Black Sabbath Albums Ranked From Worst to Best
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2021
- Not sure what took us so long, but this week we're finally ranking the 19 studio albums of Black Sabbath.
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Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979, with Iommi being the only constant member throughout its history.
After previous iterations of the group called the Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth, the band settled on the name Black Sabbath in 1969. They distinguished themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and tuned-down guitars. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, "Evil Woman" in January 1970. Their debut album, Black Sabbath, was released the following month. Though it received a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success, leading to a follow-up record, Paranoid, later in 1970. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, critics were starting to respond favourably.
Osbourne's excessive substance abuse led to his firing in 1979. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Following two albums with Dio, Black Sabbath endured many personnel changes in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin, as well as several drummers and bassists. Martin, who replaced Gillen in 1987, was the second longest serving vocalist and recorded three albums with Black Sabbath before his dismissal in 1991. That same year, Iommi and Butler were rejoined by Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer (1992). After two more studio albums with Martin, who replaced Dio in 1993, the band's original line-up reunited in 1997 and released a live album Reunion the following year; they continued to tour occasionally until 2005. Other than various back catalogue reissues and compilation albums, as well as the Mob Rules-era lineup reunited as Heaven & Hell, there was no further activity under the Black Sabbath name for six years. They reunited in 2011 and released their final studio album and nineteenth overall, 13 (2013), which features all of the original members except Ward. During their farewell tour, the band played their final concert in their home city of Birmingham on 4 February 2017.
Black Sabbath have sold over 70 million records worldwide as of 2013, making them one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands. They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band" of all time, and placed second in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number 85 on their "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, and in 2019 the band were presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Let us know how you rank them down in the comments. Thanks for watching!
Stock footage provided by Videvo, downloaded from www.videvo.net
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This may be my favourite one that you guys have done. Its quite obvious that you enjoyed the hell out of it
My fav album by Black Sabbath is Vol 4.
Listen to Solitude . You will be in Awe. I listened to it 20 Times Today.
@@tomperock1615yeah this is easily one of my favorites, if not favorite.
I am that subset of fan.
Born Again is just a face melter.
Joe + Jason, just for infomation - Rick Wakeman only plays on one track in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabra Cadabra). The keyboards and synthesizers on the other tracks are played by Iommi and Butler, Iommi also plays the flute on Looking for Today. Even Ozzy fiddles with a synthesizer on a track.
Ozzy actually wrote and played the whole synth part for who are you
Honestly, I don't think the criticism that Mob Rules is some sort of carbon copy of Heaven and Hell holds much water even though you hear it a lot.
to me it's a slight improvement. it's the Dio-era Sabs at the height of their crushing, malevolent powers
I agree, it's just that the songs are pretty generic and bland in my opinion. Nothing against them trying to recapture the H&H formula, with the structure and all, it's just that to me the songs aren't really there, it sounds like every other traditional metal album from the early 80's in the likes of Maiden or Priest, but not as memorable or inventive.
It kind of repeats the same sequencing and type of song as Heaven and Hell. Mob Rules is still a good album.
I've been absent here a little while, but seeing this list. Sabbath are my all time everything. I can't wait to watch this....when I wake up in 3 hours or so.
This was really a great discussion. I'm not sure I could pick the members of Black Sabbath out of lineup, but I still enjoyed the video. I'm even gonna check them out.
Last week, you guys covered a band where I was familiar with the entire catalog and have listened to all 15 albums ad nauseam. This week, you covered a group of which I am familiar with ZERO of their albums, and the video was just as entertaining.
I think I only know three Sabbath songs (Paranoid, Iron Man, Sweet Leaf), but if this video's goal was to get me excited to go check out those first nine or ten albums, it succeeded.
You've got a near lifetime of entertainment out there for you! I hope you like it.
Curious to what the band was that they did that you were familiar with?
@@painless465 REM
Unbelievable. The first 6 albums are amazing
"You Won't Change Me" - Ward and Ozzy killing it on that one. Classic deep cut. People will look back in a 100 years and say "that guy Ozzy who was supposed to be such a crazy man - dude could really sing." "Junior's Eyes" another one - incredible vocals. Pure feeling.
Good call on both!
I agree - I like any of the Ward songs. Don't know why...but they are quite decent frankly. Never Say Die I still think is underrated. I like it quite a bit.
Tony also killing it on that one too (You Won't Change Me that is). It may be lacking a top notch riff, but the guitar solos easily make up for that.
I don’t like that at all. I think it’s an absolute mess. It’s so overly loud, it’s shrieky, the riffing is lazy and the guitar solo is nonsense.
I haven't heard all of Black Sabbath's albums yet, but yes the 11 most successful ones. Paranoid will always be in my top for personal reasons, it was also the first hard rock album I heard.
My favourite band of all time;
1: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2: Sabotage
3: Masters of Reality
4: Vol 4
5: Paranoid
6: Black Sabbath
7: Heaven and Hell
8: Technical Ecstasy
9 : Mob Rules
10; Never Say Die
All great albums - I also love Born Again and Dehumaniser. Eternal Idol is my favourite of the Martin stuff.
