Essential Metallica Songs

10. "Sad But True" (Metallica)
Evidence that this song rocks- it was used by bands like Kid Rock and Tuff. Sure, that was for a parody, but it doesn't lessen the attack of this pulverizing rock song.

9. "Unforgiven II" (ReLoad)
For as much crap as 1990's era Metallica gets, this was my launching pad into becoming a fan of one of the most legendary metal bands around. This isn't the sole reason why it made my "top ten", though it is the first Metallica music video I can recall seeing, while spending the night at a friend's house in 8th grade. Around this time, I was using any spare money I had to buy up those cardboard singles for songs like this one, "The Memory Remains", and "Fuel." I didn't have any idea which albums were which, and didn't have enough to drop 19.99 on CD at Sam Goody, so those singles were the way to go.

8. "Low Man's Lyric" (ReLoad)
Metallica goes country! I'm sure this didn't sit well the haters at all....

This is one reason why I love 90's Metallica and it shows how they were trying to evolve their sound. I guess they could've been content to keep releasing another album just like Master Of Puppets, or another Black Album once they found success on the Billboard charts. But they didn't. I realized after revisiting these Load/ReLoad albums along with Garage, Inc., that "Low Man's Lyric" isn't too far off from the songs they chose to cover, like "Tuesday's Gone" and "Turn The Page." Perhaps it would've been a better transition had they released those covers before the ReLoad album.

7. "No Leaf Clover" (S&M)
While listening to S&M in full at work recently, after many years removed, I got goosebumps! If it hadn't been for a buddy saying this is his favorite Metallica album, I would've just stuck with the studio releases while revisiting their albums to compile my list. Thank you Greg! I'm glad I have it a listen, not just for "No Leaf Clover", but because it made me realize that as much as Metallica was inspired by bands like Black Sabbath and Motorhead, they also took inspiration from the music of Ennio Morricone.

6. "Unforgiven III" (Death Magnetic)
"Unforgiven III" instantly stood out on Death Magnetic for it's use of horns and piano. If that's not metal, I don't know what is!

5. "Master Of Puppets" (Master Of Puppets)
"MASTER! MASTER!" For initially being a purely thrash metal band, they showed a much more artistic side as the band evolved throughout the 1980's. This album placed them closer to bands like Iron Maiden of the era, with soaring guitar harmonies and blazing solos. It's a classic of the genre, and the 1980's, for a reason.

4. "One" (...And Justice For All)
Since I was essentially going backwards through Metallica's catalog during my high school years, my introduction to this song was on their S&M live album.

3. "Orion" (Master Of Puppets)
This became one of my favorite Metallica songs due to it's performance as part of their movie, Through The Never. I think I'd all but forgotten about this song, until their performance over the closing credits hooked me. It has it's rocking, metal moments but also veers close to classical musical towards the middle, which I've learned was Cliff Burton' contribution to the band.

2. "The Outlaw Torn" (Load)
This would've taken the top spot, which is where it's been for many years, until these past few weeks of revisiting the Metallica catalog and trying to recapture my youth. I came across this one before I'd heard it on Load, when it was a "b-side" to "The Memory Remains"; except this was the unencumbered version. For those against the band's stylistic changes during this period, this song still has the "epic" feeling of their earlier material found on Master Of Puppets.

1. "The Unforgiven" (Metallica)
I'm so glad I decided to revisit Metallica's albums, because now I not only have a greater appreciation for several songs on ReLoad, but also The Black Album. I absolutely love how this song isn't just your typical ballad, as it's structure is heavy verses-light chorus ("Unforgiven II" flipped that formula.) The mixing of acoustic with electric guitars adds an extra dimension to the song, too. This song also makes me think of their connection to Morricone's theatrical scores for spaghetti westerns as well. It's as if they said, this is our "metal version"of a western theme.