I see why you have the signature you have. . You are right, though. I'm pretty sure there are amazing albums from some amazing bands I know, but I just never got around to listen to them. I am slowly carving my way through some discographies right now. (Anata and the early Neurosis albums), and I do think that I'm getting a better idea of what those bands are really about. It's just a very slow process for me because there are so many new albums to listen to. Like, I still want to listen to about 4 albums I have discovered..... today. It's madness!

Maybe I should stop checking rockbox torrent everyday.... that should cut down the madness somewhat.

Usually through youtube, I listen to the band's latest single and start with the latest album and then their best effort and their highest rated ones. If I like 'em all, then I would start chronologically.

Almost always with the first full-length. In come cases where the first one has particularly low ratings, I might skip ahead to one among the first three (second if there are 2-4 in total). Sometimes I start with the band's last demo. This is especially viable in black metal where the role of demos is different (more important).

I like Demos and their Master Pieces

I start with whichever has the highest rating on the Metal Archives, or ones with the most amount of reviews but a lower, yet still decent rating (sometimes 2 (90%) can change quickly to 5 (66%)). If none are available, I usually go for the album placed in the middle of the discography, so as to not catch them at a time when they were still maturing with their sound and not catch them if their newer stuff might be bad due to a change of ideas and whatnot. I also sometimes go for the album that has the most appealing title, artwork, song titles within it, and/or the overall run-time of the album.

Sometimes too I go on Last.FM and see what albums my friends enjoyed the most by the band, and get that one.

I tend to not get into EPs, demos and splits until I have finished all the LPs and enjoyed them.