I'd have to say Pentagram.

has The Secrets of the Black Arts been mentioned yet? I'm not going back through 6 pages. . . . but if not that most definitely deserves a mention.

Taake - Nattestid

I still stand by my opinion that it is the epitome of what BM should be.

For the longest time I considered De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas to be the best black metal album ever made. While I still really love the album, I don't consider it to be the greatest anymore. If I had to choose, I'd say In the Nightside Eclipse is the best ever. Everything that black metal represents is represented on this album, and there are really no major downpoints on this album.

I was bored tonight, and have been looking to get into black metal, so I went through the entire thread and kept a list of what was listed most often. My very unscientific method was to give each choice for best or favorite album 2 points, and any other secondary choices 1 point. The top ten point totals were...

43 - Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
21 - Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
21 - Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse
20 - Darkthrone - Blaze in the Northern Sky
17 - Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
15 - Darkthrone - Transilvania Hunger
13 - Burzum - Filosofem
9 - Gogoroth - Under the Sign of Hell
8 - Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
8 - Gorgoroth - Pentagram

...not that I think this shows much other than how people in the thread voted, but I figured since I had already did the math I might as well post it.

Nobody mentioned Enslaved's Vikingligr Veldi yet? Well now I did. It's as epic as black metal can get. Nagelfar's Srontgorrth is of the same batch of epic/atmospheric/ambient black metal and deserves a mention too, but I can see why it's not considered groundbreaking. But it is one of my favourites for it hits me in the right spot. Rotting Christ's Non Serviam anyone? Gotta love the insane catchyness of that one. Oh and some of those in the above list, alright. Though for Bathory my pick would definitely have been fucking Blood Fire Death, because, seriously... Blood Fire Death!

I've never been enjoying old classics as much as newer bm, so I'd go with albums like:

BAN - Odinist
Dark Tribe - In Jeraspunta
Negative Plane - Et In Saecula Saeculorum

Being the guy who is not really into true black metal I'll go with Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk. This album is very symphonic, somewhat catchy, has some great melody, good amount of clean vocals and more accessible harsh vocals. Not to mention the atmosphere in this album is great and production is also clearer. While I find In the Nightside Eclipse to be rather boring I really enjoy Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.

For me it's a tie between Cobalt's Gin and Resplendent Grotesque by Code.

I like a lot of 90s black metal (honorable mention especially to Kvist's For Kunsten ...) but these two albums are just ... something else.

The thing I absolutely adore about them is that they are essentially quite bipolar in nature. They are massive, dynamic, at times weird and avantgardish, but on the other hand, I cannot think of any other albums with better FLOW to them. I think they manage to capture the sheer raw, atmospheric essence of black metal, but at the same time they totally reach beyond everything established as black metal "genre framework".

And because these two albums are relatively "young", I think black metal is not a dead genre and we have a lot to look forward to in terms of future "best black metal albums".

I just listened to this album, and think there is an excellent case for this album. It masterfully weaves epic and raw BM together and the fantastic riffage never stops. Every single song and riff from this album touches on what I look for in Black Metal. However, my vote would have to go to...

Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue with the Stars - BLUT AUS NORD.

Christ, what can I saw about this album that will do it justice... The way that BAN weaves their unique, dissonant riffs through an epic, melodic-laden framework on this album just blows me away every time I listen to it. Whenever I put this album on (which is often, let me assure you) I always find something new that impresses me to no end while at the same time I find myself coming back to hear more of the tracks that blew me away the first time I heard it, such as The Meditant.

This album isn't a journey, or an adventure; it's a goddamn odyssey, and and album that anyone who calls themselves a fan of Black Metal needs to hear this.

The Work Which Transforms God, easily.

I think I might throw a newer album into the mixture, in the form of Funeral Mist's Salvation album; One of my favourite black-metal albums of the 21st century. I know that that's not what the thread calls for, but I think there's some definite gems situated away from the usual suspects of the genre.

De Mysteriis, I think, is probably the black-metal album, but I think the lack of strength from what Mayhem have done since sort of stains it a bit; if the band ended after it's release, I think it would be revered even more.

It has probably been mentioned already, and I am well versed in black metal (twenty plus years of listening...), and I'm not going to name the classics, because that's what they are. My particular choice for one of the best black metal albums of all time for me is going to be the magnum opus that is Rain Upon The Impure. This is as sublime as it is overtly punishing, stunning atmosphere, tremendously, epic proportioned and displaying such strength in composition as to make some of the second wave classics look anorexic in their content. This is indeed a glorious, obfuscated journey into the bleakness and majesty of what black metal should be. Absolutely perfect in every way.

Satanic Warmaster's Strength & Honour, definitely the best to come out of Finland, is a worthy contender and personal all time favorite.

