Best Ever Albums

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 03:15:21 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/20/2026 07:15

Agreed Repo. Nice to be talking all things Sabb / Ozzy again.

I guess because RJD replaced Ozzy, at the time, I really didn't think that Dio's voice worked for Sabb but, looking back, I think that was because he replaced the rock god that was Ozzy. I look back on the Dio albums far more favourably now than I ever did then.

Talking about Dio, I think that

Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (1978) by Rainbow

Is his greatest work. A superb collection of songs, brilliantly preformed by stellar musicians. Still one of my favourite Heavy Rock / Metal albums of all time (Bob Daisley involved here as well of course)

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:02:53 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/20/2026 04:02

Glad we're getting back into this! 😈

Personally, I LOVE both The Randy Rhodes Years of Ozzy and the Dio Years of Sabbath. In fact, I think Ozzy AND Black Sabbath pretty much owned the Metal Years of 1980-1982. It's just soooo hard to compare the two. As I said a bit earlier....

Repo wrote:

• Blizzard of Ozz and Heaven & Hell are such different animals. Kind of cool how different sounding the ex-couple became after just ONE album. They're pretty much in two separate sub-genres of Metal immediately.

• Ozzy hooking up with an Eddie Van Halenesque neoclassical gunslinger - Randy Rhodes -and taking Van Halen's guitar-centic Hard Rock meets Glam another crucial step into Hair Metal territory. Just as importantly but more singular, the Gothic Rock elements of Ozzy's first 3 albums is pretty much unequaled by any band. Perhaps the best Gothic Hard Rock of all time.

Ozzy owes the principle songwriter of the Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman - Bob Daisley - pretty much everything. Ozzy really lucked out getting hooked up with the right people. Randy Rhodes & Bob Daisley were a dream team! I LOVE the goth-metal-neoclassical concoction they came up with.

BUT, Black Sabbath really lucked out getting Dio too! It really was a mutually beneficial breakup.

I consider Ronnie James Dio as one of the most iconic Metal Vocalists of all time. He's right up there with Ozzy & Halford.

And if I had to Rank Dio's Discography it would be sth like....

1. Dio - Holy Diver
2. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
3. Rainbow - Rising
4. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
5. Dio - Last In Line
6. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n Roll
7. Dio - Dream Evil
8. Dio - Sacred Heart

.... & then I'd have to really twiddle my thumbs and relisten.

I think Dio has a very unique & powerful sound/vision that he brought to all 3 of these projects. LBH, Dio's Sound & Vision is one of the most important ingredients of what makes metal M-E-T-A-L.! \m/

And THIS ....

Mob Rules (1981) by Black Sabbath

... is one of the most influential Metal album covers of all time.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

CA Dreamin — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:56:10 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 08/19/2026 22:56

Having lived through that time, you would know better than us about Sabbath's reputation at the time. But I think the Dio years are looked upon somewhat fondly nowadays. A lot of people like the Dio albums. And in fairness to Mob Rules, Tracks 1 & 3 have grown on me, and overall the album isn't bad. However, I just can't get behind Repo's comment of 'Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules sounded completely different from Mach I Sabbath but were every bit as good.' It sounds like Johnnyo and I lean more towards Ozzy's 1980 and '81 releases than those of Dio-led Black Sabbath, whereas Repo leans the other way.

Updated rankings:

1. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Master of Reality
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Blizzard of Ozz
8. Heaven and Hell
9. Diary of a Madman
10. Mob Rules
11. Technical Ecstasy
12. Never Say Die

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 03:47:26 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/18/2026 07:47

What a great write up CA.

I have to say that, at the time, when Ozzy left Sabbath, i thought that he had made a huge mistake (not understanding the machinations going on in the band) and that he would do nothing decent on his own. I was proved well and truly wrong.

There's more cohesion to Diary... than Mob Rules and it's a far more focused album for me.

Good point about the continual line up changes with Sabbath around this time and subsequently. I don't think that it was good for the band, the individuals concerned and the reputation of Sabbath TBH

Anyway. As I said, great write up and you pretty much captured my thoughts on the two albums but far more eloquently than I could

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

CA Dreamin — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:33:07 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 08/17/2026 21:33

In 1981, the rivalry intensified between Ozzy Osbourne and his former band, Black Sabbath. Both parties were releasing singles around the same time to see who would chart better. And their albums of 1981 were released three days apart, to see which would sell better.