I just want to say I've been a Sabbath fan for decades but I never listened to Technical Ecstasy - and I fully agree with Jason. This is a really good album. I don't understand why it's panned. I would never have thought to look it up had it not been for this video. Thanks!!!
Wow! Although being a 70yo Brit (so lived/loved 60s and 70s) Sabbath have never been on my radar. But your infectious reviews have got me VERY excited. Will start listening. Keep up the great insightful articulate reviews.
Wow. You missed the best 6 albums. I’m 55. I discover their catalog when I was 13.
You guys do a really good job with these reviews! Keep it up! Master of Reality #1
Awesome video guys. Keep up the great work. I love all types of music so this is the perfect album ranking show that's right in my wheelhouse. I would easily give Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 5 stars along with Sabotage. I also love the Tony Martin stuff as well. I just recently discovered it and in my opinion Tony Martin is an extremely underrated singer. I was never a huge Dio fan when I first started listening to Sabbath around the early to mid 90's but recently I went back to Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed those albums as well. They're great and nearly flawless. That being said I still prefer the Ozzy stuff over any other. Anyway thanks for putting these very informative and interesting videos together. They're all great and I look forward to seeing more in the future. I'll have to go back and check out more albums and bands Dio was a part of because when I was younger I overlooked his work for whatever reason and after hearing what he did in Sabbath I would say I probably missed out on a lot of great music.
Wow! Sorry to say that I don't really know their catalogue but watching you enthuse so much about so many of their albums, I'm gonna race off and listen to them. Good work guys. You've inspired me to listen.
Greatness. Is black sabbath
Great show you guys. With the exception of Paranoid and Master Of Reality, I'm unfamiliar with Sabbath so you've provided a road map of sorts.
And yes Joe, not enough drugs in today's music
When ozzy left the band it hurt black sabbath,the group manage to stay together but they took a back seat to ozzy
All sabbath records from 1970- 1982 , dehumanizer is a goodtoo. 13 is ok. are classic and good..
Great video, great rankings.
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2. Heaven and Hell
3. Vol. 4
4. Never Say Die
5. Master of Reality
I’ve been a fan since 1980. Love ‘em
1. Sabbath bloody sabbath
2. Sabotage
3. Vol. 4
4. Paranoid
5. Master of reality
6. Never say die!
7. Heaven and hell
8. Technical ecstasy
9. Black Sabbath
10. Dehumanizer
11. Mob rules
12. Headless cross
13. The eternal idol
14. Born again
15. TYR
16. Seventh star
17. Thirteen
18. Cross purposes
19. Forbidden
That was y’all’s best!!
The complaint of the ranking of Heaven and Hell was hilarious.
Joe: “ I’ve just listened to 19 Sabbath songs and that was the most blasphemous thing I’ve heard.”
Lol
How did you other 2 not crack up laughing??
Thank you!!!
So weird, I was just making my own ranking of the 8 original lineup albums. Really enjoyed your guys' lists and opinions here 🙌🏻
These vids are getting better and better in quality, keep it up guys!
That’s the goal. I’d be really bummed if you said they were getting worse and worse. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic In 1970 we needed something big to hear the same top ten every day sucked so the first time we heard it, it was different in a good way the original line up can't be beat,and masters of reality is a band ass!!!!
I’ve been waiting for this one! (Haven’t even watched it yet, just had to comment.)
I love to see the many different rankings a band like Sabbath has. My ranking is a bit contrarian since I'm a huge fan of the Dio albums. Here's my rankings:
1 - Mob Rules
2 - Heaven And Hell
3 - Sabotage
4 - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
5 - Volume 4
6 - Dehumanizer
7 - Master Of Reality
8 - Black Sabbath
9 - Paranoid
10 - Born Again
11 - Headless Cross
12 - Cross Purposes
13 - Technical Ecstasy
14 - Never Say Die
15 - 13
16 - Tyr
17 - The Eternal Idol
18 - Seventh Star
19 - Forbidden
The Dio Sabbath IMO is much better than the Ozzy sabbath.
So funny - can see Joe quietly freaking when the Heaven and Hell grades come in from the upper screens!
1. Vol 4
2. Master Of Reality
3. Paranoid
4. Sabotage
5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
6. Black Sabbath
7. Heaven and Hell
8. Born Again
9. Technical Ecstasy
10. Never Say Die
11. Mob Rules
12. Eternal Idol
13. Dehumaniser
14. Headless Cross
15. Seventh Star
16. 13
17. Forbidden
18. Cross Purposes
19. TYR
Perfect....
Can't say how much i love your channel. Finnaly someone talks about Sabbath.
Thanks, but surely we're not the first.
do a little surfing, theres a LOT of Sabbath album talk out there
Top 3
1. Technical Ecstasy (yeah love also It´s allright..)
2. Heaven and Hell (blew me away back then and still does)
3. Sabbath bloody sabbath (just awesome)
Hello hooray
Can't say I agree with your rankings but you guys clearly delved into all the albums and did your homework. Very good job.
You’re putting the release year! Thanks! Dunno why I needed that so badly.
