Master Of Puppets

While this is a very, very good thrash album, Reign in Blood edges it out in my personal ranking for two reasons:

1. Lars Ulrich just isn't a great thrash drummer, especially compared to Dave Lombardo.
2. The B side is noticeably weaker here. Reign in Blood builds all the way up through the last track.

I'd also say Ride the Lightning is stronger. Yeah, this is a lot of negativity for a positive review about a very good album. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is my favorite track here. It was all downhill after this for Metallica...