Metallica has had a storied career with plenty of great classic albums. This band is definitely not flawless though because as we all know after The Black Album, the band seemingly could not find their groove until their most recent release in 2016, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct. The band has gone threw many different stylistic changes and have had a couple lineup changes as well. Metallica remains one of the most iconic and influential bands in all of music history. With all of that being said, I will now rank their albums from worst to best and you will find out which Metallica album that I find to be the most superior.

Overall Scoring Scale:

0-20: Garbage

21-40: Poor

41-49: Below Average

50-60: Average

61-74: Above Average

75-89: Good

90-100: Must Own

10. 'St. Anger'

Year: 2003

Total Length: 75:01

Lineup:

James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Robert Trujillo – bass (Deluxe edition tracks only) / Lars Ulrich – drums

Session Members:

Bob Rock – bass (Standard edition tracks only)

Lets be honest, St. Anger is an album that many fans of metal try to forget. It is one of the worst production jobs of all time. The songs are heavy and feel extremely lazy and boring. This album may have been a step up in heaviness when compared to Load and Reload, but Metallica lost a lot of quality in their writing and production. I get that the band was going through a lot with Jason leaving the band, alcohol addiction, and band tension, but this was an embarrassment that should have never happened.

Production: 0 / 20

Album Flow: 4 / 20

Song Writing: 6 / 60

Overall Score: 10 / 100

9. 'Death Magnetic'

Year: 2008

Total Length: 74:43

Lineup:

James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Robert Trujillo – bass / Lars Ulrich – drums

Death Magnetic was definitely a huge upgrade over the abysmal St. Anger that came out five years before it. The main issue with this album is its flawed production value. Despite how poor this album sounds at times, its song writing is undeniably good in many areas. The re-implementation of the thrash metal elements was a huge plus to add to this album's overall quality and was a great way for the band to return to their roots.

Production: 5 / 20

Album Flow: 12 / 20

Song Writing: 45 / 60

Overall Score: 62 / 100

8. 'Load'

Year: 1996

Total Length: 78:59

Lineup:

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Lars Ulrich – drums / Jason Newsted – bass

Load marks the first album of Metallica's experimentation with alternative rock and southern rock elements that they had never tried before. The results where mixed. While, this album has great tracks like "Bleeding Me" and "Until It Sleeps," there are simply not enough quality tracks throughout to make this a consistently enjoyable listen.

Production: 16 / 20

Album Flow: 11 / 20

Song Writing: 41 / 60

Overall Score: 68 / 100

7. 'Kill 'Em All'

Year: 1983

Total Length: 51:15

Lineup:

James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar / Cliff Burton – bass guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Lars Ulrich – drums

Kill 'Em All is a very raw sounding album with lots of aggression, speed, and heaviness throughout. Lyrically, Metallica was not at their peak because of simple lyrical themes that were not as socially or politically aware as the lyrical themes on later albums. The music was very fast and heavy for its time and many of the songs like "The Four Horseman" and "Whiplash" are still some of the band's most notable tracks.

Production: 14 / 20

Album Flow: 17 / 20

Song Writing: 42 / 60

Overall Score: 73 / 100

6. 'Reload'

Year: 1997

Total Length: 76:00

Lineup:

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Jason Newsted – bass / Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion

Reload is a very similar album to the band's previous album Load, but is a bit more consistent and enjoyable from start to finish. The hard and alternative rock sound are very present on this record, but I believe Metallica is able to execute this sound more consistently throughout the album's entirety. This album definitely should have been about two to three songs shorter though.

Production: 17 / 20

Album Flow: 14 / 20

Song Writing: 43 / 60

Overall Score: 74 / 100

5. 'Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'

Year: 2016

Total Length: 77:26

Lineup:

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Robert Trujillo – bass, backing vocals / Lars Ulrich – drums

Hardwired... to Self-Destruct may be a more recent Metallica album that came out after many fans had lost faith in their ability to write, but this album proved many fans wrong with tracks like "Spit Out the Bone," "Atlas Rise!," and "Moth into Flame" reminding them of the good ole days for the band. This album is not a perfect listen though, because of the second half of the album being a bit bogged down by extremely mediocre tracks. With all of that being said, this was a true return to form for the band.

Production: 19 / 20

Album Flow: 15 / 20

Song Writing: 48 / 60

Overall Score: 82 / 100

4. 'Ride the Lightning'

Year: 1984

Total Length: 47:23

Lineup:

James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Cliff Burton – bass guitar / Lars Ulrich – drums

Now we are into the albums of Metallica that are nearly perfect and are all classics. Honestly, these albums could be put in any order, but here goes my attempt. Ride the Lightning is early thrash metal at its finest. This album is stacked full of classics from the band and really does not have a weak song on it. "Escape" is not great, but it is enjoyable, but other than that, the album is basically flawless.

Production: 17 / 20

Album Flow: 19 / 20

Song Writing: 59 / 60

Overall Score: 95 / 100

3. '...And Justice for All'

Year: 1988

Total Length: 65:29

Lineup:

James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Jason Newsted – bass / Lars Ulrich – drums

If it was not for the flawed production of this album, this would be the best album in the band's entire discography. Every song is excellent on this record and the music is very progressive. Tracks like "One" and "Blackened" are so powerful and easily some of my favorite tracks from any band. ...And Justice for All remains the band's most progressive and impressive work, but due to its flawed but not terrible production value it falls to third on the list.

Production: 15 / 20

Album Flow: 20 / 20

Song Writing: 60 / 60

Overall Score: 95 / 100

2. 'Metallica (The Black Album)'

Year: 1991

Total Length: 62:31

Lineup:

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar; all songs except "Nothing Else Matters" / Jason Newsted – bass / Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion

For the longest time The Black Album was my favorite album from the band, but now I realize it is not quite as good as the album I put above it. Metallica changed up their sound by slowing the tempo down and utilizing a groove-based heavy metal sound. I love this album and it's one of the main reasons I became interested in heavy metal in the first place.

Production: 20 / 20

Album Flow: 20 / 20

Song Writing: 60 / 60

Overall Score: 100 / 100

1. 'Master of Puppets'

Year: 1986

Total Length: 54:46

Lineup:

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar / Kirk Hammett – lead guitar / Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals / Lars Ulrich – drums

I know it's the cliche thing to put Master of Puppets at number one, but this album is thrash metal at its finest. The album also has great diversity in its track listing. "Master of Puppets" is a masterpiece as we all know, "Orion" is one of a kind instrumental, and "Welcome Home" is a fantastic ballad. Every song on this album is unique and is placed perfectly.

Production: 20 / 20

Album Flow: 20 / 20

Song Writing: 60 / 60

Overall Score: 100 / 100