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There are only a few albums that don't need stars. This, Black Sabbath's first album which is also the first heavy metal album in the history of music, is defintely one of them. Just listen to the first song "Black Sabbath" - the "church bells" get right to the business, after the first riff starts there are no turning back. Ozzy Osbourne's voice is just so gloomy, perfect. There are plenty of classic songs in this album - a perfect doom metal album. Even the long "The Warning" sounds awesome.

Without this album - there probably would be no Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest etc. Of course there was heavy rock before Sabbath - Blue Cheer, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, just to mention few but there had never been metal. Musically, I think this is the heaviest album ever released.

I don't see everything with the eyes of critics and I don't definitely hear everything with ears of critics. I have always loved this album. Because of its great lyrics, melodies, riffs, and diversity it is one of the best albums of that time. I was shocked when I saw this album on a list of TOP 10 worst heavy metal albums of all-time. They said that "Lemmy would have fired the keyboardist". I don't care what Lemmy would do. Ozzy made an album with great songs. Some of them get very eerie because of the keyboards. I think it is really stupid to say that keyboards don't belong to metal or hard rock. You don't have to use them but bands and artists like Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rush have used them and when you search TOP 100 Hard Rock albums lists - it is very hard to find a list without having at least five out of six of those bands having at least one album. "Rainbow Rising", "Vol 4", "Machine Head", "Physical Graffiti", "Blizzard of Ozz", and "Moving Pictures" have used keyboards successfully in the sense of inspiration. Denying the importance of keyboards is almost as bad as denying the importance of bass guitars.

The third Ozzy album has really nice package of songs. The title song, "Rock N Roll Rebel", "Center of Eternity" (which was also called "Forever" in some editions), and "Waiting for Darkness" are great moments of hard rock. "So Tired" is a slow song and very emotional, one of Ozzy's most underrated songs. "You're No Different" was in one point my favorite song of this album and it has great sounds.

I would say this album is underrated. Jake E. Lee is a very good guitarist. I know it was sad to lose Randy Rhoads just like it was sad moment to lose Cliff Burton when Metallica was touring with "Master of Puppets". But you can't just expect the new member to do exactly the same thing in similar way. Ozzy needed an album like this one. It gives the perfect feeling of keyboards the way the first two albums didn't give. Yes, Lemmy would have fired Don Airey, just like Jack White would have fired David Ellefson from The White Stripes. some people wanna hear all the metal sounding the same. You should forget this problem and bark at the Moon.

Black Sabbath's second album is not only their best but also contains more good "concert hit songs" than any other album of them. "Paranoid" (the song) was an album filler but still it is their most popular song. It was written in a couple of minutes (I've heard the story). "Iron Man", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots" are still very essential options to be included to Black Sabbath concert (or Ozzy's solo gig). I even know that they played "Rat Salad" during an Ozzy gig. In Finland, we have an expression "Play Paranoid" some people in audience ask every band to play. They actually mean the song but in my opinion it would be great if Black Sabbath would play the whole album from "War Pigs" to "Fairies Wear Boots" in the same gig.

The only song that took time to be understood, was "Planet Caravan". Pantera's cover version made me understand finally although I nowadays appreciate the original much more. The songs "Electric Funeral" and "Hand of Doom" are the real juice. They are the doomiest songs in this album.

If a band makes the best thrash metal album ever, why cannot we say it immediately? I love everything about "Rust in Peace". The lyrics have something to say to us all. The guitars are screaming, drums are evil and Dave Mustaine's voice is as best as ever. Rust in Peace was definitely their peak. Often I hear that 90's metal wasn't worth checking. Well, listen to this album, Believer's "Sanity Obscure" or Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss" they were all made in 1990. And I have to say that there's even more good albums in 90's.

