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Some of the best things come in three's. Early work is a bit derivative and later work is still good, but the 'newness' tends to wear off, and there's a quality all it's own to being the first with a new sound/style.
Godflesh - (Self Titled), Streetcleaner, Slavestate
Tiamat - The Astral Sleep, Clouds, Wildhoney
Sentenced - North from Here, Amok, Down
Metallica - Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, And Justice for All
Megadeth - Peace Sells, So far So Good So What, Rust in Peace
Slayer - Hell Awaits, Reign in Blood, South of Heaven
Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness, Necroticism, Heartwork
Venom - Welcome to Hell, Black Metal, At War with Satan
etc, etc, the list goes on and on. EP's tend to skew the list somewhat, but you can usually count on there being a trio of releases that (re)define a band that take it to heights it may never reach again, or are the basis for it's enduring popularity through it's lifetime. Exactly *which* three? Well...that may vary a bit from person to person, but I'll go out on a limb and say that at least two from every person's three album selection is going to be the same.