There’s many reasons
Great video guys. Hoping to see The Kinks list down the road.
Hell yeah that would be fantastic. Quite a huge catalog and several albums I haven't heard.
My Top 3 & in order ...
*1. Black Sabbath*
*2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath*
*3. Master of Reality*
1. Sabotage
2. Vol. 4
3. Sabbath bloody Sabbath
4. Master of reality
5. Heaven and Hell
6. Black Sabbath
7. Mob Rules
8. Paranoid
9. Headless Cross
10. Born Again
Great great lists! I have to admit that despite being a Metal fan of the Joe level, the most recent Black Sabbath album I listened to was Born Again, mainly because when reading up on different lists it seemed like the last one that at least had some serious weirdness to ingest. Now I feel deep metalhead shame and that I need to get through that final section, especially Dehumanizer. I did like Born Again BTW.
Looking forward to this one 👌
Tony also did two 'solo' records with Glen Hughes.
I think Headless cross, The eternal idol and Cross purposes are pretty decent albums. Tony Martin deserve more love and appreciation in general.
Awesome job, guys. Thanks for putting in all of the hard work to sort out Sabbath's huge catalog. I'm going to spend more time digger deeper into "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sabotage", and "Technical Ecstasy" after your well-presented and enthusiastic analysis here. Oh, and yes, "I Blame Rolling Stone Magazine" for dogging them, too. In fact, I blame Rolling Stone for all lot of the tripe they wrote dissing great music from the 1970s.
I think RStone have a lot to answer for...they too often castigate risky music in favour of mediocrity imo...oh and ignore everyone who says 13 is rubbish...it's a masterpiece!....im here to give that album the love it deserves!!👍
And yes Jason is right about Technical Ecstacy.... Agree with him there...lovely album
Not a Metal head either but Sabbath are inarguably the greatest example of the genre , they were the definitely the first and being a pioneer of a genre counts massively. I was a teenage fan and my list kind of echoes all of yours. All Ozzy era as I have interest in the 80s onwards stuff
1. Sabotage ( for All the reasons Joe said. The vocals are on another level on this and after inventing Metal and Stoner rock they do another here, proto punk ! Symptom being the example. . Best track Mega!omania)
2. Vol 4 (Just amphetamine fuelled abandon and Supernaut is their perfect party anthem)
3. Never Say Die (Just so more varied and textured than their early releases. Easily their most underrated album. Hard Road is one of their best singles and Air Dance the best track. Just the album by them demands repeated listens)
4. Technical Ecstacy. (As above. Gypsy best track)
5. Paranoid .( Obviously game hanging and their best album lyrically with its strong anti war sentiment and musically their most psychedelic esp on Planet Caravan)
6. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. (A real move forward .from the first 4. Spiral Archtect is their most epic song and elevated iit above my next choices. )
7. Masters Of Reality. ( Pure sludge with some great momments )
8. Black Sabbath (Seminal debut. The Wizard and Behind The Walls 2 top 10 BS tunes)
Bill Ward is a massively underrated rock drummer
I'll never have a bad word to say about Ronnie James Dio-he was one of the most powerful hard rock singers ever, but I think he shines more brightly in Rainbow than in his Sabbath run. I think Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules (embarassingly, I've never even listened to Dehumanizer!) are great albums, but Ozzy is the perfect lead singer for Black Sabbath imo. my favorite Sabbath record is Vol 4! it just raises the bar for sludgy, heavy riffs. a very close 2nd for me is Sabbath Bloody Sabbath-which I agree is their most adventurous album. and then my 3rd favorite (and the 1st Sabbath record I ever bought) is the debut. I can honestly say, every time I hear Ozzy shout "Oh nooo nooo please God help me!" followed by that thunderous tritone riff I can't help myself. I have to pump my fist and headbang.
"Dehumanizer" is okay...but it doesn't thrill me...
You need to check out "The Devil You Know."
Yeah Swing The Chain does feel like a bonus track because of Wards singing.... agreed
Good list. I’m a ‘70s era Sabbath fan. Saw their Never Say Die tour with Van Halen. Unfortunately just missed their Sabotage tour with Kiss. I did see Deep Purple’s Burn tour which was amazing and was my first concert which was held at the cavernous Astrodome. My top 5 Sabbath albums are: (the top three are almost interchangeable).
1. Sabotage
2. Master of Reality
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Paranoid
5. Heaven and Hell
I’m really happy Kramzer is a part of this group as he really consistently nails these lists. I personally love IV but it has to be Master of Reality in the top slot.
I will say I’ve been learning a lot from Jason. I’m not sure how TE can make the top 5 but I respect your love for it / belief in it. It’s refreshing to have someone with a passionate, outside the box view.
Good stuff!
Fantastic discussion. Jason: it pleases me *greatly* to hear your enthusiasm for TE & NSD... I absolutely love both of the final Ozzy-era records so freakin much and just laugh derisively and smugly at the widespread criticism they get. Fools. 😈
Great review!
