Black Sabbath discography

Like most bands that have been around a while, their albums range in quality. But even the worst Black Sabbath albums have merit, and if you're a fan, there's no doubt that you should own them all.

Born Again (1983) - 93.73

Ian Gillan's only album as vocalist is... wait... What? Ian Gillan? From Deep Purple? Although this sounds like an odd pairing (in fact, the deal was sealed after everyone had a bit too much to drink one night), if you ignore the atrocious cover and not-so-good production and focus instead on the sinister guitar riffs and solos, the godly metal shrieks, and the face-bashing rhythm section, you'll find Black Sabbath at their head-banging best! Recommendation: Buy immediately!

Favorite tracks: Trashed, Zero the Hero, Digital Bitch

Paranoid (1970) - 91.47

Paranoid. War Pigs. Iron Man. Electric Funeral. Fairies Wear Boots. The second album is still a metal classic almost 40 years after it was released. 'Nuff said! Recommendation: Buy immediately!

Favorite tracks: Paranoid, War Pigs, Iron Man

Tyr (1990) - 90.85

Criminally underrated. There's not a bad song to be found here. It's easily the best Black Sabbath album recorded in the past 20 years. Tony Martin's vocals won't remind you of Ozzy or Dio, but he more than holds his own on this excellent album. Recommendation: Buy immediately!

Favorite tracks: Anno Mundi, The Sabbath Stones, Valhalla

Master of Reality (1971) - 90.52
The third album is a "master" piece of early metal. The only weak spot is Orchid, but because it's only a minute and a half long, I can't hold that against the album. By the way, did you know that the coughing at the beginning of Sweet Leaf is Tony Iommi after he took a drag on a joint? Recommendation: Buy immediately!

Favorite tracks: Sweet Leaf, Children of the Grave

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) - 90.18

The rating here is actually misleading as just one song, Fluff, caused it to be much lower than it could have been. A higher song rating would have made this album no worse than my second favorite, and quite possibly my favorite. Every other song is very good to excellent. Recommendation: Buy immediately!

Favorite tracks: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabbra Cadabra, Killing Yourself to Live

Heaven and Hell (1980) - 89.96

Exit Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward, enter Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice. Dio and Appice brought new blood to a stagnant band and helped them record their best album since Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Not a bad song to be found on this excellent album. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite tracks: Neon Knights, Lady Evil, Heaven & Hell

Sabotage (1975) - 89.92

An excellent follow-up to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. A consistently great album with standout track Symptom of the Universe. Look for the 23-second track Blow On A Jug tacked on to the end of The Writ, which features Ozzy and Bill Ward messing around in the studio. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite track: Symptom of the Universe

Headless Cross (1989) - 88.33

Another Tony Martin album, and again he delivers. A solid album with no weak tracks, save the intro song Gates of Hell. Listen for the Brian May guitar solo on When Death Calls. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite tracks: Headless Cross, When Death Calls

Black Sabbath (1970) - 88.31 (US version); 88.25 (UK version)

Black Sabbath began as a heavy blues-rock band called Earth, but soon renamed themselves after the title of a 1963 Italian horror film. The difference in the two ratings is due to the inclusion of a different track on the US album versus the UK album (Wicked World instead of Evil Woman). Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite track: The Wizard

Vol. 4 (1972) - 84.25

Another solid release. The slightly lower score is the result of a few weak tracks that keep this album from being on par with those released before and after. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite track: Supernaut

Eternal Idol (1987) - 83.24

The band line-up and recording of this album is a bit of a jumbled mess. There were quite a few personnel changes during the recording of this album, including vocals, which featured Ray Gillen on the original demos. But Gillen left the band before the album was finished, and they brought in Tony Martin (who they wanted previously but was unavailable) to re-record the vocals. The result is a pretty solid album overall. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite track: The Shining

The Devil You Know (2009) - 81.17

Tired of waiting for Ozzy to record with the band, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler reunited with ex-bandmates Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice to record this album. Yeah, technically they're now called Heaven and Hell, but that's just a (legal) formality. It's still a Black Sabbath album, and a pretty good one at that. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite Song: Fear

Seventh Star (1986) - 79.87

This was originally recorded as a Tony Iommi solo album, but the record company pressured him into calling it a Black Sabbath album. Glenn Hughes sang on the album, but was fired early on the tour and was replaced by Ray Gillen. Although it was never released on CD in the U.S., it's decent enough to spend the extra money on. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite tracks: In for the Kill

Dehumanizer (1992) - 78.92

I'll be honest... I had pretty much forgotten about this album prior to the Heaven and Hell reunion tour. But during the concert, they played the song "I," and I was blown away. I didn't remember the song being that good. I was wrong. The album's not bad, but the song kicks ass. Recommendation: Worth buying.

Favorite Tracks: I, TV Crimes

Cross Purposes (1994) - 74.14

Tony Martin returns, but this time the results aren't as impressive. A few above average songs are balanced by a few below-average songs, resulting in a pretty average album. Recommendation: Listen before you buy.

Favorite tracks: none

Mob Rules (1981) - 71.30

The second album featuring Dio on vocals. It has some strong tracks, but it's not nearly as good as Heaven and Hell. Cool cover painting by fantasy artist Greg Hildebrandt. Recommendation: Listen before you buy.

Favorite track: The Mob Rules

Forbidden (1995) - 68.74

Tony Martin is again on vocals, but the magic of his previous albums is nowhere to be found on this release. Consistently weak, with only Shaking Off the Chains being a decent track. Recommendation: Listen before you buy.

Favorite tracks: none

Technical Ecstasy (1976) - 67.59

The beginning of the end with Ozzy. Personal (i.e., drug) issues were causing problems within the band, and the results showed. A pretty weak effort overall. Recommendation: Listen before you buy.

Favorite track: Dirty Women

Never Say Die (1978) - 65.39

The final Ozzy album. The problems were too much to ignore and a change was needed. Perhaps the album title and song were meant to inspire hope among the band and the fans, but even though the song rocked hard, it was too little, too late. Recommendation: Listen before you buy.

Favorite track: Never Say Die

Crap Track: Break Out

(Thanks to the website www.black-sabbath.com for some of the trivia posted here.)