From 1981 to 1991 the gave us some classics. After that just plain crap. I try to remember the good they did. P.S. you diehard metallica fans tellin' me that they have to change their music and can't make master of puppets over and over again are really pissing me off. Listen to you're shitty st. angers and magnetic death albums.

their first five albums are the best. death magnetic is good but not great. focus more on the old stuff and you wont regret it

From Kill 'Em All - The black album Metallica employs some of the catchiest guitar riffs in conjunction with harmonies in their slower parts in some songs. i.e. Master Of Puppets. Few guitarists can capture the feel that Kirk Hammitt has with his leads. (Do bands even use lead guitar anymore?) Metallica is one of the best at their craft. Atleast the older stuff.

This one cranks, reminds me of justice for all, they rock!

On great metal band that sold out for greed.

After the Black Album, did Metallica make a decent album?

Thank god for there New CD i can handle them again. Death Magnetic finally put Metallica back on the path to being the monster of Metallica, With James going through his demons he almost killed the band, but they all fought hard and came up with a great cd with long songs a MUSIC ONLY track again not seen in a whilefrom them

A very good group with a very long/broad background.  They use to be a Grade A group and all of there songs back then were really good.  Most of there albums were top notch.  It seems sadly though they are slowly starting to die.  There albums are coming further apart and so many "things" happened during there reign at the top that it has really hurt them now later in there career (like what happened with Napster).  They were great...they "Are" good. But they are slowly losing there light...slowly but surely.

Now that Master of Puppets is a mere corpse whose pulse has given off its last flicker, their only efforts which are of any worth left are Ride the Lightning and the Black album. Sadly, the vast majority of the Black album is a sludgy mess littered with twenty too many Em chords, and Ride the Lightning's songs are growing old fast. On top of that, this is quite easily cancelled out by the joke that is St Anger and the pathetic catastrophe that is Garage Inc (James Hetfield trying to repeat Lemmy's vocals on 'Damage Case'? Please...), and also the fact that I just plain don't like that jerk Lars Ulrich. Kings of metal? They have been reduced to mere jesters...

How Metallica came to be the biggest band in metal is a paradox to me. I do not consider them the most talented or the most creative. That being said, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL and METALLICA are good; RIDE THE LIGHTNING is also worth listening to. MASTER OF PUPPETS and KILL 'EM ALL are over-rated, and everything else is bad; ST. ANGER is awful.

Iconic and memorable band for the right and wrong reasons.  Some good (and one great) album(s).  Decent musicians who stayed true to their craft long after it wasn't necessarily in vogue to do so.  But something happened to this band that suggests that longevity isn't always good for artists. . .it wasn't just a few sub-par albums, the band was on the wrong side of the whole Napster fiasco and it went against the spirit of rock.  Boozing, bad-ass rockers stamping their feet in front of congress on behalf of the record industry making sure that people can't share music?  One of the most underrated dark days in rock history.

Metallica is no doubt the best heavy metal band of all time.the black album (metallica) sold over 15 million copies alone...that is more than most bands sell in a career. if you go to  Metalrules.com the top 100 heavy metal albums of all time contain 4 of metallicas albums the number one heavy metal album of all time is "master of puppets" then the #3 best album of all time is ride the lightning....just to be in the top 100 is a hell of an acomplishment...much less to have the #1 #3 #20 and #72 spots and all you megadeth fans that think megadeth is better than metallica look at the record sales Metallica-over 100 million records sold so far Megadeth-15 million so shut the hell up about megadeth being better.and metallicas new album thats coming out this fall is sure as hell gonna kick ass ive heard a preview and its the missing link between 1988s and justice for all and 1991s black album...METALLICA RULES AND NO ONE CAN EVER COME CLOSE TO WHAT THEYVE DONE.

They wrote a song called "The God that failed" well, they failed, because their music sucks!

Metallica definately deserves to be high on the list. Songs such as Enter Sandman, Master of Puppets, and ...Justice For All are each great songs that helped to bring around a new age of rock.

Could have been much better, as far as recent albums. As for older, these thrash pioneers were quite good. Sorry, Megadeth fan...

yep i think they sold out too.

Totally awesome all around

Best band of the 80's and beyond, in my opinion.  Best of the "Big 4" of the thrash metal genre (others being Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth).  Great band.  I could see them making it to their 30th anniversary, and beyond.

Metallica is un-arguably the best.. in Metal, in musical accomplishments, in their abilities and in their audacity to make music as they bloody well feel like!!
Its just ridiculous to see jackasses complaining about the Napster issue. So you did not get to download the shit for free.. but it wasn't like your birth rights were taken away!! And there came more 20 ways of stealing (kazaa and shareza and shit like that) so thank the Napster episode for providing you such a variety of options..
Next - people who say that Metallica 'sold out'. Well, I'm just sympathetic for you all cuz you obviously you have been cursed with the IQ and maturity of earthworms!! They made music as they felt like, they played what they wanted to play. You liked "Kill 'em All" & "Ride the Ligtening" & "Master of Puppets" and some jackasses didn't like them.. likewise a lot of people loved the "Black album" and liked "Load" & "Reload" while you jackasses didn't like them!! Balance!
Those who didn't like the fact that Metallica and their songs were on MTV - so were Ozzy, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and the other greats of metal. It was another way to reach out to their fans... So whats the fuss about?
I would agree St.Anger was a disappointment for the detour in the musical direction. But if we measure any freakin album against "Ride the Ligtening" & "Master of Puppets".. it would seem shitty in comparison!! In its own right, St.Amger is a hundred times better than the shit nu-metal bands come up with and the numb-dumbness of modern metal posers!!

