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Keep in mind that these are my favorites hand picked for my list from my library of music. This list itself is ordered more or less in the preference I'd listen to these albums.

Some of the album have blurbs, in fact, most do. Some justify the album's appearnace and some are just observations or stating the album, example: "Basically the black metal equal of Gorguts's Obscura." Guess what album that is? Scroll down to find out.

1.Acid Bath – When the Kite String Pops
This is my all-time favorite album, both responsible for my interest in sludge metal and playing bass. Everything about the music this band put together and played is awe inspiring. It's not the most complex, technical, progressive, depressive, atmospheric or whatever else genre descriptors there are out there, but damn it if When the Kite String Pops isn't the best. This band is like Gene Wolfe and if you don't know who that is, well excuse me.

2.Eyehategod – Take As Needed For Pain
Or honestly: Any EYEHATEGOD album, I just forced myself to pick one so the list wouldn't be half EYEHATEGOD. Seriously, these guys did hate, malice and revenge long before deathcore kiddies knew what those words meant and they founded the most hateful genre around: sludge metal.

3.Clutch – Robot Hive: Exodus
Although Pure Rock Fury is a better rock album, Blast Tyrant is more ambitious and Strange Cousins has more blues elements, Robot Hive: Exodus captures Clutch at their best: hard hitting rock songs with blues, funk and metal elements all rolled into a some what proggy stoner rock envelope.

4.His Hero Is Gone – The Dead Of Night In 8 Movements
This is probably the best band to ever come out of Memphis. And the only reason I don't say the best is because I hear from very, very reliable sources that Jay Reatad is pretty good. Though, I doubt he gives His Hero Is Gone a run. Also, heard they're reforming, can anyone confirm this?

5.Intronaut – Prehistoricism
Jazzy, technical and progressive sludge metal. Wut? Yes. It's a rip-roaring adventure – yes, rip-roaring. The album still continues to surprise me where it goes.

6.Oranssi Pazuzu - Muukalainen Puhuu
This band reminds me if Satan rounded up some trolls then they all did acid before being abducted by aliens who forced them to play a tripped out The Beach Boys tribute album and it was beamed onto my computer. Is that entirely accurate? Yes, yes it is.

7.The Blood Brothers – Young Machetes
Why not Crimes? Why not Burn Piano Island Burn or March On Electric Children? Why not This Adultery is Ripe? Because this is my list and most of my favorite Blood Brothers songs are on this album – that and playing Set Fire To The Face On Fire at work is great for the lulz.

8.Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant
I know it's an EP, shut up. Mykonos is such a great song it alone puts this piece of work here.

9.Ulcerate – Everything is Fire
If you stood on the corner of Obscura Avenue and Close To A World Below Lane long enough you'd witness a terrible car wreck. From that terrible car wreck, this album would get up – still on fire mind you – and proceed to punish your ass.

10.Demilich – Nespithe
The Finns did a lot of things right: trolls, power metal and weird death metal. Demilich is the ultimate embodiment of weird death metal. Nespithe is filled with angular riffs, popping bass riffs, tempo changing drums and burped vocals.

11.Gorguts – Obscura
This album is the gold standard by which all other technical and progressive death metal is judged, and for good reason. This album is barely death metal because it's more a practice in creating the furthest composition from music as possible. Dissonant, technical and zogmazing.

12.Immolation – Close To A World Below
Grinding, crushing, marauding anti-Christian death metal. Just the way it should be? I think so.

13.!T.O.O.H.! - Rad a Trest/Order And Punishment
One of the most challenging albums that I've ever listened to. Progressive and technical death grind that leaves me scratching my head. Complex, weird, deep and excellent are words I'd attach to this album.

14.DEADBOY & THE ELEPHANTMAN – We Are The Night Sky
Hell at this rate, I might as well call this list “My top 50 favorite Dax Riggs bands.”

15.Arcturus – La Masquerade Infernale
Arcturus is a virtual supergroup of avant-garde black metal but functions more like a powerhouse band writing solid if weird songs. The Chaos Path is my personal favorite and this album is largely responsible for my interest in black metal since it showed me that not all of it was blast-blast-tremolo-shriek-shriek-no production because it was recorded in a frostbitten forest in Norway and therefore couldn't mic the drums correctly.

16.Solefald – Red For Fire
Bard sleeps with Queen, Queen says he raped her when the King finds out, King passes the order to execute the Bard, Bard escapes and exiles himself and plots to kill Queen. Thus sets the stage for the most epic black metal album ever, even more epic than Black for Death which finishes the tale.

17.Enslaved – Vertebrae
I wasn't a huge fan until I saw these guys live with Opeth. And seriously, Opeth got blown out of the water if you ask me. Sure, Opeth got a better reaction and had more effects going on (lights, smoke, et cetera), but Enslaved played much better and had more dynamics in their songs. The only reason I'm picking Vertebrae over something like Ruun or Mardraum which are probably better albums is because I'm more familiar with this one.

18.Akercocke – Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
Satanic black/death metal that isn't your usual run of the mill satanism – at least when encountered in metal, and I have to appreciate that. Besides, suits are snazzy as fuck. This was my introduction to Akercocke – well, I'd heard one song by them on Fuse so many years ago when they still had Julia around – and I have to say that I'm impressed. Are there better bands around? Yes, but ask yourself this, how many of them wear suits when they play? Not too many I bet.

