S&M
by Metallica & San Francisco Symphony

S&M by Metallica & San Francisco Symphony
(Live album)
Year: 1999
Overall rank: 5,586th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
65/100 (from 256 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1999 (75th)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (921st)
Award Best albums of all time (5,586th)

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Metallica + San Francisco Symphony S&M2 Deluxe 2CD + DVD Edition
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S &M2 by Metallica & San Francisco Symphony (CD, 2020) 2 CD Set
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Metallica And San Francisco Symphony - S&M2 4LP Vinyl Set
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Metallica & San Francisco Symphony bestography

S&M is ranked 11th best out of 30 albums by Metallica on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Metallica is Master Of Puppets which is ranked number 93 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 12,464.

Metallica & San Francisco Symphony album bestography « Higher ranked (5,370th)
72 Seasons
This album (5,586th)
S&M
Lower ranked (6,652nd) »
Garage Inc.

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

May
02
Sat
Ian Asher
Brooklyn Paramount, Brooklyn, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
14
Tue
Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman with special guest Brennan Wedl
Harrah's Cherokee Center - Ashevill, Asheville, United States. United States
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Apr
01
Wed
Freddie Dredd - Back To Hell Tour
Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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S&M track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 75 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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S&M rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 5,586th | 1990s rank: 921st | 1999 rank: 75th

S&M collection

S&M ratings

Average Rating: 
65/100 (from 256 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 256 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
50/100
 
02/20/2026 20:26 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,25368/100
 
100/100
 
02/20/2026 19:21 Kronikal433  Ratings distribution  15493/100
 
65/100
 
12/05/2025 16:58 Araldo  Ratings distribution  1,47280/100
 
95/100
 
08/23/2025 09:57 Musicmister9988  Ratings distribution  20396/100
 
80/100
 
08/11/2025 16:42 EyeKanFly  Ratings distribution  8,42765/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 65.5/100, a mean average of 65.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 65.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 21.8.

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S&M comments

Showing all 6 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
75/100
From 08/05/2025 05:17 | #310412
Metal and orchestra definitely works. The only negative is, st 2 hours 13 mins, finding time to listen to the album in full
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/10/2015 17:34 | #147458
Good union between the symphonic and the distorsions of metal, a nice experiment
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/26/2015 20:20 | #142446
Many fans of metal, myself included, see an obvious connection between metal and orchestral music. This is a great experiment in actually merging the two. It doesn't always work, but when it does it's fantastic. "Outlaw Torn" and "Bleeding Me" are two that standout as working especially well. The highlight for me is "No Leaf Clover," which was written for the show and accordingly has the best interplay between the symphonic and the rock.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 09/27/2012 06:52 | #51286
No Leaf Clover as recorded on this album might be my favorite Metallica song.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 05/06/2012 02:13 | #41602
This is one of my favorite live albums. Metallica songs performed with the San Francisco Symphony. It's a good idea that's executed really well. The songs chosen fit the style nicely.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 10/24/2011 01:11 | #28983
One of the greatest blends of all time... who knew?? Symphony and metal? Treat yourself!!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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