Top 5 Sab Albums

[Invictus]

Ok Folks,

I would like to know what´s your favorite Black Sabbath album is/why and wich one was the first record you bought/hear/or get from other.

I start:

1. Headless Cross - I started my musical "being" as a drummer
RIP Cozy
2. Paranoid - this was the first record I hear
3. Technical Ecstasy
4. Cross Purposes
5. Tyr

[Ady]

The first six have always been my favourites. The number one spot usually goes to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", but it really depends what mood I'm in.

The debut was the first Sabbath album I heard.

[WarningRules]

1. Never Say Die! Simply awesome. No one else gets it, I guess.
2. Sabotage. Awesome, too, and heavy
3. Technical Ecstasy
4. Paranoid. No matter how much people bash this album, it's definitely one of their best works ever.
5. Headless Cross

[devstorm]

These are in no particular order:

Mob Rules - My first exposure to a Sabbath album. I borrowed from my local library back in 81 or 82.

Sabotage - The songs are all top notch, every track is a favorite. Ozzy sounds absolutely furious on Symptom.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Like Sabotage every track is a favorite.

Black Sabbath - It speaks for itself.

Volume 4

[RLP4ever]

My Sabbath story is pretty straight-forward right through. I honestly did run through their discography, in order, i.e. my first Sabbath buy (yes, not borrowed, shared or shown, but 'bought') was the immortal s-t debut, Black Sabbath and then, in sequence of release, upto Forbidden. Ok, now my Top 5 Sabbath albums:

Sabotage---all-round awesomeness

Master of Reality---heavy, sludgy, ominous and punishing..yea a slamming sledgehammer of an album.

Vol. 4----unforgettably magnificent, from start to finish.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath----undoubtedly helped invent the very word 'cool' in describing metal music of such majesty and timelessness.

Black Sabbath---single-handedly sired a whole, adoring generation of pretenders and contenders but never again a Black Sabbath of the '70s.

And I love Paranoid too, but that would be at #6. Mob Rules is the only non-Ozzy Sabbath disc that would feature in my 'favourite' Sabbath albums.

[Sir Kenneth]

1. Mob Rules
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Heaven and Hell
4. Master of Reality
5. Paranoid

Or something like that...

[devilmaycare]

1. Heaven And Hell
2. Mob Rules
3. Black Sabbath
4. Eternal Idol
5. Paranoid

[blackmoon]

1 Black Sabbath
2 Dehumanizer
3 Heaven And Hell
4 Paranoid
5 Headless Cross

[geekwrestler]

1. Heaven and Hell - me first Sabbath album!
2. Sabotage - Black Sabbath at their finest.
3. Born Again - Ian Gillan going crazy = WIN!
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - The Original 4 at their experimental best!
5. Master of Reality

[EDTRADER]

1. paranoid
2. forbidden
3. vol 4
4. masters of reality
5. heaven and hell

[Gaun†]

In no particular order...

1. Black Sabbath----- Hasn't aged one bit, might be my all time favorite.
2. Dehumanizer------ The best album with Dio on vocals. The "Master of Reality" of the Dio lineup.
3. Paranoid----------- Over played sure, but for a very good reason.
4. Master of Reality-- Home to the heaviest song ever: Children of the Grave.
5. Heaven and Hell--- The title track alone is great, along with CoS and Die Young.

[Rich]

Master of reality -- doomy and sludgy
Mob Rules -- Excellent work, getting darker like the original Sabbath
Born Again -- Brilliant, heavy riffs
Heaven and Hell -- Classic tunes and some of the best Iommi solos

I can't decide whether Paranoid or Volume 4 go in the fifth spot. Paranoid has the more popular, briliant songs, but Volume 4 is a monolithic album with some of the heaviest riffs ever in metal. Master of Reality is an average between the two.

[Clarivoyant]

1. Heaven & Hell - My First Metal Record Ever
2. Mob Rules
3. Dehumanizer
4. Headless Cross
5. Tie between Tyr/Cross Purposes

Ozzy blows >.<

[H&H]

1. Heaven and Hell
2. Born Again (Yes, I just said Born Again!)
3. Sabotage
4. Mob Rules
5. Dehumanizer

[Rover]

It's not the first time this question has been posted in these boards, but my list is pretty much the same.

