Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978

If ever there were an eight-album collection worthy of being named the essential textbook for the beginnings of heavy metal, Black Sabbath’s Complete Studio Albums 1970-1978 is the one. Each of the band's first six albums is perfect in its execution, and while the final two albums are spottier, they too have their share of excellent material. When lists are made of the most influential songs in hard rock and early heavy metal, it’s harder to decide which Black Sabbath songs to leave off than what to put on. Tony Iommi’s earth-crunching power chords, Geezer Butler’s dexterous but heavy bass lines, Bill Ward’s manic and demanding drumming, and Ozzy Osbourne’s unusual and immediately recognizable voice come together to defy the odds and make Sabbath one of the most important bands of the '70s. The elemental riffs of “Black Sabbath,” “N.I.B.,” “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” “Sweet Leaf,” “Children of the Grave,” “Tomorrow’s Dream,” “Supernaut,” “Snowblind,” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” “Killing Yourself to Live,” “Hole in the Sky,” “Symptom of the Universe,” “Back Street Kids,” and “Never Say Die”—and so many others—make Sabbath's greatness an obvious case.