19.Martyr – Feeding the Abscess
Very technical without the wankery. In fact, the wank has been neatly eliminated from this album.

20.mewithoutYou – Brother, Sister
While both I Never Said I Was Brave and Catch For the Foxes were more aggressive, I find the more laid back vibe found on Brother, Sister to be kinder to Aaron Weiss's poetry lyrics and allows more dynamics to take place other than standard post-hardcore wanny nanny songwriting.

21.Severed Savior – Servile Insurrection
Somewhere between technical/progressive death metal and brutal death metal, and I'm not quite sure which one more.

22.ZAO – The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here
Sure, not as many fans liked this album since it was a departure from their more metalcore sound and a lot of people hated the production, but the speed and intensity on this album really captures what Zao is all about: Daniel and crew's disgust with the modern world and how Christians treat their own – not to mention dealing with some of their own fears. Too bad Awake? didn't deliver the same results when they went for a sludgier sound and failed. And hey, at least it's not Funeral of God, which while it had the makings of a good album began to drag as the concept went on and then abruptly ended.

23.Septic Flesh – Communion
Sort of strange death metal is good but add in an orchestra and it becomes wunderbar!

24.Cryptopsy – Once Was Not
ogmz no none so vile? Believe it or not kiddies, Cryptopsy did make other albums that were good before they shit out The Unspoken King under the Hottopsy monkier.

25.She Said Destroy – This City Speaks In Tongues

26.Grief – Miserably Ever After
Do you hate the human race? Is it a fucking disgrace? This is the album for you.

27.Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Overrated, overhyped and overplayed but still a good album. Just don't buy into the fan belief that Jeff Mangum is some sort of music jesus.

28.Spawn of Possession – Noctambulent

29.Stargazer – The Scream That Tore The Sky
If you want blackened death metal and you want Martyr then you want Stargazer.

30.Portal – Outre

31.These Arms Are Snakes – Tail Swallower and Dove
I hear all this talk about how Tool is the best modern progressive rock band – or god forbid Radiohead or Muse, which are decent bands, or can at least pass as such, but so incredibly overrated that it renders their music completely moot – but These Arms Are Snakes make Tool like a bunch of amateurs on open mic night.

32.Celtic Frost – Monotheist
This is a towering album, it's like a tsunami that you don't realize how completely fucked you are until it rises up at the last second and demolishes everything within ten miles. Except its every song on this album, not just a build up of “Oh shit, oh shit oh shit” over the album.

33.Hour of Penance – The Vile Conception

34.Incantation – Onward to Golgotha

35.Misery Index – Traitors
Something good came out of Dying Fetus, too bad its nothing actually by them.

36.Dead Congregation – Grave of the Archangels
Blah blah blah. Incantation's Onward to Golgotha is on here twice. Still one of the most badass albums I've ever had and certainly one of the most kickass names around too.

36. Ripping Corpse - Dreaming With The Dead
After looking past my prejudices (see Voivod below) and some last minute editing, I'm replacing Dead Congragation with Ripping Corpse. This is a killer album that has some of the best riffs I've ever heard. I don't know what Rutan was thinking with Hate Eternal -- come on he even has Alex Webster and that band still has zero redeeming qualities -- but Ripping Corpse is a fucking masterpiece.

37.Deathspell Omega – Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum
Basically the black metal equal of Gorguts's Obscura.

38.DeathevokatioN – The Chalice of Ages
Another new old school death metal band, this one oozes along and gobbles up everything in sight and crunches it up in its maw while still moving. Everything is pretty much mid-paced with some faster riffs and leads here and there.

39.Demigod – Slumber of Sullen Eyes
The definitive Finnish death metal album if you pretend Demilich doesn't exist.

40.Dystopia – Human = Garbage
After His Hero Is Gone, this is my go to band for crust/sludge goodness.

41.Fleshpress – Pillars
Black metal meets sludge metal and creates a wonderfully punishing album. This chunk of music is a chore to listen to but it's worth it.

42.Psycroptic – The Isle of Enchantment

43.Shub Niggurath – Evilness and Darkness Prevail

44.Sickening Horror – When Landscapes Bleed Backwards

45.Vicitms – Killer
Actually met a fan of this band here in Memphis when I went to see Zombieland promotional show. It was weird because Memphis has shit taste in music.

46.Withered – Folie Circulaire

47.Tragedy – Nerve Damage

48.Wake Up On Fire – Wake Up On Fire
Sort of like Acid Bath without the huge grunge influence and Dax Riggs. More like a crusty Acid Bath without Dax Riggs. Maybe Acid Bath is a bad comparison.

49.Voivod – Nothingface
This is a wonderful album, very concise, well written, deftly executed, an exciting piece of work. So why is it so far down? I can't really stand thrash and I am largely unable to look past my prejudices. It's the only reason Ripping Corpse isn't appearing on this list.

50.Beloved – Failure On
Sludge, sludge, death metal, death metal, folk, death metal, rock, crust, hardcore....melodic “Christian” hardcore? That's probably the reaction a lot of people just go. But seriously, Failure On isn't the bestest album, nor is it anything too terribly special but it's well written and my own real compliant is that the screams start to grate on my nerves after the first listen to the album.