1. Tyr
2. Heaven and Hell
3. Fused
4. Cross Purposes
5. Seventh Star (am I the first one to mention it?)

[sn0wb1ind0zzy]

1.) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2.) Sabotage
3.) Master of Reality
4.) Heaven and Hell
5.) Mob Rules
If there was a 6th, it would have been Dehumanizer. (This list is subject to change.)

[SabbathKing93]

*In No Particular Order*

Born Again
Volume 4
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Dehumanizer
Master of Reality

*Runner Ups*

Sabotage
Paranoid
Heaven and Hell
Mob Rules
Headless Cross

[Cosmiceddie]

1. Sabotage
2. Vol.4
3. Black Sabbath
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
5. Cross Purposes

[geezer]

Heaven & Hell - so much power in that album, it basicallly grabbed me by the balls and did not let go
Master of Reality - favorite Ozzy era album, contains one my favorite Ozzy songs, Into the Void
Paranoid - first Heavy Metal album I heard, period. War Pigs, Fairies, Electric Funeral, all great
Tyr - favorite Tony Martin, took Sabbath in another direction
Black Sabbath - it's not only the first album, but it has my favorite Ozzy track, Wicked World

[The Butt]

Sabotage - The most consistent of all the Sabbath albums, period. And contains some of the most epic masterpieces the band has created; Megalomania, The Writ, Supertzar...

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - I don't really know exactly why I love this album so much. But I do.

Paranoid - Contains some of the bands doomiest tracks; War Pigs, Electric Funeral, Iron Man... all the songs are great on the album, with the exception of the title track.

Dehumanizer - My favorite Dio-era album... it's just so dark, crushing and heavy. And it's a really consistent album as well.

Born Again - Probably the most abrasive and harsh album the band has done. I love that mix... had some of the other Sabbath albums been mixed like that, one wonders how much more metallic those albums would sound. \m/

[RLP4ever]

It's not the first time this question has been posted in these boards, but my list is pretty much the same.
Fused
Seventh Star (am I the first one to mention it?)

You sly schmuck, Rover... You can be counted on to do something like this.

Fused is not only an exceedingly awful and annoying album, but to identify it among Black Sabbath's canon is akin to passing off a shoddy, counterfeit article as one of the real deal Sabbath seventeen. And no, you ain't the first one to regard Seventh Star as an outright Sabbath record. I know I don't. Besides, it's probably even worse than Fused. And that helps it none, in my eyes.

[Rover]

You sly schmuck, Rover... You can be counted on to do something like this.

Fused is not only an exceedingly awful and annoying album

Ya, Ozzy's not on it. :D

but to identify it among Black Sabbath's canon is akin to passing off a shoddy, counterfeit article as one of the real deal Sabbath seventeen.

Eighteen?

And no, you ain't the first one to regard Seventh Star as an outright Sabbath record. I know I don't. Besides, it's probably even worse than Fused. And that helps it none, in my eyes.

Opinions are like assholes, remember that my friend.

P.S. Nelson is my fave smiley these days, lol.

[RLP4ever]

Ya, Ozzy's not on it.


Eighteen?



Opinions are like assholes, remember that my friend.

P.S. Nelson is my fave smiley these days, lol.

Nah, Ozzy's genius with Sabbath apart, he still gave us TE and NSD, both of which I cuss at without much mercy.

It is seventeen studio discs, isn't it? Unless you're including Live Evil into the discography, as well. And oh, now don't you go calling some upcoming Heaven & Hell album the latest Black Sabbath album.


Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one..but there's a twist there..While opinions may be likened to assholes, not everybody with opinions IS an asshole, though.
You and I aren't, I reckon.

Besides being your fave smiley, consider the Neslon as your 'lifesaver', or else without its help, you'd make me mad enough to hunt you down and fire my ire at you, you clever arctic fox.

[Rover]

It is seventeen studio discs, isn't it? Unless you're including Live Evil into the discography, as well.

