Metallica Master of Puppets Vinyl vs Metallica Ride the Lightning LP

Both are Blackened Recordings pressings of classic Metallica albums, so build quality is close. Ride the Lightning is the stronger pick for sound: it is a limited 180gm remastered pressing, and owners of that edition praise its quiet surface and full low end. Master of Puppets is the better pick if you want the Walmart-exclusive Battery Brick color as a collectible, but it is a standard-weight single LP with no remaster noted. Reviewers rate both highly; Ride the Lightning edges ahead on average score from fewer ratings.

• Choose the Master of Puppets (Walmart Exclusive) if you want the Battery Brick colored vinyl as a collectible and prefer the 1986 album's tighter, heavier set of eight tracks.
• Choose the Ride the Lightning LP if you want the limited 180gm remastered pressing and the more varied, musically ambitious of the two albums.