21 Best Metal Albums of the 21st Century... So Far

METALSUCKS PRESENTS THE 21 BEST METAL ALBUMS OF THE 21ST CENTURY… SO FAR

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Enough with the teases. Here’s the real deal.

Back in April, we polled 57 musicians, managers, label reps, publicists, and writers from within the world of metal (including the staff of MetalSucks) for the 21 Best Albums of the 21st Century… So Far. Eligible albums were released between January 1, 2000 and April 1, 2009 (Yes, we’re aware that technically the century didn’t start ’til 2001. But we decided not to be dicks about it.). Each panelist turned in a ballot, with their #1 album pick being awarded 21 points, their #2 album being awarded 20 points, their #3 album being awarded 19 points, and so on and so forth. Then, once all the ballots were in, we tallied ’em all up and compiled the final list based entirely on which albums had scored the most amount of points.

Starting Monday, we’ll be counting down the list one album a day, starting at #21 until we reach the #1 album in July. In addition to the MetalSucks staff, we’ve recruited some cool guest writers – including contributors to Decibel, Revolver, Metal Injection, NoiseCreep, and many others – to blog about each album.

Of course, the list is sure to incite a great deal of heated debate amongst you MetalSucks Maniacs. If nothing else, the results are fascinating – a look at the best records of the past nine years, as democratically selected by the people intimately involved with the creation of the music we all love.

All the ballots will remain under lock and key, to be viewed only by Axl and Vince, to ensure that everyone voted honestly, without fear of being judged or alienating friends or business associates – so while we can tell you who got to vote in the poll, we can’t tell you who each individual voted for.

After the jump, check out the complete list of the panel of voters.  Keep in mind that these are just the people who responded to the poll in time for our deadline – in fact we probably invited twice as many people to participate – but we still think it’s a pretty fantastic gathering of metal insiders.

And starting Monday, we’ll let you see which albums they voted for…

THE PANEL OF VOTERS

Chris Adler, Lamb of God
Dan And, Bison B.C.
Ben Apatoff, Apatoff for Destruction
/Metal Injection
Jason Bittner, Shadows Fall
Tim Brennan,
Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Freddy Cai, Painkiller Magazine
Ian Christe, Bazillion Points
Reverend David J. Ciancio, Yeah! Management
Betsey Cichoracki, Relapse Records
Paul Conroy, Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
J. Costa, Thy Will Be Done
Dallas Coyle, ex-
God Forbid/Coyle Media
Doc Coyle, God Forbid
CT, Rwake
Anso DF, MetalSucks/Hipsters Out of Metal!
Vince Edwards, Metal Blade Records
Charles Elliott, Abysmal Dawn/Nuclear Blast Records
Brian Fair,
Shadows Fall
Leo  Ferrante, Warner Music Group
D.X. Ferris, author 33 1/3: Reign in Blood/Freelance Journalist
Mike Gitter, Roadrunner Records
Nick Green, Decibel
Matt Grenier, August Burns Red
Anthony Guzzardo, Earache Records
Kevin Hufnagel, Dysrhythmia
Mark Hunter, Chimaira
Steve Joh, Century Media
EJ Johantgen, Prosthetic Records
Kim Kelly,
Metal Injection
Josh “The J” Key, Psychostick
Jason Lekberg, Epic Records
Eyal Levi, Daath
Bob Lugowe, Relapse Records
Matt McChesney, The Autumn Offering
Jake McReynolds,
Psychostick
Marc Meltzer, The Syndicate
Josh Middleton, Sylosis
Matt Moore, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder
Vince Neilstein, MetalSucks
Sammy O’Hagar, MetalSucks
Anton OyVey, MetalSucks/Bacon Jew
Rob Pasbani,
Metal Injection
Alex Preiss, Psychostick
Carlos Ramirez, NoiseCreep/Ultimate-Guitar/Bullz-Eye
Brian Rocha, Fresno Media USA
Jeremy Rosen, Roadrunner Records
Axl Rosenberg, MetalSucks
Satan Rosenbloom, MetalSucks/Cerebral Metalhead
David Bee Roth, MetalSucks
Jason Rudolph,
Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Amy Sciarretto, Roadrunner Records/NoiseCreep
Carl Severson,
Ferret Music/Channel Zero Entertainment
Gary Suarez, MetalSucks/No Yoko No/Brainwashed
Geoff Summers, The End Records/Crustcake
Bram Teitelman, The Syndicate/Metal Insider
Alisha Turull, Heavy Hitter, Inc.
Christopher R. Weingarten, 1000TimesYes/Freelance Journalist

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