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

#1 - Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway

Here we are, at number one... But wait, how could i have picked this as the best album of the 21st Century so far when i already stated the #2 spot as being a perfect album...? I was stumped for a while too, but that was my list, that's what i felt, it was an instinct that took me this long to figure out and here is my explanation. I've spent a lot of time thinking about why i like music and all of the different attributes that combine into an idea of perfection. For me one attribute transcends all others and that is the idea of losing oneself in the music. When an album hits you so deeply that you forget you're listening to music, that you forget what makes music good or bad, that you get so engrossed by it, stand at the whim of it, it reaches beyond perfection. When you stand at the mercy of a band you can't tell them what you think of it, you're just along for the ride, and it's up to them whether they want to return you to cynical, pretentious consciousness or not. Somewhere Along the Highway is a perfect title for a journey that may or may not end, that you may or may not survive and i think it describes this album perfectly.