1. Black Sabbath
2. Paranoid
3. Master of Reality
4. Vol 4
5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
6. Sabotage
7. Technical Ecstasy
8. Never Say Die
9. Heaven and Hell
10. Mob Rules
11. Born Again
12. Seventh Star
13. Eternal Idol
14. Headless Cross
15. Tyr
16. Dehumanizer
17. Cross Purposes
18. Forbidden

And oh, now don't you go calling some upcoming Heaven & Hell album the latest Black Sabbath album.

It's not out yet, but when it is, I will. Just like about everyone in the know.

And...

FUSED!!!

[RLP4ever]

1. Black Sabbath
2. Paranoid
3. Master of Reality
4. Vol 4
5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
6. Sabotage
7. Technical Ecstasy
8. Never Say Die
9. Heaven and Hell
10. Mob Rules
11. Born Again
12. Seventh Star
13. Eternal Idol
14. Headless Cross
15. Tyr
16. Dehumanizer
17. Cross Purposes
18. Forbidden


It's not out yet, but when it is, I will. Just like about everyone in the know.

And...

FUSED!!!

1. Oh ok, you're gonna be a big bad boy and stubbornly insist on seating Seventh Star in the Sabbath clubroom, eh? Ok, suit yourself!

2. There are many fans--'not everyone', I admit, ---I know that genuinely feel and will do the opposite.

3. The next time you hide your wicked pranks behind that stupid Nelson, mister, I'm gonna have to hijack your computer and render you homeless and loveless.

[devilmaycare]

The fact is that Seventh Star (unlike the upcoming album) HAS the Black Sabbath name on it... like it or not. And it's a better album than many recorded with Martin & Ozzy, and Dehumaniser.

No HA HA from me though

[Rover]

1. Oh ok, you're gonna be a big bad boy and stubbornly insist on seating Seventh Star in the Sabbath clubroom, eh? Ok, suit yourself!

This is getting rather preposterous... Get a grip on reality mate!

The fact is that Seventh Star (unlike the upcoming album) HAS the Black Sabbath name on it...

This. Consult with the Discography / Lyrics section of this site, and Seventh Star is there.

2. There are many fans--'not everyone', I admit, ---I know that genuinely feel and will do the opposite.

So what? Some people think that Mayhem ended after the '87 demo.

3. The next time you hide your wicked pranks behind that stupid Nelson, mister, I'm gonna have to hijack your computer and render you homeless and loveless.

Not a chance in eternity, sir.

[The Butt]

The fact is that Seventh Star (unlike the upcoming album) HAS the Black Sabbath name on it... like it or not. And it's a better album than many recorded with Martin & Ozzy, and Dehumaniser.

No HA HA from me though

It may have the name, but I like to rule by intent here. Iommi intended it to be a solo album, not a Sabbath one. I think that must be taken into account.

Also, sadfaces at the last comment. :(

[Rover]

It may have the name, but I like to rule by intent here. Iommi intended it to be a solo album, not a Sabbath one. I think that must be taken into account.

Intent has no meaning whatsoever in the face of history... whatever the original intent with Seventh Star may have been, it was a Sabbath album in the end, and it's really all that matters.

If we're splitting hairs again, then the upcoming Sabbath/H&H album is Sabbath, because of the now famous Iommi quote: "It really is Black Sabbath, whatever we do".

But should we be wasting time deciding on matters long gone? Seventh Star is history. The upcoming album, on the other hand, is the future.

[RLP4ever]

This is getting rather preposterous... Get a grip on reality mate!


This. Consult with the Discography / Lyrics section of this site, and Seventh Star is there.


So what? Some people think that Mayhem ended after the '87 demo.


Not a chance in eternity, sir.

