The editor was not showing content beyond a certain point so I had to break my Cliff Burton post into two parts. Please see THIS POST for the beginning of this.

Cliff Burton with Metallica

Cliff Burton had an energy and attitude unlike anyone before him or anyone sense. He was the inspiration for many bass players then to do something new, and he inspired a lot of people to pick up the bass.

Here is a great video of him performing For Whom The Bell Tolls with Metallica from the album Ride The Lightning. I think it is a great video showing his attitude and what he was like to watch perform live. Metallica was anti-video back then so all Cliff Burton material is from bootleg videos only. Thus, you'll never get great quality. In fact, this is likely the best you're likely to see.

Albums he recorded with Metallica

He was instrumental and critical to the sound and design of these albums.

Source: genius.com

Source: metallica.wikia.com

He also helped write a lot of this material before his death, but he died on the Master of Puppets tour so did not actually record on this album.

Source: metallica.wikia.com

Death

Here is the quote on his death from the Cliff Burton Wikipedia page.

During the European leg of the Damage Inc. tour in support of Master of Puppets, the band complained that the sleeping cubicles on their tour bus were unsatisfactory and uncomfortable. To decide who received pick of the bunks, Kirk Hammett and Burton drew cards.[18] On the evening of September 26, 1986, Burton won the game with an ace of spades, thereby getting the first choice of bunk and pointed at Hammett and exclaimed, "I want your bunk!" Hammett replied, "Fine, take my bunk, I'll sleep up front, it's probably better up there anyway." Burton was sleeping shortly before 7 am on September 27 when, according to the driver, the bus skidded off the road (the E4, 12 miles north of Ljungby),[19] and flipped onto the grass in Kronoberg County[20] Burton was thrown through the window of the bus, which fell on top of him, resulting in his death.
James Hetfield later stated that he first believed the bus flipped because the driver was drunk. Hetfield stated that he walked long distances down the road looking for black ice and found none. Local freelance photographer Lennart Wennberg (who attended the crash scene the following morning), later asked in an interview about the likelihood that black ice caused the accident, said it was 'out of the question' because the road was dry and the temperature around 2 °C (36 °F). This was confirmed by police who found no ice on the road. Ljungby detective Arne Pettersson was reported in a local newspaper to have said the tracks at the accident site were exactly like ones seen when drivers fall asleep at the wheel. However, the driver stated under oath that he had slept during the day and was fully rested; his testimony was confirmed by the driver of a second tour bus that was carrying the band's crew and equipment.[19] The driver was determined not at fault for the accident and no charges were brought against him.

Source: ultimateclassicrock.com

Source: 2fast2die.com

Metallica was my favorite band and I was still in high school when this happened. I remember when I heard of his death, I pretty much moped and listened to Metallica all day and was worthless in school. I remember it vividly.

Who he influenced

Metallica influenced so many people. He would have Jason Newsted of Flotsam and Jetsam take his spot first in Metallica. Later Jason would leave Metallica and Rob Trujillo of Sucidal Tendencies/Infections Grooves would become the bass player.