I quite like "Once", but it's also my gateway metal album. That being said I don't think it's just nostalgia goggles - it also has really solid songwriting and some great hooks. I also like about half of "Dark Passion Play" and think "Imaginaerum" is pretty damn good - sorry folks! lol. "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" wasn't too great despite having an incredible singer (Floor Jansen) join up, though "Human Nature" is pretty nice. I think I like that album even better after seeing the songs live back in May, actually... especially "Shoemaker", beautiful song. Anyway...

"Oceanborn" is an absolute masterpiece. One of the greatest power metal albums of all time, in my opinion. The interplay between the guitar and keyboards is great, Tarja's voice has this nice and warm tone to it that I really like, and it has a truly mystical atmosphere about it. It's definitely my favorite NW album these days, followed closely by "Century Child".

Oceanborn is a perfect album in my eyes.

While I really like most of what Nightwish has done post-Once, that early era is just unmatched in quality and atmosphere.

Early Within Temptation?

10/10
Oceanborn
Wicked good! All tracks are winners.

Early Within Temptation is pretty great.

Early Within Temptation is pretty great. Hell, I like everything they did up to/including "The Unforgiving", then they lost me with "Hydra" and seem to keep getting worse.

The closest thing to "Oceanborn" era NW in terms of atmosphere and feel, to me, is the "Arcana" album by Edenbridge. I think it's a pretty good album.

I really thought all that old school revisiting might inspire a touch of those vibes for Human Nature but evidently it didn't, so we'll see how this next one turns out.

Oceanborn is an amazing pm classic. My sister purchased that CD for me in the thrift store for like 99 cents.

I like a good amount of Nightwish's new stuff, but they usually feel more like film scores than metal, though I prefer Floor's versatile vocals over Tarja (I still think Tarja is great though; not interested in rivalry debates).

I had "Wishmaster" as my favourite NW album in mind but after revisiting both "Oceanborn" and said album, I found "Oceanborn" to be superior in about every aspect, especially in RIFFS and actual heavy metal.

Thanks to your topic here, I'm currently rediscovering "Century Child" to see how that one held up. I know that they started a way of sucking around "Once" at the latest.

EDIT: Yeah, I prefer "Century Child" over "Wishmaster" because the quality is much more evenly spread. Maybe the highs are not quite as high (the title track) but there's a lot less filler on here and I like the addition of Hietala's distorted, audible bass and gruff vocals.

Ghost Love Score that was their most overrated song ever.

Oceanborn is a 5/5 album for me, definitely one of the most influential albums on my music taste (first got it when I was about 13 or so). It really excels at that otherworldly atmosphere and manages to have a lot of sick riffs and energetic parts in and amongst the grandiose symphonic focus. There aren't any Nightwish albums I consider truly bad, but I do hope to see them implement some of that vibe again eventually. It was awesome seeing them on the 2015 and 2018 tours and getting to hear a pretty solid collection of Oceanborn songs live (Stargazers, Gethsemane, Devil & the Deep Dark Ocean, Sacrament of Wilderness, and Sleeping Sun at least). I really thought all that old school revisiting might inspire a touch of those vibes for Human Nature but evidently it didn't, so we'll see how this next one turns out.

Edenbridge are a good shout for a similar feel, though I prefer Sunrise in Eden over Arcana and haven't really explored anything for them past Aphelion.

Wishmaster is, for lack of a better word... well... masterful. The Kinslayer is very enigmatic, playingwise and the entire construction of the song...Tarja's vocals, lyrically, as well.
Good songs that i'll include are - Crownless, FantasMic and the title track. She Is My Sin is a fair opening, in my humble opinion.

Their best. Easily,
Wishmaster was also okay with a few great standout tracks.

Then Hietala joined and that godawful Century Child ruined it for me.
I never got into them again

Early Within Temptation is pretty great. Hell, I like everything they did up to/including "The Unforgiving", then they lost me with "Hydra" and seem to keep getting worse.

The closest thing to "Oceanborn" era NW in terms of atmosphere and feel, to me, is the "Arcana" album by Edenbridge. I think it's a pretty good album.