In no particular order, I'm also gonna write some short descriptions to refrain from totally shameless namedropping.
Anathema - Judgement:
An album that truly made me go from a 100% metalhead to appreciating calmer and more melancholic music. Possibly the one CD that has spent the most time on my playlist.
Death - Symbolic:
One of the best Death Metal albums of all time, without a doubt. Simply a bunch of brilliant and incredibly memorable tunes. Dead or a live, Chuck was a genius.
Dismember - Like An Everflowing Stream:
For me, this is _the_ Death Metal album. Every damn song is pretty much perfect, despite the slightly untight playing. Great production values, as well.
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day:
My favourite Katatonia CD as well as the album that pretty much wrote the book on how to play Doom/Death. Excellent atmosphere with Mikael's demonic vocals as the icing on the cake.
Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down:
A great, addictive album full of perfectly balanced tunes. When naming my favourite tracks on LFDGD it's impossible to stop even after mentioning five of them.
Katatonia - Tonight's Decision:
Sort of similar to LFDGD in terms of why it belongs on this list. The tunes are just undeniably brilliant.
Lumsk - Asmund Fraedegjevar:
An oddball band that opened me up to Viking and Folk Metal a couple of years ago. Heavy brooding guitar riffs mixed with violins and choirs, and surprisingly it works like a charm. Still my favourite band of the genre.
Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black:
A great combination of storytelling, feeling and mindblowing musicianship. One hell of a unique journey, full with excellent tunes like "No More Will" and "Beyond Within".
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia:
This is one of the few album that can compete with newer Katatonia in terms of forming an addiction. Just the quantity of time I've spent listening to songs like "Blackest Eyes" and "Trains" motivates this nomination.
The Crown - Deathrace King:
A band that somewhat disappeared from my playlist in recent times. Still, I can't deny the power of this album. Fast, catchy and well-written melodic Death Metal with thrash influences.