Top 10 Best Black Sabbath Albums
When it comes to heavy metal, few bands have had as big an impact as Black Sabbath. Their influence on the genre is undeniable, and they've produced some of the most iconic albums in rock history. The band's ability to mix dark, brooding atmospheres with hard-hitting riffs set them apart from their peers and helped define the sound of metal for decades to come.Over the years, Black Sabbath has gone through several lineup changes, and each era brought a slightly different flavor to their music. From the groundbreaking, doom-laden riffs of the early albums with Ozzy Osbourne at the helm to the more melodic and complex work with Ronnie James Dio, Sabbath's catalog is as varied as it is influential. Fans have strong opinions about which albums stand out the most, and there's no shortage of debate about what defines the band's greatest work.
When it comes to Black Sabbath's discography, everyone has their personal favorites. What can't be argued is that their second album, 'Paranoid,' is lined start to finish with not only great Sabbath cuts but all-time heavy metal classics. Fortifying their sound into indisputable heavy metal, the Birmingham quartet cranked out war anthems like "War Pigs" and "Hand of Doom," while staying political by bashing skinheads on "Fairies Wear Boots."
The barren "Electric Funeral" hits on style over substance regarding simplicity, while "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" saw Tony Iommi move up to the rank of Riff General. Influence, impact, and unparalleled quality make 'Paranoid' Black Sabbath's greatest achievement.
Much better riffs than the slightly overrated Paranoid. Many have tried to emulate the sound - so far, all have failed.
Why couldn't the overproduced and uninspired 13 sound like this? Ditch the Pro Tools and overrated producers, and record a follow-up on an analog 8-track! And don't forget Bill Ward this time. His ham-fisted jazz drumming is integral to the Sabbath sound!
I feel like Master of Reality is a lot more dramatic than the others. This also proved that Sabbath could make more than two wicked albums in a row.
This started a new part of Sabbath, which was more complicated in its structure and more "metal-like" than the two before, which sound a bit more like heavy, slow blues albums.
I like many of Black Sabbath's albums, but I agree this should be first, not third. I believe if Dio had been the original singer and this album had been released before Ozzy was heard of, there would be no question it's the best. Unfortunately, since Ozzy was there first, many want to discount the other singers, but I am sorry, this album is their best!
I like Paranoid and Master of Reality too, but I can't see how it's possible to rank them higher than Heaven and Hell. It's just such a great album. It should be number one. Also, as a side note, I think the self-titled album is better than Master of Reality. So, the list should be 1. Heaven and Hell 2. Paranoid 3. Black Sabbath.
Black Sabbath marked the beginning of a new era with songs like Black Sabbath (the tritone makes the song sound really doomy and scary), NIB with that amazing distorted bass solo, and The Wizard with a wah-wah riff mixed with an amazing harmonica performance by Ozzy.
Warning and Evil Woman are amazingly performed covers with amazing solos, and Wicked World - the name says it all - is just a wicked blues performance. It heralded a whole new era without leaving the blues roots aside.
All of side 2, especially The Warning, plus The Wizard, smoke everything else the band ever did. This is what makes them stand out from other "heavy rock" or rather, metal bands.
Caveat: the title track blows. And N.I.B. is like Chevy - dependable but expendable.
Every song is just masterful, except for Fluff, which is still pretty good. The riffs, the lyrics, the progression of each song, the flow, and just the songwriting in general is what makes this album better than Paranoid. The band is just more mature at this point, they're getting more melodic without forgetting their roots.
And can we just talk about the last three tracks? They are some of the most underrated songs by the band.
Those who say Paranoid is the best clearly haven't listened to any other album. I bet they only know Iron Man and Paranoid. Anyway, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the epitome of Sabbath's career. The song structure is really interesting in every track, the rhythm section is as tight as always, Ozzy has never sounded so good, and Iommi's guitar is just beautifully haunting. Pure metal perfection. (Vol. 4 and Master are still 2nd and 3rd)
The first Sabbath album I ever owned was bought on the day of release. There is a great variety of material.
I always thought Supernaut was one of their most exciting songs. Wheels of Confusion is just staggering, and Snowblind is brilliant. I can't understand why they ignore Volume 4 the way they do.
Vol. 4 is Black Sabbath's most special work, with the mega finale "Under the Sun" as their greatest piece. Every track on the album is phenomenal and manifests the band's magic chemistry at its best.
Awesome, unforgettable record. Sabbath's Sgt. Pepper's!
Without question! This is Ozzy at his angriest. These songs are well-structured, the lyrics impressive, and the tempo changes are constant. This is a very progressive album compared to the earlier dirge of songs like "Sweet Leaf," "Iron Man," or "Snowblind." There is nothing like those types of songs on this release.
"Sabotage" may have more in common with Ozzy's solo albums "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman." "Hole in the Sky" and "Symptom of the Universe" could have easily ended up on either of Osbourne's first two efforts. By far, my favorite Black Sabbath release!
The best Sabbath album ever alongside Heaven and Hell. This was metal at its best with Sabbath. Ronnie just made Sabbath, and I think Tony, Geezer, and Martin Birch would agree. Metal was metal in the 80s. You can't change that, whatever.
I just had to add a vote for this album, which was one of the first albums that introduced me to Sabbath's music and metal as a whole. Great album that deserves to be higher up the list but gets overlooked because it doesn't have Ozzy on lead vocal. A shame.
Best Black Sabbath album, in my opinion. Very melodic music, great riffs, drums, and the best vocals on a Black Sabbath album, and best Ronnie vocals except for the Rainbow era, in my opinion.
Sadly, it is very overlooked.
This is a hugely underrated album. I've listened from start to finish a bunch of times now, and it just keeps getting better!
