# The 17 Best Metallica Songs of All Time

> Thrash blueprints, stadium-sized anthems, and brooding ballads that reshaped heavy music across four decades. Which track reigns supreme?

*By YPB Team · Published June 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-17-best-metallica-songs-of-all-time*

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## Current results (3 votes)

1. **Master of Puppets** — 100% (3 votes · score 1000/1000)
   The towering 1986 title track, an eight-minute thrash epic widely called the band's masterpiece.
2. **Wherever I May Roam** — 0% (0 votes · score 600/1000)
   The 1991 Black Album single with its sitar-flavored intro and nomadic theme.
3. **Blackened** — 0% (0 votes · score 551/1000)
   The blistering opener of 1988's ...And Justice for All, a fan-favorite deep cut.
4. **The Unforgiven** — 0% (0 votes · score 494/1000)
   The brooding 1991 ballad with its reverse dynamics and Western-tinged melody.
5. **One** — 0% (0 votes · score 428/1000)
   The 1988 anti-war epic with the band's first music video, building from ballad to machine-gun fury.
6. **Battery** — 0% (0 votes · score 428/1000)
   The ferocious acoustic-to-thrash opener of Master of Puppets.
7. **Fade to Black** — 0% (0 votes · score 428/1000)
   The somber 1984 Ride the Lightning ballad-turned-epic, a landmark in metal songwriting.
8. **Sad but True** — 0% (0 votes · score 428/1000)
   The heavy, down-tuned 1991 Black Album single built on a monolithic riff.
9. **Enter Sandman** — 0% (0 votes · score 350/1000)
   The 1991 Black Album opener whose crushing riff became Metallica's biggest mainstream hit.
10. **Creeping Death** — 0% (0 votes · score 350/1000)
   The 1984 thrash staple famous for its 'Die! Die!' crowd chant.
11. **Nothing Else Matters** — 0% (0 votes · score 257/1000)
   The tender 1992 power ballad that became one of their most beloved crossover songs.
12. **Seek & Destroy** — 0% (0 votes · score 257/1000)
   The 1983 Kill 'Em All anthem and longtime live set closer.
13. **Welcome Home (Sanitarium)** — 0% (0 votes · score 257/1000)
   The melodic, dynamic Master of Puppets track exploring confinement and madness.
14. **Hardwired** — 0% (0 votes · score 257/1000)
   The aggressive, concise 2016 single that marked the band's late-career return to form.
15. **Ride the Lightning** — 0% (0 votes · score 257/1000)
   The electrifying 1984 title track depicting an execution by electric chair.
16. **Whiplash** — 0% (0 votes · score 143/1000)
   The breakneck 1983 debut-album track that defined the band's early thrash speed.
17. **For Whom the Bell Tolls** — 0% (0 votes · score 143/1000)
   The 1984 anthem opening with its unmistakable tolling bell and grinding bass.

Tags: music, rock, bands, metal, metallica