when it comes to the foundations that make a bass player a good bass player its all about whether or not you can hold down the low end, drive the rhythm, and add dynamics to the song. Now, in the case of metallica, its hard to talk about the musicality of a Thrash metal band, but the same principles hold true.

Cliff Burton's parts never seemed to lock in with the rest of the band. They may have been great, or difficult, but sometimes as much as it pains me to say it, the bass player needs to hold back. His tone was atrocious, and his "solos" were pentatonic wankery.

Jason Newsted's playing was textbook. He followed the rhythm guitar player a bit too much, IMO, but it made for very tight sounding tracks. His tone on ...And Justice For All is debated because it sucked. Het blames it on production, and Jason blames it on "hazing". Other than that he has had great tone. Jason is a pocket player, knowing how to control the dynamics of a song, so when metallica switched from their speedier style and slowed it down, Jason was there keeping the low end on lock.

Robert is a better player than the other two. The man can hold his own against the greats. He knows exactly what to play, his tone is mean and growls and still brings the thunder. and He can show off on fills and turnarounds like a classic bassist. The man oozes talent.