My 10 Favorite Ozzy Osbourne Songs, Ranked

*By Doug Eng

I’m Doug – 44 years old, a fan of all things rock, and a huge fan of Ozzy Osbourne. After spending my formative teenage years listening to the heavy riffs and soaring guitar solos of popular metal on area rock stations (now a thing of the past) and staying up to watch Headbanger’s Ball on MTV (you know, back when it had musical relevance), I discovered the Prince of Darkness.

His solo work was what opened my ears and sent me “Into the Void” of Black Sabbath where I further grew my love and appreciation for Osbourne.

His recent passing, while not altogether surprising given his sickness, was jarring and unexpected to me as another of my musical heroes was now gone from the Earth. With that in mind, I decided (with some prompting from the Rockmommy herself) to come up with a list of my all-time favorite Ozzy/Black Sabbath songs, which are also a representation of my own unique musical journey.

#10: “Close my Eyes Forever” (Lita Ford, Lita)

One of the first Ozzy songs I can remember came out in 1988 right toward the tail end of the hair metal era. The Prince of Darkness goes toe to toe in a darkly beautiful duet with Ford, the Queen of Hair Metal herself, unleashing the pair’s powerful, melodic vocal abilities. The guitar work is equally fantastic, starting off with that 12-string acoustic chord progression with a classic 80’s chorus tone before the guitar solo crescendo kicks in. It closes with Osbourne’s voice repeating the haunting words: “Close your eyes … for me.” This ballad will always live rent-free in my memories.

#9: “No More Tears” (No More Tears)

This 1991 song came out during that window of time when hair metal started to give way to the new sound and image of grunge rock. It’s a masterpiece permanently etched into my brain, opening with a pronounced rhythmic and somewhat springy bassline under a rising synthesizer background. The song breaks into another duet of sorts, too, with Osbourne’s vocals engaged in a “call and response” with melodic guitar leads. There’s also a piano interlude complete with orchestral backing, which then bridges into another soaring guitar solo. It offers all the instrumental and vocal elements of a grand work of art. And who can forget the outro, with the eerie recording of that dude saying, “in the bush…in the bush.” Every single time without fail, I’m left wondering…” WHAT DOES IT MEAN?”

#8: “Mama I’m Coming Home” (No More Tears)

This was probably one of the most played songs for fans immediately after the news of Osbourne’s passing. And it’s for good reason, because this song is absolutely a masterpiece.  It’s a power ballad stylistically, but also because it just brings out such powerful emotions.  When you hear Osbourne sing on this track, especially around 3 minutes in when he belts out the line: “lost and found and turned around by the fire in your eyes,” there is a strong passion upheld by his vocal abilities.

The lyrics are beautiful – I’ve always thought of them as telling the tale of someone reaching out to a long, lost love, a sorrowful admission of guilt as well as an acknowledgment that he’s ready to return. The acoustic and electric guitar interplay round out this masterpiece. It was a hit in 1991, and very much deservedly so.

#7: “Mr. Crowley” (Blizzard of Ozz)

Admittedly I wasn’t a fan of this when it came out, because I was, like, just born and all. I discovered it probably a decade later, and almost instantly loved it. This was one of the first songs that exposed me to darker musical subject matter, and it probably introduced a lot of people to the mysterious character Aleister Crowley.  

It’s a dark but melodic song and really opened my eyes to why Osbourne was the Prince of Darkness. It also introduced me to Randy Rhoads, who became one of my favorite guitarists of all time, by way of the masterful leads and guitar solo on this song. Such a legendary pairing, Ozzy and Randy.

#6: Over the Mountain (Diary of a Madman)

This song is another sterling example of the undeniable chemistry between Osbourne and Rhoads. Paced like a chugging locomotive (a foreshadowing of a later entry on this list, perhaps?) with its driving guitar riff, this song is incredible. The guitar solo is unhinged in a good way, so much so that it forces the song to pause to breathe before gathering itself to return into the main riff. Of note: Studies show that when this song comes on in my car while I’m driving, the probability of me getting a speeding ticket goes up approximately 73%.

#5: “Crazy Train” (Blizzard of Ozz)

“Crazy Train” is arguably Osbourne’s definitive song. There’s no escaping the Crazy Train. From sports arenas, all the way to the “Trolls” movie, this song is truly ubiquitous. The anthem hits you hard with the iconic guitar riff and takes you along for a frenetic ride with Osbourne’s fierce vocals and Rhoads’ absolutely mind-bending guitar work. Seriously…how was he able to just casually weave pinch harmonics, and countless arpeggios into such a roller coaster solo?

#4: “Supernaut” (Black Sabbath, Vol. 4)

So, while I’m waxing poetic about killer guitar riffs and instrumental work, I have to bring this Black Sabbath tune into the fold. It wasn’t the first Sabbath song I ever heard, but it’s the definitive one for me. The opening guitar hooks you immediately, and then the song hits you with that droning bass/guitar riff which is just so beautifully heavy. The drum solo in the middle and the undeniably trademark singing style of Osbourne just cement this song for me as “peak Sabbath” despite being lesser known.

#3: “Paranoid” (Black Sabbath, Paranoid)

I’d be incredibly remiss if I didn’t include this other iconic Black Sabbath tune on my list. This was probably my first intro into the world of Black Sabbath so it will always hold a special place in my heart. “Paranoid,” like “Crazy Train,” has truly earned its ubiquity through radio play and pop culture appearances through videogames like Guitar Hero, and many movies/TV shows like “Dazed and Confused.” To think that Black Sabbath wrote this song in 20 minutes and delivered such a massive cultural impact is flat out amazing

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#2: “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath, Paranoid)

Do you love psychedelic metal, and the eerie sounds of air raid sirens? Do you believe that war is just an industry designed to promote the welfare of the ruling class? Well, then you would love this 1970 song as much as I do. The lyrics are a brilliant admonishment of and warning to those who have power and wield it with complete disregard for the common folk. They are timeless as history seems to always repeat itself. The guitars and drums layer on an accompanying fury culminating in a nearly eight-minute ride, which allows the collective musical skill of each band member to really shine through, with Osbourne’s lyrics and vocals leading the charge.

#1 “N.I.B.” (Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath)

So, by now you may have realized as I have that this list is seemingly front loaded with Black Sabbath material. This wasn’t intentional, although it may have been a product of my subconscious. I guess part of it has to do with the band’s huge influence on me, as well as being an inspiration to the genre of heavy metal.

The other part is because I simply love their music, and Osbourne was a massive reason for that. In my humble opinion they were at their peak with Osbourne as their frontman. It’s naturally why their reunion tour with Osbourne was wildly successful, and why I gleefully joined the horde of other Black Sabbath fans to buy tickets. Getting to see them (minus Bill Ward) at Madison Square Garden in New York is still one of the best experiences of my life.

Oh yeah…the song “NIB.” It’s fucking fantastic. It’s perfectly Black Sabbath. Arguably it could be their theme song. It’s an amalgamation of Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Toni Iommi, and Ozzy Osbourne’s talent — you can clearly hear it all throughout their song. And yeah, it’s my favorite. For your enjoyment, you should check out Primus’ cover with Osbourne. It’s great in its own way … not quite Sabbath but still awesome.

About the author: Doug Eng is the least likely human you’d ever suspect to have won multiple (2) Emmy Awards. But he’s of course prouder of his family, his wife and two sons. He is also the bassist for the Connecticut based indie rock band Trashing Violet.