How do you rank the first 4 Black Sabbath albums?

I'm a Sabbath fan (Ozzy only era) , hence it's difficult for me to list the albums , but I'll try to explain myself .

(1) Paranoid 1970 >>> In this album , Sabbath members reached their highest ever level of instrumental perfection . Also , this album is the first of Black Sabbath to reach the level of 100% pure Heavy Metal (not a bit Zeppelin like "The 1st album and not Thrashy or Doomy like later albums) . Finally , this album features the presence of 4 of Sabbath's best songs : "War Pigs" , "Paranoid" , "Planet Caravan" and "Iron Man" .

(2) Black Sabbath 1970 >>> This album is my second favorite and sometimes "my favorite" because of the following : (a) It marks the actual start of pure Heavy Metal as a genre in music (b) It marks the presence of masterpieces like "A Bit Of Finger / Sleeping Village Warning" in my humble opinion is Iommi's greatest guitar work , "The Wizard" Sabbath's all time most innovative song where a Harmonica is used in parallel with Heavy Metal riffs and "N.I.B" which became influential for the genre and has Butler's greatest Bass work .

(3) Master Of Reality 1971>> It's easily many people's favorite since it marks the beginning and origins of Doom Metal and many sub-metal genres generations to come . Moreover , this album features Iommi's de-tuning of his guitar (due to his fingers accident) which resulted in a darker , heavier sound . Let's not forget that this album marks the presence of their masterpieces "Children Of The Grave" and "Sweet Leaf" .

(4) Volume 4 1972 >> A great masterpiece that most people have on their top Sabbath albums . This album is special with new styled songs like "Changes" and new approaches in songs like "FX" . Let's not forget "Snowblind" .

3 Black Sabbath (1970)

2 paranoid (1970)

1 Master Of Reality (1971)

2 Volume 4 (1972)

There is a tie for 2nd. I think Sabbath first 6 albums are as good as any bands ever or at the very least be in the conversation.

These are my four favorite Black Sabbath albums (and coincedentally the first 4)

1 'Master of Reality' (1971)

2 'Paranoid' (1970)

3 'Black Sabbath' (1970)

4 'Volume 4' (1972)

Paranoid (1970)

Black Sabbath (1970)

Volume 4 (1972)

Master Of Reality (1971)

This is almost impossible to answer. They are all brilliant. But, if I had to:

1. Master of Reality

2. Paranoid

3. Black Sabbath

4. Vol. 4

1. Paranoid

2. Black Sabbath

3. Master Of Reality

4. Volume 4

Black Sabbath: (1970): There isn't much variety in tempo, mood, or the band's simple, blues-derived musical vocabulary, but that's not the point; Sabbath's slowed-downed, murky guitar rock bludgeons the listener in an almost hallucinatory fashion, relvealing in its own dazed, druggy state of consciousness.

Paranoid: (1971): The subject matter is unrelentingly, obsessively dark,

covering both supernatural/sci-fi horrors and the real-life traumas of death, war, nuclear annihilation, mental illness, drug hallucinations, and narcotic abouse. Yet Sabbath makes it totally convincing, thanks to the crawling, muddled bleakness and bad-trip depression evoked so frighteningly well by their music.

Master of Reality: (1971): With Paranoid, Black Sabbath perfected the formula for their lumbering heavy metal. On this follow up Master of Reality, the group merely repeated the formula, setting the stage for a

career of recycling the same sounds and riffs. But on Master of Reality

Sabbath still were fresh and had a seemingly endless supply of crushingly heavy riffs to bludgeon their audiences into sweet, willing oblivion.

Black Sabbath Vol. 4: (1972): Black Sabbath 4 is just a cut below its two indisputably classic predecessors, as it begins to run out of steam-and memorable riffs- toward the end. However, it finds Sabbath beginning to experiment successfully with their trademark sound on tracks like the ambitious, psychedelic-tinged, multipart "Wheels of Confusion," the concise textured "Tomorrow's Dream," and the orchestrated piano ballad "Changes". But the classic Sabbath sound is still very much in evidence; the crushig "Supernaut" is one of the heaviest tracks the band ever recorded.

And I have all their music on vinyl

take care

dave

You know me Law Man, Sabbath is it to me. I'd consider Myself a Sabbath expert, guess I'd better since I'm such a huge fan huh.

1 Vol 4

Besides "Sabotage' it's the absolute best representation of Sabbth's "Wall of Doom" sound.

2 Paranoid

Maybe the greatest early metal album ever made but Vol 4 is a bit more subtle, a bit more complex, and some of the cuts from Paranoid are dreadfully overplayed.

3 Master Of Reality

Some people say this album is their greatest achievement, I disagree. There are some colosally great tracks here, but there also a bit of filler, something Paranoid & 4 don't have much of.

4 Black Sabbath

They hadn't quite solidified their signature sound yet here, the debut is sort of half metal, half heavy blues.

1. Black Sabbath

2. Paranoid

3. Volume 4

4. Master Of Reality

Volume 4

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

Master Of Reality