Metallica is the best Heavy Metal band ever. No one can duplicate their sound or their speed(without sounding horrible/ like Slayer)and not to mention their album sales. You would be hard pressed to find a Heavy Metal band that has stayed relevent for twenty plus years like they have, as a matter of fact Metallica is the only Heavy Metal band that has done so. If you ever see these guys live, the first time I saw them was in 1988 on Van Halen's Monsters of Rock Tour, they were great and they play a wide variety of their catalog. I could care less about the Napster thing because I do not use any of those types of websites anyway. I do agree that their albums starting with Load are not anywhere as good as Kill 'Em All to the Black Album, but if they did not change a little, people would be saying that Metallica just keeps putting out the same sh*t. So that is a no win situation for them or any other band, and it is also a very weak argument to make. Metallica is the most influential Metal Band of all-time and most likely will be the only true metal band to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and on their first year of eligibility.

  No one can base the greatness of Metallica on recent albums.  St. Anger was terrible but they dominated metal for so long in the 80s and early 90s. You can't go from loving Metallica to hating them.  You can hate the album though.   They invented the "thrash" metal.  I could care less about the length of their hair and what not.  As long as they play great music.  It's too bad they are wearing down but it was bound to happen.  When you play as much live shows as they did so aggressively at that.  Their music was very complex also.  Being a guitar player, learning some of their songs is not easy.  One inparticularly.  If you just started getting into Metallica, you've missed out on a lot.  Be sure to get the old stuff.

metallica is the best band ever hands down no one can match there speed they are the ultimate band!!

The Black Album was a classic that still stands the test of time.

Should be averaging 5 stars, they are easily the best Metal band ever. There musical ability is supererb there songs are suberb.
What else can I say, Metallica will be remembered as a legendary band forever.

best band ever

I used to have all the earlier albums but the only one I've kept is 'Master..' IMO they havent generally worn well and often sound like the band were trying too hard to be clever but in fact got lost up their own ars*s. I much prefer their short hair phase, and 'St Anger', though not a classic is by no means as bad an album as many reckon. One of it's strengths is that it hasnt got any boring interminable solos. I speak as someone who hates metal shredding.

i Personally believe that metallica is arguably one of the greatest metal bands of all time. it doesnt matter that james hetfeild can only sing 5 notes, its metal. nor does it matter that 95%of their songs are in the chord of e, it gives them a rather unique sound. what does matter is that i dont believe they ever had to resort to a love song (SOOOFFTTT) and the lyrics for the songs they do have are very powerful and quite possibly influential. they are good for the same reasons that bob marley or the beatles were good, their music relates to their times, and since we are also currently in a crisis, i guess u could say that their music relates to our time too. either way, metallica deserves 5 stars, hands down.

They sold out when they cut their hair, that's not rock and roll! St. Anger was terrible!

Not my style of music but they have a few songs I like. They tend to be the more slower stuff. I like Fade To Black, Nothing Else Matters, and a few tunes off of the Black album which all the metalheads seem to dislike. I objectively have to say that Metallica is a good band despite my lack of interest in this genre.

Their songs are either really good, or just mediocre. 'One' and 'Master Of Puppets' are examples of great songs. I wish I would give them a higher rating, but I feel they were/are a bit overrated as a band. They're still good though.

My favorite band of all time! You people who say Metallica are sellouts are wrong! They did not sellout! They never have! Their newer stuff, even St. Anger(yeah I like St. Anger so fricken what?!)! Obvously their newer stuff isn't as great as their 80's stuff, but Load and Reload are great albums! I don't get what's so bad about them! If Led Zepplin could play many different styles of music, why not Metallica?

good in the eighties but they absolutely suck know i probably would have given them a 4 but because of how bad they are know i give them a 2. They are like iron maiden, their alright

The archetypecal metal band. Not very good or very bad in either aspect. Just average. And that is what they're famous for, being average and normal, except, of course, when Cliff played with the band, but sadly, they currently purpetuate their state of mediocrity.

this band is certainly a 5-star band.

this band defines metal and rock music. the band instruments sound perfect together. their stuff up until the newest album rocked. they are the greatest band that has ever happened. on their new album they could have had actual solos tho that would have made it a hell of alot better. and the whole napster thing you cant blame the actual band it was lars and hetfield who freaked out kirk and jason were just like whatever. so yea this band still rocks even tho they are like 45 and no band can even match these guys ever theyve been the greatest band for the past 20 years and they will be for the next 20 years. you cant deny that these guys pretty much paved the way for the metal generations.