1.) Black Sabbath - will always be my personal favorite given how much it influenced my musical taste. My love for metal, jazz, jam bands, and blues all came from hearing this album at 12 yrs old - after this everything from The Dead to the Allman Brothers to Miles Davis to Muddy Waters instantly clicked. The long song suited, extended jams in the studio almost sound like a live show especially on side 2. Taught me how much can be done with the minor pentatonic scale and a set of humbuckers into a Marshall. And that crazy cover art
2.) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - best album of the trilogy I consider their peak that began with Vol. 4. Album just kills, great grooves, beautiful instrumental passages, and the synths.
3.) Vol.4 - some days it’s my favorite but #3 here.
4.) Sabotage
5.) Paranoid - bookended by 2 of the best songs of all time. The rest either too slow or overplayed. Love the album but not like the others.
6.) Master of Reality - my least favorite of the classic run. Too sludgey (if that’s a word), lacks the explosion of the first album and not as interesting as the aforementioned trilogy. I get the same feeling with this one as Black Flags My War - it doesn’t fire me up, doesn’t make me want to listen to it repeatedly, kind of depressing, need to take a shower to get the sludge off.
7.) Heaven and Hell - incredible album but need to ding it as this is a different band than the one I adore.
8.) Technical Ecstacy
9.) Never Say Die
10.) Dehumanizer - this was in my Walkman constantly in 1993. Awesome album but not as good as Heaven and Hell. Great cover art, Time Machine was in Wayne’s World.
11.) Mob Rules
12.) Born Again - incredible cover art
Nice episode!
So pleased that you did this! I am quite new to this band - I've gotten into metal over the past 5 years or so (I'm with Jason; I wouldn't consider myself a metalhead because I listen to too much other stuff as well, although I would say that half of the stuff I do like over the past 20 years is indeed metal, because I think the other major genres fell into a rut or got too hip for their own good at that point) to deal with some anger issues (some of them not even having to do with this UA-cam channel), and I have heard the first eleven BS albums, but I have listened to so much music that is new to me in that time period (over 1,000 albums, and I only have a couple of hours per day to listen to music) that I don't know the albums well enough to comment much. Joe and Jason's lists are similar, iirc, to Pete Pardo's list, and he considers BS to be his second favorite band. Very informative and interesting. So glad all three participated - it stinks when someone "takes a break." One of the themes of this channel for me is how you all sample music that is new to you (e.g., several of you said you hadn't heard all of the albums before this one) and stretch your palate a little; I think that each of you could stand to do that for an artist that you have dismissed up to this point (e.g. Joe with Pavement, although there are many other examples). The channel invites all of us to stretch our boundaries a bit; the three of you should commit yourselves to doing that across the board (I can't say "consistently," because you all do that quite well) as well.
I would love to see you all do both Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, as I believe those two bands have an appeal beyond that of most metal bands.
Thanks for the comment. We all try to participate from time to time in bands that we don't know or enjoy for exactly that reason. It's a fun exercise and good for personal growth. That said, having required listening can get a little daunting week after week and sometimes you just want to listen to something for the fun of it or get caught up on new stuff. The breaks are required for our sanity and it makes sense to take those breaks when the others are covering something that you're not interested in. Not every break necessarily means the person sitting out hates the artist being covered. But it definitely did mean that when Joe sat out Pavement. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Understood about needing sanity breaks - I’d just rather you all would just take an occasional week off as a trio in that event, but I understand the pressure to keep the content coming when a channel is part of your income stream.
Good show guys on sabbath, can't wait to hear your opinions on the rock and roll hall of fame 2021 nominations list.
Doing a Sabbath video in a Def Leppard shirt...that's what I call courageous.
Exactly my intent. - Joe
I love it when you guys recommend a record I bought in my "anything for two dollars or less on vinyl at a flea market or garage sale" period that I have never listened to. I have Heaven and Hell on Vinyl, probably had it for 15 years and never listened to it, which I will be doing immediately. One thing you guys didn't talk about is the way Black Sabbath might be the best vinyl band of all time, especially Master of Reality, the snare and guitar sound so amazing with a little vinyl crackle. A song like Into the Void just cries out for the Vinyl treatment and you have to wonder how the production would have been different if they weren't recording in this era.
Tony Martin is not forgettable. The Shinning and Headless Cross are some of the best Sabbath songs of any era, period. Very overlooked.
Agreed, I've never found my way into Tyr, though.
Tyr is overall more consistent than Eternal Idol, in my opinion.
Both Headless Cross and Tyr are great albums
@@je830 According to Martin Popoff all the best songs from the Tony Martin era got clumped onto The Eternal Idol. Interesting, I’ve heard him mention that several times.
Rewatched this recently just for fun. Y'all did a great job, but you've improved a lot since this video. I'm guessing you would talk for an extra 15 - 30 minutes if you made this video today.
Awesome as always guys! Would love to see your takes on a Smashing Pumpkins ranking and a Fleetwood Mac ranking!
Yeah, we've gotten a lot of requests for the Pumpkins. Apparently, they have more new music in the pipeline so we're kinda just waiting so that our video doesn't become obsolete too quickly. We'll get around to Fleetwood Mac at some point too, but we have to space these big discographies out some. Thanks for watching! -Jason
Pumpkins, good idea!!
