Master Of Reality
by Black Sabbath

Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath
Year: 1971
Release date: 1971-07-21
Overall rank: 306th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,064 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1971 (13th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1970s (74th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (306th)

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Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality [Deluxe Edition] [New Vinyl LP] 180 Gram, Delu
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Black Sabbath MASTER OF REALITY Brazil Young/NEMS EX
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Black Sabbath Master Of Reality Lp Vinyl 1971 1st Press Shrink/Insert/Poster EX
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Black Sabbath bestography

Master Of Reality is ranked 3rd best out of 47 albums by Black Sabbath on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Black Sabbath is Paranoid which is ranked number 50 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 18,695.

Black Sabbath album bestography « Higher ranked (255th)
Black Sabbath
This album (306th)
Master Of Reality
Lower ranked (751st) »
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Mar
21
Sat
MADAME OZZY Tribute to OZZY OSBOURNE & BLACK SABBATH featuring Mistress of Reality
Temblor Brewing Company, Bakersfield, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
04
Sat
Masters Of Metal Night: Tributes to Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper
Pop's Concert Venue, Sauget, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Apr
07
Tue
Black Label Society w/ Zakk Sabbath
The Norva, Norfolk, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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Master Of Reality track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Master Of Reality rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 306th | 1970s rank: 74th | 1971 rank: 13th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026MrOlanTop 100 Greatest Music Albums53/10048
2026BurndenAceTop 52 Music Albums of the 1970s34/527
2026pinkfreud1981Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s67/1007
2026steve397Top 100 Greatest Music Albums35/10066
2026wizardalienTop 11 Music Albums of 19716/113
2026pjerskeTop 100 Greatest Music Albums73/10028
2026MoondanceTop 100 Music Albums of 197146/1003
2026cicadelicTop 80 Music Albums of 197139/803
2026adbrack1988Top 40 Music Albums of 19715/405
2026 imacgillTop 57 Music Albums of 197117/574
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of 197121/1004
2026wizardalienTop 100 Greatest Albums of the 20th Century95/100 -
2026mrmcrookTop 100 Greatest Music Albums23/10077
2026Marswolf68Top 100 Greatest Music Albums31/10070
2026craabTop 100 Music Albums of the 1970s64/1007
2026mrmcrookTop 21 Music Albums of 19711/215
2026julianfox94Top 25 Greatest Music Albums23/2512
2026StreakyNunoTop 100 Greatest Music Albums62/10039
2026steve397Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s6/10019
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 100 Music Albums of 197122/1004
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 731
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 5,486
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Master Of Reality collection

Master Of Reality ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,064 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,064 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 
3 days ago Superunknown  Ratings distribution  28771/100
 
100/100
 
5 days ago Marswolf68  Ratings distribution  92778/100
 
75/100
 
02/28/2026 21:41 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
100/100
 
02/20/2026 19:16 Kronikal433  Ratings distribution  15493/100
 
100/100
 
02/13/2026 02:06 evstratios  Ratings distribution  18097/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 83.7/100, a mean average of 82.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.8.

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Master Of Reality comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 51 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
55/100
From 07/11/2025 19:53 | #310064
Classic Sabbath, not quite up to the standard of Paranoid obviously but so many killer riffs here. After Forever is my highlight.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/27/2025 21:35 | #308224
Troisième album réussi pour Sabbath. L'usine a riff continue de tourner à plein régime du côté de Iommi.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/23/2023 02:02 | #298285
An excellent follow-up to Paranoid. Some of the most perfect rock/metal songs ever written, with "Sweet Leaf", "Children of the Grave", "Solitude", "Into the Void" and "After Forever" among Black Sabbath's finest compositions. Even the instrumental interludes are also quite gripping.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/26/2023 17:25 | #294480
Their best when it comes to riffs and their biggest sonic masterpiece, but overall Paranoid has better songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/06/2022 17:09 | #289362
One of BS's best
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/13/2022 08:23 | #286334
Maybe the best sabbath album, but hard to decide with the previous two and Heaven and Hell...
With Children of the Grave the best sabbath riff in my opinion and perfect for listening in one session, not one bad song. Orchid and Embryo are really good instrumentals compared to other "fillers", looking at you FX.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/24/2022 20:32 | #280029
Great Black Sabbath record, not one bad track, excellent folkow-up to their previous album. Heaviness is revolutionary for its time and highly influential. The lyrics are great too: Children Of The Grave is the best example, apocalyptic instrumentation fits with narration of anti-nuclear youth very well.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/05/2021 11:59 | #273329
In my humble opinion, this is the heaviest Sabbath album from the early era (13 comes close for a general heavy comparison of a later time). It is also home to one of my favourite Sabbath tracks 'Children of the Grave'. 'After Forever' is another personal favourite from the ealrly Sabbath catalogue. Not the most creative sleeve art, they could surely have come up with something more 'scarey' akin to their debut and Sabbath Bloddy Sabbath.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/21/2021 16:03 | #271802
This album is phenomenally put together by Sabbath. Every song feels completely unique and each delve into their own sub genre of music. It is incredible to see the versatility on display and just how good they were at being diverse in their sound. This album is amongst their best of all time, probably in the top 3 for me.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/23/2021 04:34 | #264907
Sabbath basically created multiple metal subgenres with one album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1971
1. Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin
2. Who's Next by The Who
3. Hunky Dory by David Bowie
4. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
5. Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones
6. Blue by Joni Mitchell
7. Tago Mago by Can
8. Meddle by Pink Floyd
9. L.A. Woman by The Doors
10. Tapestry by Carole King
11. Fragile by Yes
12. Bryter Layter by Nick Drake
13. Master Of Reality by Black Sabbath
14. Aqualung by Jethro Tull
15. Ram by Paul & Linda McCartney
16. Electric Warrior by T. Rex
17. Imagine by John Lennon
18. Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
19. There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone
20. At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers Band
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