Metallica is a pioneer for many technicallities in metal today. They have no boundaries and honestly make the music for themselves. Their lyrics are symbolic and original. James and Kirk are amazing guitar players that write original riffs and continue to do down strokes today, unlike many guitarists out there. In my opinion, Metallica is the best and most legendary metal band around. Without Metallica, I would not have been inspired to play guitar today and I am saddened that I wasn't born sooner because I could have grown up in the eighties and seen them on their Kill Em All, Master, or Justice tours. James said it right, "We do this basically for ourselves. People appreciate it, which is cool, but I think they appreciate that we're doing it for ourselves. We're doing it our way, and how people like it is not up to us. We like it." -James Hetfield, Metallica

Metallica is simply the best band of all time, I don't understand why they have such a low rating. I think it's great they're experimenting with different styles of music, it shows that they're not your normal, boring or average rock band.

These guys rock!

Metallica are not what they were. They used to be good and now they suck, with seemingly no desire or will to rule as they once did. They could have helped revive metal again in 1996, but instead decided to release the appropriately titled Load, because that's what it was with such crap as Hero of the Day and Until It Sleeps. Then they developed this screw the fans attitude with the Napster thing and horrible concerts that included terrible acoustic versions of The Four Horsemen and other classics. I mean, I'm not knocking acoustic songs, but those versions didn't even rock, it's like it was some big joke to them. Anyways, I haven't had the urge to listen to Metallica in several years and don't expect that to change anytime soon. And don't forget Metallica-The MTV Icons. LOL.

a great metal band i still do not have load and never will i never liked that album but besides that a great band to see live

As implied in their name, Metallica have been the kings of metal for the past 20 years + (like them or not, you can not deny it). Metallica is and has been my favorite band for many years and my second favorite band (Zeppelin or Sabbath) seems like a VERY distant second. After seeing them live twice really enhanced my respect for the group. Not only are they a great band, they are very talented muscians. James Hetfield is regarded by most as one of the greatest frontmen to ever walk the planet. His famous growl can be somewhat chilling at times and leave the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up. Kirk Hammet is a guitar god and is already in the Rock and Roll - Hall of Fame. Most of his solos are so memorable you can hum every note. Lars Ulrich is the backbone of the band and who can forget some of his classic drum beats. If you have any doubt of the impact Lars Ulrich has with Metallica, listed to the song One. As far as bass players go, anybody who has been a long time Metallica fan will tell you that Cliff Burton (who tragically died as result of a tour bus accident) was one of the greatest bassists of his day. Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) and Orion really define Cliff as a bass player. Jason Newstead filled in great for Cliff as he brought A LOT of energy in the live shows. Even when Metallica calmed down a bit, Jason was pedal to the medal at every show. Thought he wasn't as musically talented as Cliff, nobody can deny that he didn't bring everything he had each night. The newest member, Robert Trujillo looks to be a great addition to Metallica. I can't wait to hear him play on the next album (as he did not play on Metallica's latest St. Anger). To sum everything up, while the newer stuff does not excite me as much as the older stuff (pre-black album) Metallica continues to evolve and produce good quality music.

I just have no desire to listen to these guys anymore. I used to defend them for the early days, and I hate to say its due to Napster exactly, but that is the point at which enjoyment of their music started to decline for me. Just how naiive they were to do that, and start such a big stink over something truly unimportant, kind of made me turned off by them, and the more I listened after that, the more I realized they were pretty much fluffy 80s rock junk.

Anyone who says that metal music can't have heart or be inteligent should really listen to the Black album.

I don't give a damn about Napster. I don't give a damn about a couple of their albums that are not exactly up to their potential. The obvious fact is that they are one of (if not) the most famous hard rock band of all time.

A very definitive and influential band that altered the course of popular music

I go with the general opinion that the best stuff is from the 80s but the 90s albums still walk all over most other rock bands output. They havent gone off the boil as much as Megadeth, Anthrax etc even though their best days are behind them.

Metallica is one of the best in my world....Even St. Anger....That song isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be....they prolly still sit in there room in private and listen to it and say damn wish i was that good....

GREATEAST METAL BAND IN HISTORY....No question, dont be a hater because their new stuff isn't as good as the old.. (V)ETALLIC/)

Metallica were the best damned banded untill:- A: They brought out St. Anger and began that crap which is popular nowadays B: I discovered Power Metal.

The best in the genre's history, without question. Its embarrasing to see them so low on this list.

Ok, I have a lot to say. Metallica is the greatest meatal band that ever rocked the earth. But I have to nit pick a bit. Load and Re load are not as bad as you all think. It isnt as goog as their old selves but they still were good. Any one notice the changes in music in their changes in bassists? Robert is the downfall of Metallica. St. Anger is the worst Metallica album i ever saw in the whole collection. AJFA is the greatest album of all time. The guitar talents of Kirk and James really reflect on this album (if you want to know more on the greatness of this album, look at the revews on it.) Anyway, S+m was just pure geneus. People often forget about the origionality of this album. So no more originality jokes about Metallica because they are all false. But, over all, Metallica is Metal God so...yeah!