22. “One,” Metallica, 1989

This was the first song that really exposed Metallica to the non-metalhead world. It was their first true music video, and as such, some fans probably think it was the beginning of the end (no, that was actually the song “Nothing Else Matters”). I admit that this song was where I started paying attention to Metallica, just like everybody else. …and Justice for All was the first Metallica album I bought, and my first foray into the world of “real” metal, which I now wholeheartedly enjoy.

The primary video for this song mixed performance footage with clips from the anti-war film Johnny Got His Gun, and it was a truly haunting piece of art. It enjoyed constant rotation on MTV and rock-radio play. Metallica had arrived and, for good or ill, had experienced their first taste of non-underground success.

Favorite Lyric: “Land mine has taken my sight, taken my speech, taken my hearing/Taken my arms, taken my legs, taken my soul/Left me with life in hell.”

Favorite Musical Moment: Machine-gun percussion and guitars that sound like an actual war zone.

Would It Make Good Karaoke? Forcing bar patrons to sit through those long instrumental passages would just be plain mean, so, no.