I bought Ride the Lightening upon its release in 1984 when I was in 8th grade. My friends practically laughed me out of school for liking such "[junk]". Motley Crue and Ratt were the real metal bands back then. Well, I never have been one to be affected by peer pressure so I stuck to my guns. By the time we graduated in 1988 everyone of those guys who made fun of me in junior high were Metallica fans and they were the biggest metal band of the 80s. Here it is almost 20 years after its release and I still believe it is the best metal album ever made, even though I fell out of the Metallica camp by the early 90s and a lot of great metal albums have been released since.