50+ Albums from your collection you couldn't do without

[ravenheart]

I know many of us here have large album collections, but I've often wondered what, if it came to it, would be the pick of my own personally that I couldn't do without.

The 50 or so go-to albums that I never tire of listening to and would have to keep at all costs.

So, what about the rest of you? Anything goes, including compilations and live albums.

I'm going to have an initial stab at it... in no specific order other than the order they come to mind:

1. Testament - The Gathering
2. Pride & Glory - Pride & Glory
3. Halford - Resurrection
4. Zakk Wylde - Book of Shadows
5. Metallica - S&M
6. Ayreon - The Human Equation
7. Dream Theater - Train of Thought
8. Dio - Magica
9. Alice Cooper - Brutal Planet
10. Iron Maiden - Brave New World
11. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
12. Megadeth - The World Needs A Hero
13. Overkill - Horrorscope
14. Saxon - Lionheart
15. Aerosmith - A Little South of Sanity
16. Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest For The Wicked
17. Paul Weller - Days of Speed
18. Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
19. Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer
20. Black Sabbath - Headless Cross
21. Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N' Roll
22. Deep Purple - Abandon
23. White Zombie - La Sexorcisto
24. Hell - Human Remains
25. Iced Earth - Alive In Athens
26. Pentagram - Last Rites
27. W.A.S.P. - Headless Children
28. W.A.S.P. - Unholy Terror
29. Richie Kotzen - Into The Black
30. Alice Cooper - Classicks
31. KISS - KISS
32. KISS - Creatures of The Night
33. Damian Wilson - Live In Rehearsal
34. AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip
35. Wino & Conny Ochs - Heavy Kingdom
36. AC/DC - Highway To Hell
37. Anthrax - Worship Music
38. Arena - Immortal?
39. Judas Priest - Metal Works
40. Judas Priest - Live In London
41. Tim "Ripper" Owens - Play My Game
42. Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
43. Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
44. Bruce Dickinson - The Best of Bruce Dickinson
45. Bruce Dickinson - Alive In Studio A
46. Bryan Adams - Waking Up The Neighbours
47. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
48. Celtic Frost - Monotheist
49. Clutch - Clutch
50. Days of The New - Days of The New
51. Rammstein - Live Aus Berlin
52. The Almighty - Crank
53. Goatsnake - Flower of Disease
54. Candlemass - Doomed For Live
55. Motley Crue - Motley Crue
56. Spiritual Beggars - Ad Astra
57. Stuck Mojo - Southern Born Killers
58. Stuck Mojo - HVY1
59. The Scream - Let It Scream
60. Godsmack - The Other Side
61. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
62. Grand Magus - Monument
63. Gov't Mule - The Deepest End
64. Iommi - Iommi
65. Amor - Amor
66. Killswitch Engage - Alive Or Just Breathing
67. The Workhorse Movement - Sons of The Pioneers
68. Skid Row - Slave To The Grind
69. Union - The Blue Room
70. Sixx:A.M. - The Herion Diaries
71. Randy Piper's Animal - Violent New Breed

And this is why I struggle. Trimming this down to 50 is hard, and there are a shit-ton of artists I love who aren't even represented (King Diamond, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Motorhead, Pain of Salvation, Pantera, Threshold, Down, Thunder, and so on).

Good luck trimming your own to 50...

[christopher]

