This feature from Loudersound ranks all of Metallica's studio albums from worst to best, marking 45 years of the band widely regarded as the biggest name in heavy metal. It comes as the band prepares to become the first metal act to hold a residency at Las Vegas venue The Sphere, and traces their journey from a 1981 classified ad to global superstardom, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide.

The article charts Metallica's formation by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, through line-up changes (including the death of bassist Cliff Burton in 1986) and career highs and lows, from thrash classics like Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets to the mainstream breakthrough of the 1991 "Black Album" and divisive later releases such as St Anger, Load and Reload. It places 2003's St Anger at the very bottom of the ranking, citing its "infamously disastrous production" despite some redeeming songs, while praising the band's more recent output, Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (2016) and 72 Seasons (2023), as well-received returns to form.