When Rolling Stone began ranking the 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time, one of the first musicians they consulted was Metallica's Lars Ulrich.

“Not only did he co-write and drum on five of the LPs that made the list – including the #2 pick, Master Of Puppets - he's been one of metal's most prominent and outspoken mouthpieces for nearly four decades now. He's demonstrated his impeccable taste in interviews and on Metallica's numerous "garage days" releases, on which they've covered songs by Diamond Head, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Mercyful Fate and many other artists who also ultimately made the cut on our list. In short, Ulrich and his bandmates' taste defined the tastes of generations to come.”

The list of metal records Ulrich prepared for Rolling Stone represent a wide array of heavy styles, from the intricate arrangements of Iron Maiden to the go-for-the-gut punk spirit of Guns N' Roses.

"For each artist that's part of my ultimate metal or hard-rock albums, I went for what you would call the definitive moment in their catalogue," he explains. "And for a lot of these bands, they went through a kind of evolution, a kind of a growth and a lot of them have a lot of great records. So what I picked is a combination of what that album represents from the artist and what impact it had on me."

Find out what albums Lars names at RollingStone.com.

Metallica are touring in support of their new album, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. WorldWired live dates are listed below:

July
5 - Orlando, FL - Camping World Stadium*^
7 - Miami, FL - Hard Rock Stadium*^
9 - Atlanta, GA - Suntrust Park*^
12 - Detroit, MI - Comercia Park*^
14 - Quebec City, QC- Festival D'Ete
16 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre*^
19 - Montreal, QB - Parc Jean-Drapeau*^
29 - Los Angeles, CA - Rose Bowl*+

August
4 - Phoenix, AZ - University of Phoenix Stadium*+
6 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park*+
9 - Seattle, WA - Centurylink Field*+
11-13 - San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands
14 - Vancouver, BC - BC Place*+
16 - Edmonton, AB - Commonwealth Stadium*+

* With Avenged Sevenfold
^ With Volbeat
+ With Gojira
# With Local H