The kins of pump - hell yeah. Looking forward to that one.
Great episode - Thanks Guys!
Joe have you heard the Heaven and Hell release The Devil You Know? Curious if you have and what your thoughts are since you really like the Dio albums.
I started listening but I haven’t heard it all yet. I liked what I heard though. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic I enjoy it quite a bit. I hope you like it once you make it through.
Had to think about it but my Top 5 is...
5. VOL 4
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Paranoid
2. Black Sabbath (1970)
1. Masters Of Reality
When you guys talk about sound quality from record to record, what are you using to qualify your impressions? I hope it's not some version of the LPs on Spotify or something like that. I would hardly classify a streaming service as any sort of definitive mix.
We’re just talking about production mostly. At least I am. - Joe
I'm one of those that likes Technical Ecstasy a lot but there are 2 more that I prefer:
10. Never Say Die
9. Mob Rules
8. Heaven And Hell
7. Black Sabbath
6. Paranoid
5. Master Of Reality
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Technical Ecstasy
2. Vol. 4
1. Sabotage(I agree with Martin Popoff as I think it's their best album)
I love both Technical and Never say.....
19) Forbidden
18) Cross Purposes
17) Tyr
16) The Eternal Idol
15) Seventh Star
14) 13
13) Headless Cross
12) Dehumanizer
11) Born Again
10) Never Say Die
09) Technical Ecstasy
08) Black Sabbath
07) Heaven and Hell
06) Mob Rules
05) Sabotage
04) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
03) Vol IV
02) Paranoid
01) Master of Reality
How is mob rules and heaven and hell better than the debut album give us reasons
@@Miist3rDuce1 I'm not sure those Dio albums are any 'better' than the debut. That first album is undeniable. That's just what I ranked them on that day. The first 6 Ozzy and the first 2 Dio are all masterpieces and I'd generally be comfortable putting them in any order.
One thought. They did one final record with Dio, but called it heaven and hell. It's essentially a Sabbath record. It's the same lineup as dehumanizer and mob rules.
So I consider them to have 20 records.
How decent is that final record?
Agreed. Very underrated album. Great mix of what you want from a Sabbath and a Dio album
I haven't got much past the first handful of records, so I appreciate your having gone through their entire discography. If you have never heard of them before, I HIGHLY recommend Monster Magnet's "Spine of God" album. They are pretty Sabbathy...more stoner rock Sabbath than metal Sabbath. I listened to that one a lot in college. Not much else of their discography intrigued me, but "Spine of God" kicks ass.
I Don't Want any Bad Comments because My List isn't Your List, Black Sabbath is a Great Band. But if You see Your Favorite Album so Low on my List, Well Too Bad, You can Make Your Own List..
19. Forbidden
18. Never Say Die!
17. Master of Reality
16. Cross Purposes
15. Eternal Idol
14. 13
13. Dehumanizer
12. TYR
11. Headless Cross
10. Heaven and Hell
9. Seventh Star
8. Born Again "Say what You want about that Album Cover, I love It!"
7. Technical Ecstasy
6. Mob Rules
5. Sabotage
4. Vol 4
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2. Black Sabbath
1. Paranoid "I like Everything on this But Paranoid."
Black Sabbath is my 2nd Favorite Band of All Time.
1 Heaven and Hell
2 Mob Rules
3 Eternal Idol with Ray Gillen
4 Vol 4
5 Dehumanizer
6 Black Sabbath
7 Headless Cross
8 Eternal Idol with T Martin
9 Cross Purposes
10 The Devil you Know
And Tony Martin is Unforgettable.
I just listened to the first five Black Sabbath albums and Heaven and Hell again and I still have no idea how I would rank them, they are all so incredible in their own ways. My long awaited deep listen to Sabotage is coming up this week- always stayed away from that one because the only song I knew was "Am I Going Insane" from a greatest hits collection which I HATE (no idea why it makes my hair stand on end so much), but the bits I've heard from the rest of the album are phenomenal so gotta move beyond that.
Alright I won't cop out and I'll rank them.
My #1 Sabbath album is...the debut. I think previously I dismissed the second side of the album, because I don't associate them with blues rock, but I was astounded how good "Warning" is. It's basically everything I want in music that I can't find anywhere today. The performances are just incredible all around. Maybe even better than Zeppelin or Hendrix. I'm not sure they ever beat the thrill and shock of the title track and NIB.
Then I'd do as follows:
#2: Master of Reality
#3: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
#4: Heaven and Hell
#5: Paranoid
#6: Volume 4 (sound is just a bit murky for me, great songs)
#7: Mob Rules (still great)
And then rest I'm not as familiar with.
I just have to say that I'm DYING to see Sonic Youth ranked. They are pretty easily my favorite rock band. I hope it will be an episode with all three of you! Oh and...Vol. 4 is the Sabbath I love the most even if my High School self would scream MASTER OF REALITY.
Yes, Sonic Youth would be great!
Hear that. SY would be great.
Jason I agree with you again. I prefer Sabbath to Zeppelin. I really like both, I can't explain why I like them better though.
