Best Members of Metallica

Greatest Vocalist ever, I have been a fan of metallica since I was ten, I loved listening to enter sandman, then got into thier less known stuff. James will always be rhe best vocalist ever, just listen to Nothing else matters, mama said and low mans lyric and you will see just how amazing his vocals are, METALLICA 4 EVA!
He has been making and keeps making the greatest contribution to his band: being lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist at the same time, writing awesome lyrics that deal with social and political issues, writing music along with Lars. He's extremely great musician.
He is rhythm guitarist,vocalist,lyricist and frontman of the greatest metal band. He is one of the finest rhythm guitarist of all time. Damn,how can he play badass,fast paced riffs and sing at the same time(I am a musician and I know how hard it is to sing and play at the same time)?! He is also a downpicking GOD! Having experienced terrible childhood he went on to become one of the greatest musician of all time in any genre. By the way,James Hetfield is Metallica!
If four people are god, then it's Maynard James Keenan, James Hetfield, Danny Carey, and Dave Mustaine.

Should be No. 1.
Why was Trapped Under Ice and Escape the worst songs on Ride The Lightning? Probably because they were the only ones where Cliff Burton wasn't one of the writers.
Why was Master of Puppets so good? Well, It probably wouldn't of been so good if Cliff Burton didn't write some of the song. Damage Inc. would of been my least favorite song in the album if Burton didn't write it, and I would of hated Orion if it weren't for him.
Thinking about others (Wikipedia), Check.
Christian, Check.
Made Metallica a good band, Check.
Pretty much the best Metallica member of all time.
There isn't a band out there that this guy wouldn't have been the most valuable member of.
How can you put this god in the 4th place he deserves to 1st RIP CLIFF!
He must be the first one. He is the greatest bassist in history.

Ok, so Dave Mustaine was just a talented songwriter and guitar player, who was famous for being good at it.
Kirk Hammett is a terrible guitarist, who uses a wah pedal to make things easy, and was only famous because of the band he's in. His riffs were also not as good (except for Enter Sandman) and the solos were just ok.
Very original guitarist

He was underrated because Cliff was there in Metallica. He was a better vocal than James in Reload age.
He was the best live performer that Metallica never had. I wish he never left the band...
A great musician with a great mind-set. The band was lucky to have him while they did.
Jason was the best member personality-wise during his time in the band. And he still is a talented bassist and will always remain one :).

Lars Ulrich is a legend. And I know you guys think I'm crazy but in actual fact you are the one that is crazy. METALLICA would not be METALLICA without Lars. People don't really give him the credit that he deserves. For example in Enter Sandman his drumming is spot on and so badass.which is why it is one of my favourite songs of all time. And I'm sure that TRUE METALLICA FANS would agree with me. STOP HATING ON LARS!

Robert Should be #3

Dave Mustaine is the BEST. No questions asked. Without Dave, thrash metal and I dare say Metallica would not be what it is today. My favorite members are:
1. The Father of Thrash Metal (Dave)
2. Cliff Burton
3. James Hetfield
My top three are the greats of Metallica. The rest are either pretty dang good (Rob and Jason), highly overrated (KIRK! ), or just suck (Lars, Bob, and Ron). That is all.
Dave is an an incredible musician, there is no doubt about that. However, he was just not the best fit for Metallica, and if he were still with Metallica to this day, then there would be no Megadeth.
People give him more credit then he deserves. He isn't even as technical as his own guitarist in megadeth
I think Metallica should've stuck with their original guitarist and bassist.
Shouldn't be on the list because he was only a member for less than a year and didn't even contribute to the band. All he got was a garage demo, and played during the 30th anniversary. I might of put him in the top 3 if he never left Metallica, and they probably would've always been good.
But he decided to quit and let Metallica get terrible. Cliff Burton wasn't too bad, but if he were still alive, I bet Metallica would be worse than they are today. Jason Newsted was actually pretty good, had a nice bassline in "My Friend of Misery", but none of the albums were as good. Robert Trujillo is just the metal bassist you shouldn't care about because when he joined, they were making St. Anger, and Death Magnetic and Lulu came out, and James became a table.
So basically, thanks to him quitting the band, Metallica became terrible, but not until after Burton's death, and this is why nobody cares about him. Also, he was not a placeholder, he was a real member.

Did the bass on St. Anger after Newstead left and before they hired Trujillo