It's super heavy, the riffs on this album are incredible, and the songs as a whole are just so good, man! Ozzy sounds amazing on these tracks.
Paranoid is in a class of its own for many reasons, but besides Paranoid, this is their best album!
It will be the first studio album released by Black Sabbath since Forbidden (1995) and their first studio recording with original singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler since the live album Reunion (1998), which contained two new studio tracks. It is also the first studio album with Osbourne since Never Say Die! (1978) and with Butler since Cross Purposes (1994). Excited about this album...
Either Dehumanizer or Cross Purposes, in my opinion, are the greatest Sabbath albums. Although, for some reason or another, the old albums get all the credit, and believe me, it can't be due to great music knowledge.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love all of Sabbath's albums, but the old stuff is just catchy songs with catchy riffs and not much more than that. Albums like Dehumanizer and Cross Purposes have extremely deep songs with major substance and incredibly creative, well-written guitar lines, bass lines, and drums.
I will never tire of these great albums. In fact, they continuously get better to me, and I've been listening to them for almost 20 years. The best songs off these albums are Computer God, Master of Insanity, Sins of the Father, I, and It's Too Late.
The Newcomers
This is a great live album. It's cool hearing Dio sing Ozzy's songs.
The "Headless Cross" album should be considered in the top 5. For some reason, this album isn't commercially successful in the USA. Probably because Tony Martin is not as famous as Ozzy or Dio. Dio already became a popular metal vocalist in the early '80s due to his performance in Rainbow and two albums with Black Sabbath. We all know that after leaving Black Sabbath, Ozzy formed his own band, which made him even more popular.
Anyway, musically, "Headless Cross" is one of the truly heavy metal albums of Black Sabbath with dark lyrics. Later, this album influenced so many Black, Death, and Gothic metal bands.
It's actually great but was poorly mixed and poorly produced. For many years, it suffered from sound problems, but the reissue fixed a good amount of that.
Though I like all Sabbath, if you can't have the original four members, then three is a safe bet. This album, along with Heaven and Hell and 13, proved what I mean.
Born Again is my tenth favorite Black Sabbath album. Ian Gillan does a really good job singing on this album. Awesome guitar riffs on that album. Stonehenge/Disturbing the Priest is the best song on Born Again.
Absolutely the heaviest songs with the unlimited craziness of Sabbath are on this album. Also, those vocals are just insane with superb high screams.
Great album, but don't go into it thinking it'll be a hard rock/metal album like the first six. It's got more of a rhythmic/blues rock feel to it. I can't explain it that well, but it's great.
The riffs and vocals, especially, are outstanding. My favorite tracks are Never Say Die, A Hard Road, Shock Wave, and Johnny Blade.
It's certainly not Master of Reality or Sabotage, but it's still kind of underrated and far better than its predecessor. Solid album, even if this marked the end of the original Sabbath lineup.
Eternal Idol is my fifth favorite Black Sabbath album. Tony Martin is a great singer. Great guitar riffs on that album. The Shining is the best song on Eternal Idol.
The first album with Tony Martin on vocals is a good album. It's not a bad album, but it's good.
I'm a huge Ozzy fan and a huge Sabbath fan, but what I can't understand for the life of me is why the old Sabbath gets all the credit. It must be because of hearsay, because it certainly isn't from music knowledge. I know a lot of you will disagree, but the best thing that ever happened in music was Ozzy leaving Sabbath because Ozzy got better and Sabbath got better.
Cross Purposes is not only my favorite Sabbath album but one of my favorite albums, period. This album should be #1 on this list, followed by Dehumanizer, which is also an incredible album in its own right. Ronnie James Dio sings like a god in it, and in my opinion, it's his best singing ever. A close third would have to be TYR, which is also an amazing album.
This isn't a Black Sabbath album. It's an album made by a short-lived band called Heaven and Hell, which had three Sabbath members in it. Although, to be fair, it is basically a Black Sabbath album under a different band name.
Love it. Flows smoothly. The aged original Sabbath is still firing on all cylinders.
This album is simply great, but since it was the first one where they slightly departed from their classic style, narrow-minded people chose not to accept it. Word of mouth, true or false, tends to travel far.
Great classic Sabbath album which, if people dislike, is mainly because they haven't heard it.
It's a spooky, edgy album that very much mirrors the concern with modern society set forth in the album title and cover. "Back Street Kids," "All Moving Parts Stand Still," "Gypsy," and "She's Gone" certainly strike a nerve.
Hell, even Guns and Roses covered "It's Alright" on their live album.
This album is rare but amazing. It's primarily about Norse mythology. Odin's Court and Valhalla sync perfectly as if they were supposed to be one song. It just comes together brilliantly. Great album!
1. Anno Mundi
2. The Lawmaker
3. Jerusalem
4. The Sabbath Stones
5. The Battle of Tyr
6. Odin's Court
7. Valhalla
8. Feels Good to Me
9. Heaven in Black
My favorite Black Sabbath album. I feel like Tony Martin got into his prime on this one. His high notes are simply brilliant, and this features Tony Iommi's best riffs in a long, long time.
Tyr is a band, and I bet you they got their name from this great album right here.
Ah, the album released during the Dio years from the original lineup without the band's knowledge by a former manager who was in a legal battle with the band. Decent recording. The guitar solo from the official 2010 release, I quite like.
This is the first album I haven't got on iTunes. Before that, I've got all the Sabbath studio albums. Nice album, though, totally underrated. Why hasn't anyone added the album yet?
People don't vote for it because it's too good! The best album without Dio and Ozzy.
This album sounds like classic Sabbath a lot more than the other '80s and '90s Sabbath albums. I really don't get the hate.
The Cross Purposes lineup revisited.