I'll try this out

1. Hank III - Straight to Hell
2. Hank III - This Aint Country
3. Hank III - Bootleg #3
4. Goddamn Gallows - Ghosts of the Rails
5. Goddamn Gallows - 7 Devils
6. J.B. Beverley and the Waywayrd Drifters - Dark Bar and a Jukebox
7. Social Distortion - Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll
8. Saint Vitus - Born too Late
9. Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
10. Marilyn Manson - Holywood
11. Jayke Orvis - It's All Been Said
12. Hellbound Glory - Old Highs and New Lows
13. Bad Religion - No Control
14. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
15. 357 String Band - Lightning from the North
16. Viva le Vox - Desperation Alley
17. James Hunnicutt - Live at Knotty Pine
18. Wormrot - Abuse
19. Insect Warfare - World Extermination
20. Toxic Holocaust - Hell on Earth
21. Leftover Crack - Mediocre Generica
22. No Cash - Run Your Pockets
23. GG Allin and the Murder Junkies - Brutality and Bloodshed for All
24. GG Allin - Carnival of Excess
25. Those Poor Bastards - Songs of Desperation
26. TSOL - Dance With Me
27. Muse - Origin of Symmetry
28. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
29. Metallica - Ride the Lightning
30. Dystopia - Human = Garbage
31. Rudimentary Peni - Echoes of Anguish
32. Nails - Unsilent Death
33. Eyehategod - Take as Needed for Pain
34. Slayer - Reign in Blood
35. A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms
36. Skarp - Requiem
37. Terrorizer - World Downfall
38. Bill Monroe - Kentucky Bluegrass
39. Wugazi - 13 Chambers
40. Unknown Hinson - The Future is Unknown
41. Blink 182 - Dude Ranch
42. Master - Master
43. Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today
44. Black Breath - Heavy Breathing
45. Airbone Toxic Event - Airborne Toxic Event
46. Nasum - Inhale/Exhale
47. Lack of Interest - Trapped Inside
48. Youth of Today - Break Down the Walls
49. Liquorbox - The Devil Came a Knockin'
50. Highlonesome - The Unholy Gospel

These are the first 50 to come to mind...

[zgodt]

1. Tom Waits - Blue Valentines
2. Ani Difranco - Little Plastic Castle
3. Hot Water Music - Caution
4. The Clash - London Calling
5. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
6. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
7. Sleater-Kinney - The Hot Rock
8. Chopin - Polonaises
9. Prokofiev - Violin Concertos
10. Tom Waits - Small Change
11. Tom Waits - Mule Variations
12. Hot Water Music - Exister
13. Mastodon - Leviathan
14. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
15. Baroness - Blue Record
16. Sam Cooke - Live at Harlem Square
17. Husker Du - Zen Arcade
18. The Pogues - Rum Sodomy and the Lash
19. The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
20. Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike
21. Iron Maiden - bootleg of Ullevi show from Early Days tour
22. Dalriada - Arany Album
23. Noisettes - What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?
24. Nina Simone - mix my friend Aracelis gave me
25. Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um
26. Guillermo Klein - Una Nave
27. Arcade Fire - Funeral
28. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
29. Dismemberment Plan - Change
30. Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance
31. Thee Michelle Gun Elephant - Greatest Hits
32. Go!Go!7188 - Go! Go!Go! Go!
33. The Back Horn - Pulse
34. Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re - Sex on the Beach
35. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
36. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
37. Soul Asylum - Hang Time
38. Burning Airlines - Mission: Control
39. Channels - Waiting for the Next End of the World
40. Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks
41. Hanggai - He Who Travels Far
42. KRS One - mix my friend Kevin made me
43. Talib Kweli - Quality
44. Pharaohe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)
45. The Roots - Rising Down
46. Idris Goodwin - mix Kevin made me
47. Clutch - Blast Tyrant
48. Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime
49. Eluveitie - Helvetios
50. Stolen Babies - There Be Squabbles Ahead
51. Fugazi - Repeater
52. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
53. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
54. Hostage Calm - Hostage Calm
55. In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
56. Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another
57. Metal Church - The Dark
58. NoMeansNo - Wrong
59. NoMeansNo - The Worldhood of the World (As Such)
60. NoMeansNo - The Day Everything Became Isolated and Destroyed
61. System of a Down - Toxicity
62. They Might Be Giants - Dial-a-Song
63. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
64. Hot Snakes - Audit in Progress
65. Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
66. Elvis Costello - This Year's Model

...is what comes to mind off the top of my head.

[BloodoftheKings]

Damn, this was hard. There's quirte a few albums that I put down thinking they definitely had to be on the list then I found my self erasing them to make room for others.