Better than By The Blessing Of Satan? Not sure about that...

Windir - Linkferd is awesome.

Why is it awesome? Care to elaborate on that singular statement?

Spelled Likferd. But yes, it is awesome; would go with 1184 instead for my fave Winder tho, probs.

Having been an avid listener for at least ten years, I feel confident in my choices, even if they won't surprise anyone.

1. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
2. Sacramentum - Far Away From The Sun
3. Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
4. Immortal - Pure Holocaust
5. Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse.
6. Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
7. Enslaved - Vikinglgr Veldi
8. Graveland - The Celtic Winter
9. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
10. Bathory - The Return

Unless I'm mistaken, I've only seen this mentioned in this thread a very few number of times. This would be choice for number one.

Verdunkeln's self-titled album has made such a lasting and powerful impression on me that I doubt it'll be dethroned as my number one choice any time soon. Their brand of black metal with its cavernous, repetitive drumming (especially the snare) and the thick guitar buzz intertwined with haunting melodies is one of a kind.

Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anuqLSQ60rw&t=3m4s

Strength & Honour isn't exactly the dregs of Finnish black metal, but to claim that it's the best indicates either indescribably poor taste or remarkable ignorance.

The atmosphere, mood,and brilliance of ~Burzum's Filosofem has never been achieved by any other band of the time or since in my opinion.

I'm going to nominate Blasphemy Blood Upon The Altar. The atmosphere and agression are unrivalled and well...it's Blasphemy. This is a personal choice obviously. I don't think it's the best black metal album of all time (frankly I'm unable to pick one or even 5 albums that could fill in that position), but damn good.

Sometimes generic answers are the correct ones.

My choices will be , off the top of my head
1) Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue with the Stars
2) Kaltetod - Reue (highly recommended if you haven't checked it out)
3) Coldworld - Melancholie²
4) DsO - Inquisitors of Satan
5) Burzum - Filosofem

There are others, but this is my list for now

Yes. This album personifies black metal for me . The atmosphere is unmatched. So much tripped out vocals and just a ton of different moments and varied effects. Unpredictable music at it's finest.

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Sure you didn't mean to post that in this thread?

The melodies on this album are some of the best I've heard in metal music across all genres.

Hear fucking hear!

Of course you're supposed to pick something like Nightside Eclipse or Hviss Lyset but there's no use lying to myself -- my personal favorite is always going to be FAFTS. The flowing melodies, the glassy-cold texture, the continuous sense of development both in individual songs and the album as a whole... my words fail don't even come close to doing this album justice. Let's just say it's a Timeless Masterpiece and call it a day.

in my opinion, everything sacramentum does on this album, dissection does better on SOTLB. it's still a good album though.
my top 3 in no specific order

satyricon - shadowthrone
emperor - in the nightside eclipse
satyricon - nemesis divina

followed by more emperor, mayhem, burzum, ... mostly 90's BM

Blasphemy - Fallen Angel of Doom
Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
Judas Iscariot - The Cold Earth Slept Below
Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon
Absurd - Facta Loquuntur
Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss
Bathory - s/t
Grand Belial's Key - Mocking the Philanthropist
Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract
Infernum - Taur-Nu-Fuin
Graveland - Thousand Swords

My favorite black metal album is without a doubt Gorgoroth's Pentagram.

hmmm mentioning one would be difficult, so here's my top 4 ;
Dissection - Storm Of The Lights Bane
Immortal - At The Heart Of Winter
...and Oceans - The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts
Limbonic Art - In Abhorrence Dementia

In my opinion their are too many great albums to narrow the fous to just one ultimate example of black metal. Beyond the classics of the genre i would have to submit Funeral Mist's salvation as the post 2nd wave pinacle(sp) of black metal.

Far Away From The Sun is certainly one of the best, especially if you prefer melodic black metal. It's up there with Unanimated's "Ancient God of Evil" that has such a complete feel that it's hard to not listen to the full thing (though they do border on melodic death metal). Verdunkeln's "Einblick..." is also criminally underrated, one of the few black metal releases in recent years that stands out and has more of its own identity than borrowed identity.

Torgeist's demos, Devoted to Satan and Time of Sabbath, are among the best, but even with a decent re-release of them in 2008, it's still easier to find a poor quality tape rip online than the re-released versions, which are incredibly overpriced in their own right (Usually $10-12 each for CDs that don't have much to the physical product and only have <12 and ~16 minutes of audio on them. The band is best known for the same tracks as "Time of Sabbath" being on the "Black Legions Metal" split with Vlad Tepes with considerably poorer audio quality.

Oddly enough, I looked at the MA page for the BLM split and there was a report about the same thing I had just typed in my post.