"Holy Wars" - great lyrics, the second part is as good as the first. "Hangar 18" is another killer. In fact I couls ay that about all the songs. "Dawn Patrol" is an interesting song. I have to say I din't like it first but after a while I realized it is an intelligent song! "Five Magics" is also a clever song if you can call a song "clever"....it starts with a few second speedy thrash metal, slows down with bass guitar riffs, eventually it explodes. If this album had been released before Metallica's Master of Puppets, it would be ranked above it. Now it seems that people are worshipping Metallica because they found it before Megadeth. Well, I found Metallica before Megadeth. In fact, "Justice" was one of those album that introduced me to thrash metal but still I think Megadeth is better than Metallica.

One of the most underrated albums of all time is defintely Black Sabbath's "Born Again". I have heard that some people were actually disappointed with the sound of this album. Some Black Sabbath fans even refused to listen to it, maybe because of Ian Gillian was the vocalist on this album. It is actually the first and only time that he has been on Sabbath studio album. Of course it caused a massive negative reaction - that time Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were competing which band is the pioneer of heavy rock - and also Led Zeppelin was one of those three big ones but they were not actually there anymore because John Bonham had died. Well, you can say that the album artwork definitely was awful but tell me...how many times Sabbath has had good beautiful artwork? There are not many, it may be "Heaven And Hell" which is actually good. You know I listen to bands and artistsbecause of their music and not their artwork or looks.

This is not Ronnie James Dio -kind of Sabbath, I think it is near Ozzy era Sabbath. Well not so heavy, maybe but otherwise it's kind similar. Maybe some fans see red now while reading this but actually I am very serious about this case. It's not as good as the six first Sabbath albums but it's definitely better than "Technical Ecstasy" or "Never Say Die". Every time I listen to the opener "Trashed" I got into mood immediately. It's quite upbeat song, maybe not kind of Sabbath you are used to but it is still a very good Sabbath song. "Stonehenge" is an eerie instrumental, a good one too. "Disturbing the Priest" is one of the highlights too. "The Dark" is a short instrumental, maybe some kind of sound "world", almost like "FX" from "Vol 4". After that "Zero the Hero" starts. Well, it is a good song but not in my top 3 of this album, although often I see it on Sabbath collections.

The rest of the album is good too but maybe the best track of the album is the title track. Yes, "Born Again" is often forgotten, underrated song in Sabbath catalogue. It is the song in which Ian Gillian shows his skills, why he is a good rock/heavy vocalist. I think he gets very high. It is not as good as Deep Purple classic "Child in Time" (which by the way is my favorite song from "Deep Purple in Rock" but definitely is one rocking song with spooky sounds. "Keep It Warm" is a good closer and also underrated.

This album has over the years got more and more respect from fans and other musicians. It has surprisingly inspired many artists and bands although often disliked by critics. Well, it has three original memebers in line-up, that's actually one more than on "Mob Rules", so it more Sabbath than it.

OK, I was disappointed on "Super Collider" album, so was afraid of what's Megadeth's going to do next. I admit I had prejudices. But my concerns were futile. When I heard the songs "Fatal Illusion", "The Threat Is Real" and the awesome title track "Dystopia", I knew they might be making another classic. This is real thrash metal. It is as rough as Slayer's "Repentless" or Exodus' "Blood in Blood Out", only much better. It is really amazing that every song is good thrash metal, the band plays very well and Dave Mustaine's voice is as good as it can be. I know, that his voice isn't the same as on "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying" or "So Far So Good So What!" but there's something creepy about it. When I listen to songs like "Bullet to the Brain" and "Lying in State", I know that this album might well as be the greatest album of the year...and we have just started the year. There's so many good riffs and great hooks. Megadeth sounds as fantastic as it was in the late 80's. No fillers - just killers!

It took me so much time to fully appreciate Amy Winehouse and her second album "Back to Black". It was soon after her death. I had earlier liked some of the songs: the title song, "Rehab", and "You Know I'm No Good". Those are still the three songs which define the peak of her music. "Rehab" is a good soul pop song with reggae vibes. It is about her diagnose - she was rather suffering from depression than addictive drinking. Many things are proving that - she wasn't happy with hr life during the last years. The title song "Back to Black" is my favorite song of the album - it is soulful still quite poppy and melancholic. "You Know I'm No Good" is sad and soulful song. "Tears Dry on Their Own" has become one of my favorites later. It is one of the most uptempo songs but still sad.