1. I'll tell you what is actually "preposterous" regading all this. It is calling something 'Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi' and expecting people, no, Sabbath fans, to be such numb-skull suckers as to fail to see through the dumb charade of it all. It sounded absolutely asinine THEN, as it still does TODAY. Apart from the fact that nothing, and nobody, on that album, excepting Tony Iommi, has anything to do with Black Sabbath, most fans I know, including apologists for a diva like Glenn Hughes, or a lame drummer like Eric Singer at least privately admit how Seventh Star was basically, by all considerations, Iommi's solo debut, with the Black Sabbath name slapped on to it for obvious marketing and musical credibility among fans, at the time. These Iommi-Hughes collaborations (Fused and The DEP sessions) were later more legitimately put out as exactly what they really were: Iommi solo albums that, no matter what some fans like to think of as the Iommi=Sabbath eternal truth, were NOT Black Sabbath albums. I KNOW that Seventh Star is, for the record, cited as a Black Sabbath album. I scarcely need to check out some freakin' discography listings on this board, for that. ....So be it, regardless of how hopelessly hollow it still sounds. Tony Iommi & Seventh Star featuring Glenn Hughes and more, would have been so much more respectable, and yes, more reflective of "reality". That's having a grip on it.

2. Gosh, I don't even like Mayhem all that crazily to even care that much, so I'm ok with that. But "so what?" you ask?..So completely nothing, to be honest, except this below:

It's not out yet, but when it is, I will. Just like about everyone in the know.

That calls for a 'so what?' moment, to be honest. As if supposedly "everyone" you cite and their (indeed your own) opinions on the issue, make an official Heaven & Hell album, really any more of a Black Sabbath album, that it actually is or isn't, in the eyes of ALL fans.

And finally, "not a chance in eternity"?..Really? You reckon it's more impossible than having another Black Sabbath album in our lifetimes? Nah, I was/am totally being a dick and horsing around with ya, mate.

But, in the end, you're right about getting on with the future and lapping up whatever Iommi and mates are able to give us, TODAY, now that the future is upon us really soon.

[Rover]

Haha, I did somehow manage to ruffle some feathers. Re: the Seventh Star naming, you obviously ignored my post just above your own, which just pointed out that whatever the original intent of the release was, it ended up as a Black Sabbath album (and it's regarded as such not only just in this site's discography section). Whatever the album's merits (or lack thereof), it is history. The naming issue was probably nothing to do with Tony Iommi himself either, so you can hardly blame him for that.

Apart from the fact that nothing, and nobody, on that album, excepting Tony Iommi, has anything to do with Black Sabbath

Add Geoff Nicholls to the list.

And the Mayhem example was taken off the top of my head, my friend, 'cause I of all persons know that your tastes lie within different areas of extreme sonic terrorism. However, I did hear people say that (and some stuff along the lines that Deep Purple was no longer valid after Rod Evans left, or that Ronnie Dio's last noteworthy record was one of the Ronnie & The Red Caps singles... you get the drift. :D

[The Butt]

Intent has no meaning whatsoever in the face of history... whatever the original intent with Seventh Star may have been, it was a Sabbath album in the end, and it's really all that matters.

I disagree entirely that intent has no meaning.

It may have been named a Sabbath album in the end... but it was only done so under record company pressure. Iommi intended it to be a solo effort.

Surely you're not going to argue that the record company's input is more valuable than Iommi's here? For people who take Iommi's input so seriously, I find this highly ironic.

If we're splitting hairs again, then the upcoming Sabbath/H&H album is Sabbath, because of the now famous Iommi quote: "It really is Black Sabbath, whatever we do".

But should we be wasting time deciding on matters long gone? Seventh Star is history. The upcoming album, on the other hand, is the future.

I don't view it as "wasting time". We're having an intelligent debate here, I see nothing wrong.

And as I've said in the past, I view this new album as a Heaven and Hell album, not a Sabbath one. That's not gonna detract from the quality of the album at all, but to call it a Sabbath album would be a fallacy. If Iommi and the boys wanted it to be a Sabbath album, they would've named it as such.

[kentuckyfan]

Master of Reality my first Sabbath album and still my favroite.
Dehumanizer the very best of the Dio era and full of great songs
Paranoid with the exception of the title track a solid and my favroits song War Pig
Cross Purposes the best Nartin era album by far with Geezer in the band great songs all with a message for the mid 90's
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath probally the best song writing from the orginal line up but a few too many short filler instrimintial songs otherwise it would be number one by a LONG margin.