For me, Zeppelin were clearly superior for melody. But I don't think the gap between them and Sabbath is nearly as big as some people make it out to be. Kind of like how the gap between The Beatles and The Stones isn't nearly as big as some people make it out to be.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 Ya I think Zepp are technically the better band, but, I generally prefer to listen to Sabbaths best albums in comparison to Zeppelin
I think as the decades roll by Sabbath will remain a pillar for the disaffected and alienated. There's no way around that. They were the champion underdog for the millions of underdogs and all the people on the outside looking in. Zeppelin were magic but they don't have that so much.
Well done mates! That was a blast. I'm surprised, it turns out Joe and Jason are much bigger Sabbath fans than I am. Especially didn't know that about Jason.
I didn’t either. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic He's a bit of an enigma isn't he.
I'm full of surprises. - Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Jason, you guys definitely don't seem to have a problem with mellow songs like "Fluff." I think the music is good but it seems wildly out of place, like it belongs on a different album.
Facts I recalled while looking at the band's discography
1. There are more Black Sabbath albums without Ozzy than with him
2. Ozzy was in the band less than half of their long career
3. Ozzy did not write any lyrics for the band, that was done by Geezer Butler
4. I am not a heavy metal fan but I really love GOOD heavy metal which is sooo hard to find - but there is quite a lot of it in this band's discography.
Some of the albums released under the name should not have been...but it was their choice (or their company's). I tried to rank the album without regards of the name and what I would expect of classic Sabbath to be. Bands are allowed to change - but not allowed to release uninspired trash...
15 - 19. who cares to distinguish
14. Seventh Star
13. Never Say Die
12. Technical Ecstasy
11. 13
10. Born Again (This has nothing to do with Black Sabbath - but if you forget about this, it is a real fun release)
9. Mob Rules (This is where for me the interesting part of the discography ends, were it not for the name I probably would not have listened to the remaining albums more than twice.)
8. Headless Cross (an overlooked gem, probably because it does not "feel" like a Black Sabbath Album at all with Iommi being the only original member here. Still, it is #8 if I just rank the albums at hand here according to their quality. Any other heavy metal band who would have released such a consistant and inspired album would have been praised for it.)
7. Sabotage (The beginning of the end - but given the height to fall down from it is still a strong record.)
6. Heaven and Hell (One can discuss endlessly whether this version of the band should have taken a different name...we will not change history and in an assessment of the 19 albums at hand this is the sixth best.)
5. Paranoid (A valid second album, even a great one, but only the title song steps beyond the tone set by the debut.)
4. Vol. 4 (They stretch the boundaries of their self-designed mould, a worthy attempt and it mostly works, just not always.)
3. Black Sabbath (One of those debut albums...)
2. Master of Reality (Just 34 minutes but a blueprint for bands for decades to follow.)
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Their crowning achievement and this is as far as the band would ever develop in any direction, never would they step beyond the perimeters they set with their masterpiece. Nor would the majority of heavy metal bands venture beyond here.)
Good to see you show Headless Cross some love Roxanne, I'm not the only one who thinks highly of it. I agree the songs are inspired and intriguing throughout. The only thing I would say holds it back are the lyrics, they are a bit samey and by the end you do start to get beaten down by the same thing over and over "I believe satan lives in the souls of the dying" yeah we get it enough already. The music is all great though. Don't know what the boys were talking about how it doesn't have any riffs.
Ozzy did write some songs in black sabbath, he wrote the lyrics to Black Sabbath, Who Are You, and The Writ
Mostly agree, but I Love Dio era Sabbath. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules are my favorite Sabbath albums
I’m only recently getting into sabbath so this will be a good video to watch
That was a bucket full of fun, guys.
Mine is an Ozzy-only list. I'm not dissing their other iterations, I just don't know those albums intimately enough to rank them...
1. Paranoid (5/5)
2. Master of Reality (5/5)
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (4.5/5)
4. Sabotage (4.5/5)
5. Black Sabbath (4/5)
6. Vol. 4 (4/5)
7. Technical Ecstasy (3.5/5)
8. Never Say Die! (3/5)
9. 13 (2.5/5)
Zeppelin may have invented metal as we know it but Sabbath distilled it into its most definitive form.
cream invented metal me good man lol - zep/sabbs followed
@@miketomlin6040 !!! WTF
@@miketomlin6040 who!! im lost here lol - wot are we talkin about
@@williamgainford9332
Actually, it was The Kinks who revved it up!Cream were a (brilliant) jazz band...
So said Ginger Baker,and I am inclined to agree
@@stephaneherringtoniowritin9180 its a good point - i see the kinks as the first rock band - cream were way heavier / proto metal - you can hear sunshine of your love in n.i.b riff
Can you guys please do the fall’s discography
Didn't want to read the comments in advance in case Jason put Vol 4 at number 16 :). Not sure about Kramzers comments about Sabotage I'd say with The writ, Superczar and Symptom of the Universe it's one of their most innovative records. Good rankings though, nothing silly in the top 10
I'm with Kramzer on the number 1 Black Sabbath album. "Master of Reality" is the perfect album. Six proper songs, two very fitting and great instrumental solos, no fillers. It's heavy, doomie, metal.