"Love Is a Losing Game" and "Wake Up Alone" are very good songs too and are more proving her depression.

There is not even one bad or mediocre song. It is all good. i wish I would have appreciated her music before she died but at least I can now enjoy it. It is one of the best albums of its decade. She had huge influence on music despite releasing only two studio albums. Artists such Duffy and Adele got opportunity much because she broke into mainstream with this album.

Most people divide Black Sabbath albums into two categories: classic and crap. In a way it is true. The first six Black Sabbath albums are very inspiring and amazing and I wanna go back to thoise albums. They were the Ozzy era peak but Techincal Ecstasy and Never Say Die were far from that. None of tracks of those two albums were scary. NONE! "It's Alright", "Gypsy", "Junior's Eyes" and especially the top of the pops song "Never Say Die" were just examples how far Sabbath was their original idea of making scary music: Those teenagers were dancing to the song! I like the song "Never Say Die" very much but it is not metal, it's joyful pop music. Ronnie James Dio came to rescue this band from the mud. The albums "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" were great but not as scary or good as those six first albums. Dio was a a great vocalist. Who was even greater? After acts like Ian Gillian (Born Again was good) and Glenn Hughes (Seventh Star was not good), Headledss Cross sounds very good. I know Tony Martin has got lots of critisism because of his poor albums. I agree that "TYR", "Eternal Idol", "Cross Purposes", "Fodbidden" were crap classification but "Headless Cross" was actually worth something. It is often underrated by Sabbath fans. In my opinion, if you made a Black Sabbath Best of Tony Martin era collection, you should put 8 songs - all of Headless Cross album track and nothing more. Tony Martin was a great vocalist. He was even better than Ozzy or Dio (in a way). He could sing both "War Pigs" and "Neon Knights" without giving me headache. Such a talented vocalist. He just got crappy songs on albums such as "TYR". Nobody can sing those songs in a way they would sound good. Ozzy hasn't even sung Dio era songs and we know because they would sound awful. Dio HAS SUNG Ozzy era songs and we know they sound awful. "Live Evil" is one of the worst live albums ever made. Even "Live at Last" sounds better althought it was recorded with an old phone apparantly...or with an old vegetable.

"Headless Cross" is maybe among the 10 best Black Sabbath albums ever made. The amazing title track and "When Death Calls" are the standout tracks. Every song has a very eerie sound and feeling. This was something Black Sabbath was all about! Tony Martin saved Black Sabbath! Without him Black Sabbath had never a comeback with Dio or Ozzy. There would not have been "Reunion" or "Heaven & Hell" or "13" and especially not "The End Tour". It's not the greatest Black Sabbath album you ever hear but it has not one bad song.

Budgie's first album is one of the most influential albums of heavy metal. Most of you don't know this band. If you have discovered Metallica's Garage Inc., it has two songs from Budgie. This first album wasn't so well-produced but it has many great songs. While "Everything in My Heart" and "You And I" are good-sounding ballads, made with style of The Beatles, the other songs are heavy and sound like Black Sabbath's first albums. Budgie is often described as a link between Black Sabbath and Rush and I can understand why. While being fan of both band's early material, I have to say I am a Budgie fan of early material as well. "Homicidal Suicidal" and "Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman" are my favorites from this album. But don't forget also "Rape of the Locks" and "Guts". Great debut album!

"Pieces of the Sky" was the first Emmylou Harris album I liked. During the first years I listened to her music, it was second favorite of hers, after "Quarter Moon". It is still one of my TOP 3 albums she has released.

"Bluebird Wine" was back then one of my favorites. "Boulder to Birmingham" is another lovely song, a slow number. "Sleepless Nights" is emotions as best. "For No One" is a Beatles cover I absolutely admire. The original version on "Revolver" was already stunning and she did even better.

This one is a fine country album - one of the most important country albums of the 70's. It is just beautiful.