Metallica is a band everyone loves to hate after the whole Napster debacle in the early 2000s.  To make matters worse, Metallica’s studio efforts since The Black Album have been disappointing.  S&M was an interesting take on the band’s music while Garage, Inc. was a superb album full of great covers.  But Load, ReLoad, and St. Anger were utter garbage save a handful of tracks.  But these decent tracks never quite reached the lofty heights of the band’s heyday.  Here’s hoping that their new album, Death Magnetic (releasing in September), is a return to form.  So, let’s not forget that Metallica produced some great music in the 80s - assuming that you like metal.  All songs are available on YouTube so go ahead and click the song titles to play them on YouTube!

10. Orion - MASTER OF PUPPETS - 8:27

9. The Call of Ktulu - RIDE THE LIGHTNING - 8:55

8. Ride The Lightning - RIDE THE LIGHTNING - 6:41

7. Creeping Death - RIDE THE LIGHTNING - 6:35

6. Battery - MASTER OF PUPPETS - 5:12

5. Fuel - RELOAD - 4:29

4. Turn The Page - GARAGE, INC. - 6:06

3. Fade to Black - RIDE THE LIGHTNING - 6:59

2. Enter Sandman - THE BLACK ALBUM - 5:31

1. Master of Puppets - MASTER OF PUPPETS - 8:35

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Total Playing Time: 68:30

Honorable Mentions:  Seek & Destroy (Kill ‘Em All), No Leaf Clover (S&M), …And Justice For All (…And Justice For All)

To say that this list confirms Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets as my favorite Metallica albums would be an understatement.  7 out of the top 10 come from those two albums.  I was tempted to fill in the entire list with tracks from those albums, only leaving room for Enter Sandman.  However, sanity prevailed.

Again, this list will fit on to a standard CD, even the 74-minute variety. I promise that the next one will need two discs! For now, I need to prep for trip to Cornell.