I think the mellow cuts are a little out of place but they do add variety to the album.
Really liked the way you did this even if i disagreed with your order :-) Fun exercise. My top 5 are:
1. Vol 4
2. Paranoid
3. Master of Reality
4. Black Sabbath
5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Some of it might be Vol 4 came out at the time I was really getting into rock (early teens). And then I discovered the rest. Snow Blind may be my favorite Sabbath song of all time although serious honorable mention has to go to Supernaut, War Pigs, Electric Funeral, and Wheels of Confusion. But Vol seemed to combine all the elements of what they did best in the first 3 and make it better. After Sabbath Bloody Sabbath I kind of drifted away as they got too far away from their roots for me. Good music, don't get me wrong. But not what I wanted when I listen to Sabbath. I liked each album a little less than the one before it. In fairness I should probably listen them all over again now like you guys did. I might come up with a different order.
Headless Cross is a top five album for me.Tony Martin is really great here and Tony Iommi plays some great solos particularly on Kill in the Spirit World.Technically Martin can be at times be on a par with Dio whereas Ozzy was more of a showman with a distinctive voice.I have been into Sab since I was about 12 and I remember buying Sabbath Bloody Sabbath new and I had all the albums by the time of Heaven n Hell.That album got heaps of glowing reviews when realeased and saved the band because Ozzy was hopeless at this time and fortunately picked himself up with his solo career.Dio was a great career change and it was exciting time to be into Sab..The Martin era gets a bad rap but I really like these albums (except Forbidden)
Great show guys. I’m so glad that there is so much love for Sabotage. The creativity and variation on that album is really impressive . Ozzy’s vocals sound really powerful on Sabotage and The Writ is one of my all time favourite Sabbath tracks.
No dispute, Jason. The debut album didn't just create a genre. It created several subgenres within metal.
I remember when this came out ,I absolutely adored it but felt intimidated by others around me who asserted that "Paranoid" "Masters of Reality" and "Black Sabbath" were all far superior. It's now so fulfilling to hear you guys retrospectively looking at that period and in some small measure validate my initial instincts that this music was timeless and a worthy sonic experiment from the band. Welcome to the club.
Used this list to rediscover the catalogue and just love Sabotage!
Any chance you could do a Thin Lizzy List any time soon Jason?
It's one we've talked about. We even put them in a poll (lost to Supertramp). So yeah, eventually for sure. Don't know how soon though.
@@TastesLikeMusic Cheers, would be interesting
Been listening to Sabbath since the 80's. 70's era is my fave. Ozzy's vocals back then wow.
You've grown some big balls taking on this discography :)
Thanks for another interesting video. I think the three of you pretty much sum up the three groups of Sabbath fans I know. Dehumanizer, Born Again and Tony Martin are usually the three great dividers. Sabbath could easily have been my favorite band, but objectively they've been pretty much a Tony Iommi solo project since Mob Rules, and even though that made them last a lot longer than The Beatles, there are more impressive discographies out there.
1. Vol. 4 ★★★★★
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ★★★★★
3. Master of Reality ★★★★★
4. Heaven & Hell ★★★★★
5. Paranoid ★★★★ ½
6. Sabotage ★★★★½
7. Technical Ecstasy ★★★★½
8. Mob Rules ★★★★
9. Cross Purposes ★★★★
10. Black Sabbath ★★★½
11. Never Say Die ★★★½
12. The Eternal Idol ★★★½
13. Headless Cross ★★★½
14. Seventh Star ★★★½
15. The Devil You Know (Heaven & Hell) ★★★½
16. Dehumanizer ★★★½
17. Born Again ★★★
18. 13 ★★★
19. TYR ★★★
20. Forbidden ★★
I thought you of all people would back me up on my high placement of T.E. - Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Ha ha :) I Love the album to bits, but it has a few weak points which keeps it away from the very top. For one, I think the sound is a bit harsh, especially on the guitar. It's somewhat cool, but it gets old quick. Also, Rock'n Roll Doctor and It's Allright are "just" 4-star songs IMHO :) But I tend to agree with your overall sentiment, that Sabbath grew into a really interesting band during the later half of the 70s. While they invented doom and gloom metal, they were incredible pop song craftsmen and decent prog rockers as well. Looking forward to your Top 10 song picks. It will be interesting, and while I haven't ranked them all just yet, I have many of my favorites from their "weaker" albums.
@@TastesLikeMusic It was you being you. I definitely like it but there are just not enough good ideas and too many half-baked ones. Like when they hit on a good riff they'll abandon it. Like on "Gypsy." It seemed like Iommi was starting to second guess himself. I think he's talked about the pressure getting to him. Ozzy had some great moments but also moments where it is starting to sound like self-parody.
cool video and interesting to see the different takes. Sabbath is my favorite band ever, but I never need to hear anything on Paranoid ever again.
