The Best of the Decade List

All right, wimps and/or posers, we’ve sorted through our best of 2019 list, but that is child’s play compared to coming up with a best of the decade list. In fact, it was so tough the list is getting doubled. Brace yourselves; here come the best 50 albums of the 2010s!

Voyager: The Meaning Of I – As much as I enjoy the newer, djentier Voyager sound, the songs on this album are etched into my soul. “The Fire Of Times” and “Iron Dream” are just two examples of why this is such a perfect mix of old school and modern prog metal.
Volbeat: Beyond Hell, Above Heaven – This was Volbeat’s breakout album, and is arguably their best release. This still gets plenty of replays.
Eclipse: Bleed & Scream – Eclipse had a few albums out and gradually improved with each one, but Bleed & Scream might as well have been the work of an entirely new band. It immediately shot the band to the top of the melodic rock scene, and it still has some of their most unforgettable songs.
Ghost: Meliora – There probably isn’t a bigger success story in the past decade than Ghost’s rise to stardom. Yes they have an obvious gimmick, but their albums have gotten better and better, and this one is the best of the bunch. Catchy, spooky, heavy and creative. The haters can leave the hall.
Voyager: V – Voyager pushed their sound into more modern, djent-friendly territory here, but still retained the utterly irresistible melodies they’re known for. The songs are so catchy you (almost) miss just how damned technical they are.
Ghost – Infestissumam – Ghost’s second album proved they were more than just a cool gimmick. Instead of taking the easy way out and delivering another satanic Blue Oyster Cult album, the band pushed the envelope and gave us a heavy/psych/prog album that defied expectations. It’s not a stretch to call Ghost the Artist of the Decade.
Avantasia: Ghostlights – There were plenty of good – even great – Avantasia albums before this one, but Ghostlights was the album where everything came together perfectly. Sublime vocal performances, a fantastic storyline and grand theatrical songwriting.
The Night Flight Orchestra: Amber Galactic – The idea that a bunch of death metal veterans would put out the best modern AOR/yacht rock album was pretty unlikely, but that’s what Bjorn “Speed” Strid and company did. It’s the most 1982-sounding thing since, well, 1982.
Pretty Maids: Kingmaker – Another “Artist of the Decade” contender, at least in the melodic rock sphere. Pretty Maids has a long and impressive history, but since hooking up with producer Jacob Hansen in 2010 they put out some of the best albums of their career. Kingmaker is arguably the best of the bunch.
Amorphis: Queen Of Time – Not that Amorphis has a bad album to their name, but Queen Of Time is their first completely perfect album since Elegy. It’s progressive, melodic, heavy and trippy, and just the perfect example of the “new” era of Amorphis.
Ghost: Prequelle – Their latest is damn near a rock opera, and it has some of their catchiest songs ever.
H.E.A.T: Address The Nation – The first H.E.A.T album with vocalist Erik Gronwall, and aside from Eclipse probably the best modern melodic rock band.
Leprous: Bilateral – Mind-melting progressive metal that pushes all of the boundaries.
Voyager: Colours In The Sun – The best album of 2019 is only a few months old and already deserves a high spot on this list.
Pretty Maids: Pandemonium – The first in a new era for the band.
Eclipse: Paradigm – Only a couple of months old and already better than (most) of the albums that came before it. An instant Eclipse classic.
H.E.A.T: Tearing Down The Walls – Another anthemic melodic rock classic and proof positive that no one does melodic rock better than the Swedes.
Pretty Maids: Motherland – Another modern classic from Pretty Maids and Jacob Hansen.
Eclipse: Armageddonize – The follow-up to Bleed & Scream is most fans’ second-favorite Eclipse album, and with good reason.
Sorcerer: The Crowning Of The Fire King – Epic, melodic doom metal that sounds like the second coming of the Tony Martin era Black Sabbath.
Volbeat: Outlaw Gentlemen And Shady Ladies – This western-themed Volbeat album brings some seriously catchy hard rock songs.
Ghost: Opus Eponymous – An unforgettable debut dripping with dark nostalgia. It would have ranked higher but they kept releasing better and better albums.
Within Temptation: The Unforgiving – This is where the band decided they were done with genre labels and restrictions, and they’ve never looked back.
Witchcraft: Legend – Dark, hypnotic heavy psychedelic throwback rock done to perfection.
Volbeat: Seal The Deal And Let’s Boogie – More rock than metal, but it has so many memorable songs.
Avantasia: Moonglow
The Night Flight Orchestra: Sometimes The World’s Ain’t Enough.
Free Spirit: All The Shades Of Darkened Light
Eclipse: Monumentum
James Labrie: A Static Impulse
Amorphis: Under The Red Cloud
Powerwolf: Preachers Of The Night
Poets Of The Fall: Ultraviolet
Brother Firetribe: Diamond In The Firepit
Beast In Black: Berserker
Barren Earth: On Lonely Towers
Borknagar: Winter Thrice
Avantasia: The Wicked Symphony
Angel Witch: As Above, So Below
Allen-Lande: The Showdown
Pretty Maids: Undress Your Madness
Magic Dance: Vanishings
Orange Goblin: A Eulogy For The Damned
The Magnificent
Mustasch: Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven
James Labrie: Impermanent Resonance
Serious Black: As Daylight Breaks
Treat: Coup De Grace
Grand Magus: The Hunt
Widow: Life’s Blood