:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2ts2GWOSv8
Machinae Supremacy - Overworld (2008)
To quote Wikipedia: "Machinae Supremacy is a Swedish/Finnish band that combines modern heavy metal, power metal and alternative rock with chiptunes". Not much else to say, with the exception that the vocalist is perhaps a bit of... an acquired taste. Anyway, here's a pick from Overworld:
Poets of the Fall - Twilight Theater (2010)
Poets of the Fall is behind Old Gods of Asgard from Remedy's games, e.g. Alan Wake and Control, so some of you might already be familiar with their sound. Anyway, to give you a better idea, Wikipedia lists these genres for PotF: alternative rock, post-grunge, and symphonic rock. Not much to say about this particular album, except that it has maybe the fewest misses from PotF. A pick from the album:
Full album (but randomly sorted, I guess): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3265F3DE3DF4B149
Undead Corporation - 紅染の鬼が哭く (2012)
You might already have guessed it, but I'm not great with genres. Touhou metal? Wikipedia lists the following genres: extreme metal, melodic death, metal, metalcore, deathcore, and Doujin music. Also, I have no idea how to spell/pronounce the name, I don't know what the songs are about, and the little I do know, it probably makes very little sense except in the Touhou context, so it's probably best I don't understand it either. Regardless, I think this album sounds awesome. This one's probably my favourite from the album:
Full album: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5uicykft5CnWSDIP0Quq_oE8bTCmoWi
Omissions
Like I said, I didn't necessarily list the albums with the best songs but the best wholes instead, where they also happen to be among my favourites on arbitrary criteria (e.g. I would probably have listed Silent Waters for Amorphis if I went for the best, because it's a really diverse album compared to my absolute favourites). Also, you might think I really like metal and rock music, which I do, but I do like other kinds of music as well. In particular, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, I do also like music with an electronic component to them. I just don't have whole albums to list here. And no, I'm actually not a fan of some of the biggest metal bands out there. Usually when I find an artist I like, I don't like others other people consider similar, which makes finding new music to listen to quite frustrating.
Last edited by Zkuq - on 19 July 2025