First up, Mob Rules. You know how when you listen to a good album for the first few times, or when you revisit one for the first time in years, the tracks resonate? They get stuck in your head, and sometimes you can hear the next track's opening notes before they even begin. Well, I've listened through Mob Rules 3-4 times in the past two weeks, and very little of it has resonated here. It goes in one ear, out the other. That being said, I don't find any songs bad, just forgettable. Even the decent ones. Maybe it's the slowed down pace from Heaven and Hell? Mob Rules feels more straightforward, carefully constructed, than its predecessor, which doesn't leave room for surprises. Maybe it's the departure of Bill Ward, and a new drumming style? On that note, it's worth mentioning Bill Ward left the band before Mob Rules. He missed Ozzy and was dealing with his own inner demons, so it's understandable. It would be the first of many departures of Sabbath members, many of whom would later re-enter, demonstrating the band going forward would lack a consistent line-up and sound, which begs the question of how well the bandmates actually got along.

Three days after Mob Rules hit the shelves, Ozzy and his band released Diary of a Madman. Like Blizzard of Ozz, it bursts out of the gate with two pretty good, easy-to-digest singles (that stuck with me more than the songs on Mob Rules). Also like Blizzard of Ozz, this one is easy to interpret. Flying High Again was reactionary to his successful first solo album, a way of saying he moved on from Sabbath and enjoyed being in the spotlight again, making the best music he had since 1975. You Can't Kill Rock and Roll was self-explanatory. As we get into the meat of the Diary of a Madman, it strays away from the direct raw power we were accustomed to from Blizzard of Ozz. The songs get a little atmospheric and sometimes mystical-sounding. Although the atmosphere fed into my pet peeve with the album. I couldn't help but notice 5 of the album's tracks have a 40-60 second fade-out. There's a time and place for that sort of thing, if a song is a closer, or an epic. However, not every song on Diary of a Madman featuring a long fade-out needed one. By the end of Track 6, I was tired of it. Still, not a half bad album.

Overall, I think Mob Rules and Diary of a Madman are a notch below their predecessors. And again, I think Ozzy wins this round. I like DoaM a little more than Mob Rules. They're both better than the last two Osbourne Sabbath albums.

One thing is for sure, these two albums were going head-to-head against each other. The record labels, the media, the bandmembers themselves, probably all fueled this rivalry. And the statistics clearly indicate Ozzy won this round. DoaM far outsold Mob Rules, and the Ozzy singles charted better than Sabbath's. Ozzy may have taken pleasure that he was winning the commercial battle against his former band. However, as we move into 1982, both Ozzy and Sabbath ramped up the rivalry even more, while both sides were dealt serious blows from within.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 02:42:57 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/10/2026 06:42

Repo wrote:

The Most Influential Albums of 1980 on Metal were ...

1. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Oz
2. Judas Priest _ British Steel
3. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
4. Motorhead - Ace of Spades

hard to argue with that list. British Steel is a great shout. Not to bang on about it but just to point out that Priest were also from Birmingham.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Sun, 9 Aug 2026 23:39:38 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/10/2026 03:39

The Most Influential Albums of 1980 on Metal were ...

1. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Oz
2. Judas Priest _ British Steel
3. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell
4. Motorhead - Ace of Spades

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Sun, 9 Aug 2026 23:12:58 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/10/2026 03:12

• Mach II Black Sabbath sounded so incredibly different than Mach I Sabbath.

• At this point, no other band had ever sounded like this... . Not even late 70s Rainbow (NOT EVEN CLOSE! 😈 ).

• They were HEAVY in a whole different way.

• Two of the biggest albums that influenced Power Metal were Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules. I'd argue that Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules had a LOUDER impact on the evolution of Power Metal than all those Mach I albums with Ozzy!

• BOTH Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules are easily classics of early '80s Metal. (Ozzy's first two solo albums easily reach classic status as well.)

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Sat, 8 Aug 2026 02:56:38 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/08/2026 06:56

I've also done my list of the albums so far

1. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Master of Reality
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Heaven and Hell
8. Blizzard of Ozz
9. Never Say Die
10. Technical Ecstasy

Uncannily similar to CA's list

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Sat, 8 Aug 2026 02:44:43 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/08/2026 06:44

So up next would be

Mob Rules (1981) by Black Sabbath

&

Diary Of A Madman (1981) by Ozzy Osbourne

both released in 1981 so will be an interesting comparison between the two

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Sat, 8 Aug 2026 02:41:04 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 08/08/2026 06:41

Repo wrote:

• "Falling Off The End of the World" on Mob Rules influenced BOTH "22 Acacia Ave" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" on The Number of the Beast.

• More importantly Mob Rules is a BETTER album than The Number of the Beast!!! (Although Killers and Piece of Mind r better than Mob Rules).

• it's a pretty stacked field.

I can see both of those connections Repo.

This is going to get interesting looking at both Ozzy and Sabb albums simultaneously (or at least in close proximity to each other.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Fri, 7 Aug 2026 23:45:22 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/08/2026 03:45

• "Falling Off The End of the World" on Mob Rules influenced BOTH "22 Acacia Ave" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" on The Number of the Beast.