EDIT: Just read the OP and realized I could have gone over 50. I'll just keep it at 50 instead of going back into my itunes.

1. Faith No More - King For a Day... Fool For a Lifetime
2. Faith No More - Angeldust
3. Mr. Bungle - Mr. Bungle
4. The Devin Townsend Project - Addicted!
5. The Devin Townsend Project - Ki
6. The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction
7. Strapping Young Lad - City
8. GWAR - America Must Be Destroyed
9. GWAR - Scumdogs of the Universe
10. GWAR - Carnival of Chaos
11. Dead Kennedys -Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
12. Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters
13. Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
14. Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
15. Alice in Chains - Dirt
16. Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies
17. Anthrax - Among the Living
18. Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
19. Anthrax - Persistence of Time
20. Bad Brains - Bad Brains
21. Bad Religion - Against the Grain
22. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
23. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
24. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
25. Black Flag - Damaged
26. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
27. Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
28. Cannibal Corpse - Kill
29. Carnivore - Retaliation
30. Choking Victim - No Gods/No Managers
31. Death Grips - The Money Store
32. Descendents - Milo Goes to College
33. Descendents - I Don't Wanna Grow Up
34. Descendents - Cool To Be You
35. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
36. Iron Maiden - Powerslave
37. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
38. Judas Priest - Painkiller
39. Judas Priest - British Steel
40. Slayer - South of Heaven
41. Madvillain - Madvillainy
42. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
43. Mastodon - Leviathin
44. Slayer - Reign in Blood
45. Megadeth - Rust in Peace
46. Metallica - Ride the Lighting
47. Metallica - Master of Puppets
48. Minor Threat - Complete Discography
49. The Misfits - Walk Among Us
50. OFF! - First Four EPs

[ChrisLovesMetal]

It's past 5 A.M. right now, and I'm quite bored, so I figured I'd make a list and join the discussion as well. Also, I thought it'd be more fun if I limited it to only two albums max per artist, to make it a little more diverse. Here's my top 50 (in no particular order; that would just be way too hard):

1. Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull
2. Five Finger Death Punch - American Capitalist
3. Five Finger Death Punch - War Is The Answer
4. Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
5. Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
6. Disturbed - The Sickness
7. Tool - 10,000 Days
8. Tool - Lateralus
9. Rammstein - Mutter
10. Rammstein - Reise, Reise
11. Linkin Park - Meteora
12. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
13. Papa Roach - Old Friends From Young Years
14. Papa Roach - Infest
15. Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy
16. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
17. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
18. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
19. Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen
20. A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
21. A Perfect Circle- Thirteenth Step
22. Ashes Divide - Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
23. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
24. Metallica - ...And Justice For All
25. Metallica - Black Album
26. Shinedown - Sound Of Maddness
27. Trivium - In Waves
28. Velvet Revolver - Contraband
29. Alice In Chains - Facelift
30. Queen - Classic Queen
31. Blink 182 - Greatest Hits
32. Days Of The New - Days Of The New
33. Flyleaf - Flyleaf
34. Halestorm - Halestorm
35. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
36. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
37. Staind - Staind
38. Three Days Grace - One-X
39. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
40. Pink Floyd - The Wall
41. Soundgarden - Superunknown
42. System Of A Down - Toxicity
43. Rev Theory - Light It Up
44. Rise Against - Appeal To Reason
45. Ozzy Osbourn - The Ozzman Cometh
46. Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction
47. Andrea Bocelli - Romanza
48. AC/DC - Back In Black
49. Nirvana - Never Mind
50. Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by ChrisLovesMetal

32. Days Of The New - Days Of The New

Duuuude

[ravenheart]

Originally Posted by christopher

I'll try this out

All that country in there and no Waylon?

[kalfitegrdan]

I'll try this. Don't have the biggest CD collection though.

1. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe (First CD I ever bought)
2. Slayer - Show No Mercy
3. Slayer - Christ Illusion
4. System of a Down - Toxicity
5. Teenage Bottlerocket - Freak Out!
6. Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side
7. Rammstein - Liebe ist fur Alle da
8. Rammstein - Sehnsucht
9. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated
10. Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide
11. Anti-Flag - Underground Network
12. Anti-Flag - For Blood and Empire
13. Behemoth - Demigod
14. Behemoth - Evangelion
15. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
16. Rush - 2112
17. Deicide - Scars of the Crucifix
18. Ensiferum - From Afar
19. Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom
20. Dethklok - Dethalbum
21. Dethklok - Dethalbum II
22. Dimmu Borgir - In Sorte Diaboli
23. Eyehategod - Confederacy of Ruined Lives
24. High on Fire - Death is This Communion
25. Hammerfall - Threshhold
26. Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake
27. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
28. Napalm Death - The Code is Red...Long Live the Code
29. NOFX - War on Errorism
30. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
31. Suicide SIlence - The Cleansing
32. Venom - Black Metal
33. Led Zeppelin - Mothership
34, The Ramones - Ramones Mania
35. Dying Fetus - Descend Into Depravity
36. Oceano - Depths
37. Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity
38. The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate
39. Aborted - The Archaic Abattoir
40. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
41. Avantasia - The Scarecrow
42. Beneath the Massacre - Dystopia
43. Mindless Self Indulgence - You'll Rebel to Anything
44. Mindless Self Indulgence - Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy
45. CKY - Volume 1
46. Hawkwind - In the Hall of the Mountain Grill
47. Heaven Shall Burn - Iconoclast
48. Sadus - Chemical Exposure
49. Bad Religion - No Control
50. Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First
51. Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

Probably could have cut one out, but didn't feel like it.

[christopher]

Originally Posted by ravenheart

All that country in there and no Waylon?

I thought about that. I wanted to include Waylon, David Allan Coe, Hank Jr, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Cash, Haggard, Faron Young, Jimmy Martin and so on but there are too many great albums among them to narrow it down to one.

[GWAR654]

Ill try this out...

1. Korn - Korn
2. Korn - Life Is Peachy
3. System of a Down - Toxicity
4. Disturbed - The Sickness
5. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated
6. Disturbed - Ten THousand Fists
7. Metallica - Kill em All
8. Metallica - Ride The Lightning
9. Metallica - Master of Puppets
10. Metallica - ...And Justice for All
11. Cannibal Corpse - Kill
12. Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition
13. Dying Fetus - Killing on Adrenaline
14. Behemoth - Demigod
15. Behemoth - Santanica
16. Behemoth - Evangelion
17. Behemoth - The Apostasy
18. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
19. Linkin Park - Meteora
20. GWAR - Hell-O
21. GWAR - Scumdogs of the Universe
22. GWAR - American Must Be Destroyed
23. GWAR - Carnival Of Choas
24. GWAR - Violence had Arrived
25. Marilyn Manson - Holywood
26. Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
27. Lamb Of God - Ashes of the Wake
28. Lamb Of God - Wraith
29. Volbeat - Beyond Hell/Above Heaven
30. Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
31. Arch Enemy - Doomsday Machine
32. Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin
33. Dave Brockie Expierence - Diary of a Madman
33. Godsmack - Faceless
34. Papa Roach - Infest
35. Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Delux
36. Metallica - The Black Album
37. Tenacious D - Tenacious D
38. Mushroomhead - XIII
39. Mushroomhead - Savior Sorrow
40. Mushroomhead - Mushroomhead
41. Mushroomhead - XX
42. Mushroomhead - Superbuick
43. Mushroomhead - M3
44. Mushroomhead - Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children
45. Ventana - American Survival Guide Vol. 1
46. Slipknot - Slipknot
47. Slipknot - Iowa
48. Static X - Wisconsin Death Trip
49. Korn - Follow The Leader
50. Korn - Issues

I know mostly mainstream bands but i love all these cds and listen to them all ALOT