[RLP4ever]

Haha, I did somehow manage to ruffle some feathers. Re: the Seventh Star naming, you obviously ignored my post just above your own, which just pointed out that whatever the original intent of the release was, it ended up as a Black Sabbath album (and it's regarded as such not only just in this site's discography section). Whatever the album's merits (or lack thereof), it is history. The naming issue was probably nothing to do with Tony Iommi himself either, so you can hardly blame him for that.


Add Geoff Nicholls to the list.

And the Mayhem example was taken off the top of my head, my friend, 'cause I of all persons know that your tastes lie within different areas of extreme sonic terrorism. However, I did hear people say that (and some stuff along the lines that Deep Purple was no longer valid after Rod Evans left, or that Ronnie Dio's last noteworthy record was one of the Ronnie & The Red Caps singles... you get the drift. :D

Hey, I'm no bird, so no feathers involved here.. But yeah, you sure did provoke prompt ripostes from myself and Butt. I certainly hadn't ignored the final comments in your previous post in your reply to Butt. If anything, you seem to have overlooked my own concluding remarks in my last post, i.e. how I admit that it's best to focus firmly on the future of Iommi's band right now. And yes, the whole debate about Seventh Star is totally moot now, but Rover, my main argument is premised not merely on "intent" but just the basic nature of the circumstances surrounding the recording and release of Seventh Star and frankly, its pretty well-known and recognised lack of true authenticity as a Black Sabbath album, regardless of what it's been officially called. And if Tony Iommi has truly been the lord of the Sabbath universe all along as alleged by the most devoted of his devotees, then how can one not but, in a sense, 'blame' Iommi for acceding to whatever pressures, personal or record label's, into appending the Black Sabbath name on the record. Sure, Seventh Star is technically, commercially, semantically a Black Sabbath album, *sad sighs*. That's all it ever had going for it, honestly. And even if I felt it was actually a fantastic album, that wouldn't change a single thing about my opinions regarding its supposed validity as a Black Sabbath album. Also, I did forget about Geoff Nicholls's presence on SS and his credentials as a Black Sabbath member of any real stature.. Keyboardists never got much of my attention, much less respect or admiration. So, I could be forgiven for passing over a fiddler of keys on a record so thoroughly uncool.


And oh, Mayhem. Like I said, I'm no huge, crazy, loyal fan. But I gotta say that I've heard plenty of their stuff, like all their various incarnations, and they are one of the better, and few, black metal bands that I actually enjoy. Gosh, it's not just you mate, there are others on this board that know by now that, when it comes to METAL, I'm a bona fide extremist, or "terrorist", to some sensibilities of metal fandom buzzing in these forums.

[8bit Fighter]

I can't really decide on top five, but I will be unorthodox and pick one from each era. With that said, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes are part of my five.

In no particular order:

Born Again
Seventh Star
Heaven And Hell
Volume 4
Cross Purposes

[Just me]

Savotage and Born Again (tie for 1st studio)
Live Evil
Tyr
Headless Cross
Eternal Idol

[Dark Nomad]

Heaven and hell.
Sabbath bloody sabbath.
Mob rules.
Headless Cross.
Eternal idol.

[danzig2020]

my top 5 sabbath albums.

1. Vol 4.
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. Paranoid
4. Technical Ecstacy
5. Sabatage/Never Say Die

[RLP4ever]

For guys, (Just me and danzig2020) that rank Sabotage in your all-time top five of Sabbath, you sure seem to have trouble getting simple spelling right of the title of your loved-album. I mean, please tell me it's the old devil--typos--or else it's hard to excuse having Savotage and Sabatage.

[Rich]

I think these are ALL Black Sabbath albums. Certainly, anything that Iommi is on is a Black Sabbath album. More generally, anything from Ozzy, Geezer, and Ward is also Black Sabbath, because, as founders of the genre, they are making music. The only quirk is that they're not making it together.

Solo work from the original four Sabbath members counts as Sabbath, the same way that scripture from prophets and disciples counts as holy scripture.