• More importantly Mob Rules is a BETTER album than The Number of the Beast!!! (Although Killers and Piece of Mind r better than Mob Rules).

• it's a pretty stacked field.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Sun, 2 Aug 2026 22:32:03 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/03/2026 02:32

• Blizzard of Ozz and Heaven & Hell are such different animals. Kind of cool how different sounding the ex-couple became after just ONE album. They're pretty much in two separate sub-genres of Metal immediately.

• Ozzy hooking up with an Eddie Van Halenesque neoclassical gunslinger - Randy Rhodes -and taking Van Halen's guitar-centic Hard Rock meets Glam another crucial step into Hair Metal territory. Just as importantly but more singular, the Gothic Rock elements of Ozzy's first 3 albums is pretty much unequaled by any band. Perhaps the best Gothic Hard Rock of all time.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 02:10:05 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 07/31/2026 06:10

CA Dreamin wrote:

Something I forgot to mention in my post was how Blizzard of Ozz was heart-on-sleeve, whereas Heaven and Hell was kind of vague. And this was matter of stylistic differences between Ozzy and Dio, and where there were at in 1980. As I mentioned, Dio's lyrics touched upon fantasy, surreal, mythology, but he didn't get too specific, leaving the meaning of his words up to interpretation. Ozzy, on the other hand, was a wreck, more so than usual at the time of Blizzard of Ozz. You can easily tell how hurt he was over getting fired from Black Sabbath. There isn't much room for interpretation in songs like Goodbye to Romance and Suicide Solution. Ozzy was drinking heavily, plus dealing with the falling-out with his long-time friends and musical collaborators. It's as simple as that. Therefore I probably gravitate more towards Ozzy's 1980 album than Sabbath's, but only slightly. And I stand by my statement neither album comes close to Sabbath 1970-75. Anywho, since this be a rank'em thread, time to update them:

1. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Master of Reality
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Blizzard of Ozz
8. Heaven and Hell
9. Technical Ecstasy
10. Never Say Die

I'm interested in reading Repo's more enthusiastic write-up on H&H and BoOzz. As well as anyone and everyone else who wants to chime in.

It's going to be interesting to see where Ozzy's solo albums fit into the overall Sabb rankings. I think that I'd probably put Heaven & Hell just ahead of Blizzard but 7 & 8 feels right to me

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

CA Dreamin — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:50:11 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 07/30/2026 16:50

Something I forgot to mention in my post was how Blizzard of Ozz was heart-on-sleeve, whereas Heaven and Hell was kind of vague. And this was matter of stylistic differences between Ozzy and Dio, and where there were at in 1980. As I mentioned, Dio's lyrics touched upon fantasy, surreal, mythology, but he didn't get too specific, leaving the meaning of his words up to interpretation. Ozzy, on the other hand, was a wreck, more so than usual at the time of Blizzard of Ozz. You can easily tell how hurt he was over getting fired from Black Sabbath. There isn't much room for interpretation in songs like Goodbye to Romance and Suicide Solution. Ozzy was drinking heavily, plus dealing with the falling-out with his long-time friends and musical collaborators. It's as simple as that. Therefore I probably gravitate more towards Ozzy's 1980 album than Sabbath's, but only slightly. And I stand by my statement neither album comes close to Sabbath 1970-75. Anywho, since this be a rank'em thread, time to update them:

1. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Master of Reality
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Blizzard of Ozz
8. Heaven and Hell
9. Technical Ecstasy
10. Never Say Die

I'm interested in reading Repo's more enthusiastic write-up on H&H and BoOzz. As well as anyone and everyone else who wants to chime in.

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Johnnyo — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:45:57 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 07/27/2026 07:45

Nice entry Repo. I'm going to revisit

Heaven And Hell (1980) by Black Sabbath

&

Blizzard Of Ozz (1980) by Ozzy Osbourne

to give them a shot. I've not played either in quite a few years and My recollection is that they were good but not great. I'll let you know what I think

Re: Rank 'Em: Ozzy Osbourne

Repo — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:55:43 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 07/26/2026 19:55

I'm burnt out from a 3 week roadtrip with my kids, BUT I will be adding my 2 cents shortly.

I consider both Heaven & Hell and Blizzard of Ozz to be total classics and some of the best metal albums of 1980. 1980 was one of the most important years in the history of metal and both albums were a key part of that.

I recently ranked the the metal albums of 1980 and here were my rankings...

Repo wrote:

The Repo Metal Hall Of Fame: 1980

First set of inductees into my Hall Of Fame. Metal albums that became part of the cultural fabric of their day and have stood the test of time. I will typically try to limit this to five albums, but 1980 just had way too much goodness. If you think something is missing, I want to here about it! If you think something doesn't belong? Again, I want to hear about it. This is ranked (in order) by how much I love them. But, they're all obviously awesome or they wouldn't be here. Let me know what you think!

7.