Top 10:
01. Sabotage
02. SBS
03. Master of Reality
04. Mob Rules
05. Dehumanizer
06. Born Again
07. Heaven and Hell
08. Vol 4
09. The Devil You Know
10. The Eternal Idol (Ray Gillen version)
I thought everyone would have Paranoid in the top 3. But it’s good to know that that is not the case. - Joe
you guys should do a crossover episode with Pete w/ Sea Of Tranquility for future classic rock/metal lists being kinda interesting, (old school vs. mid school?? lol)
Tell Pete. He’ll have to make the first move since he has about 20x the subscribers that we do. -Jason
Vol. 4 is my #1. Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener is a monster opener. The entire record is one stand-out song after another. Might be the best written Sabbath album either in spite of or due to the excesses.
When will you guys rate the Merzbow records?
What do you guys think of the heaven and hell band album?
I still need to listen to it. - Joe
It’s the mob rules lineup
I first saw Black Sabbath in concert in March 1973 on their Vol 4 tour. They were fantastic. I bought every album up to Never Say Die. After Ozzy left, they weren't Black Sabbath anymore as far as I was concerned. I really disliked Dio's voice, which turned me off them completely.
The last two Ozzy albums had a few good tracks on them, but I have hardly listened to either of them for over forty years. The first six albums were excellent. Paranoid was my favourite for a long time, but I found myself listening to Sabotage more and more, and I now count that as my favourite.
Great choice boyz had Paranoid thru to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath on vinyl and pretty much wore them out. Not listened to a lot of the others but will go check them out.
Clearly the West Midlands had something in the water at that time...
I just wanted to stop by and say I love Jason's shirt Pittsburgh Pirates. I have off on Friday so Thursday Night we can talk about a great band.
19-13. Haven't Heard
12. Never Say Die!
11. Born Again
10. Technical Ecstacy
9. Black Sabbath
8. Vol. 4
7. Dehumanizer
6. Sabotage
5. Master of Reality
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Paranoid
2. Mob Rules
1. Heaven and Hell
Fun vid! Vol 4 wins if only because of the crushing wheels of confusion. That opening riff is anvil heavy.
One of my top bands of all. Enjoyedt hsi ranking. I'm with joe and Jason on this placing Sabbath BLoody Sabbath as the best album from this fantastic band. It pains me a little to hear ideas about Dio Sabbath somehow not being Sabbath, but I get it as well. Heaven and Hell, though, definitely does belogn in the top five.
PLEASE do a parody-of-a-parody SPINAL TAP album review, that would be awesome. Include the albums (e.g, “Shark Sandwich” “intravenous di milo”) from the movie. Oh, man… that would make many a ‘Tap fan’s day 🎸
Black Sabbath may be my favourite band. Hard to rank, ask me next week it could be different. Especially the top 6;
19) Seventh Star (I really dislike the power ballads on this album, like AOR). It should've been a Tony Iommi solo album.
18) Forbidden
17) Cross Purposes
16) Tyr
15) Eternal Idol
14) 13
13) Born Again
12) Dehumanizer
11) Never Say Die
10) Headless Cross
9) Black Sabbath
8) Mob Rules
7)Technical Ecstasy
6) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
5) Paranoid
4) Vol 4
3) Masters of Reality
2) Heaven and Hell
1) Sabotage
Black Sabbath may be my favorite band of all time. My list includes The Devil You Know by Heaven and Hell, which has the Mob Rules/ Dehumanizer lineup.
1. Heaven and Hell- There is not a misplaced fragment of music anywhere on this album. 5
2. Master of Reality- A very close second. My favorite flower is well represented. 5
3. Mob Rules- The quintessential heavy metal album. 5
4. Paranoid- It may be overplayed, but I still love it. 5
5. Sabotage- It's sludgy and proggy. Love it. 5
6. Born Again- To me, this is the most underrated Black Sabbath album. 5
7. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- Awesome! 5
8. Volume Four- The album notes thank the Coke Cola Company. Enough said. 5
9. Black Sabbath Side one is killer. Side two is fine. 5
10. Dehumanizer- This is one seriously angry album. 4.5
11. Technical Ecstacy- It's not a dud. There are just ten that are better. 4
12. Never Say Die I admire the experimentation. 3.5
13. 13- Trade Rick Rubin for Bill Ward. 3.25
14. The Devil You Know- This album is great to put on once in a while. 3.25
15. Seventh Star- It's a solo album to me, as is anything without Geezer. 3.25
16. Cross Purposes- Every other Tony Martin album ranks lower. Fine but not great. 2.5
17. Headless Cross- There are two or three good songs. 2
18. Forbidden- The heaviness is great, but there's not much else. 2
19. Tyr- I get bored with this one. 2
20. The Eternal Idol- Perhaps their most hair metal album. It's that or Headless Cross. 2
nice list. i love the 1970 - 1983 albums. not a fan of the martin/hughes era (i consider that iommi solo), with the exception of cross purposes since geezer plays on it.
I see a lot of people are rating Mob Rules above Heaven and Hell. I think that's a legitimate take. I think the guitar solos on Heaven and Hell are ultimately what makes me place it higher.
Good point Jason - they really focused when Dio came along and got rid of the craziness from previous albums.
Sadly.
Well said Jason technical ecstasy is great