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Ozzy Osbourne: 20 Essential Songs

The ultimate heavy-metal vocalist leaves behind an incredible legacy, from Black Sabbath classics to solo hits

Ozzy Osbourne

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Ozzy Osbourne was the premier voice in heavy metal. When he summoned all the terror in his being to sing “What is this which stands before me?” on the 1970 song “Black Sabbath,” it cast the mold for all metal singers that followed. The vocalist, who died at age 76 on July 22, was also a master of melodies. As an ardent Beatles fan, he would come up with his own vocal lines, sometimes mirroring a guitar line, sometimes allowing his voice to soar over the top of it all, making for some of the most memorable heavy hitters of the past half-century. And even though his offstage antics and reality-TV fame as the Prince of Bleeping Darkness sometimes earned him more headlines than his music, he was always a songwriter at heart. Here are 20 of Ozzy Osbourne’s best songs.

“Dreamer” (2001)

“People say [‘Dreamer’ is] like Ozzy’s ‘Imagine,’ and I take that as a compliment,” Osbourne once said. Thanks to a gentle piano line and George Martin-esque orchestrations, Osbourne lived out all his fantasies of becoming a member of his favorite band, the Beatles. On the track, he sings about the fate of the environment and his hope for the future, leading to a schmaltzy chorus: “I’m just a dreamer/I dream my life away/I’m just a dreamer/Who dreams of better days.” But just like the Beatles at their most syrupy, Osbourne’s voice always sounds sincere. “[The song] lends itself to a bit of hope,” he once said. “It’s very positive.” —K.G.

“Patient Number 9” (2022)

On 2020’s Ordinary Man and his Grammy-winning Patient Number 9, Osbourne collaborated with artists who inspired him, his peers, and others who he’d inspired. On “Patient Number 9,” he worked with his longtime foil, guitarist Zakk Wylde, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo (once a member of Osbourne’s solo band), the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, producer Andrew Watt, and guitarist Jeff Beck. The track is a sprawling, dark epic in line with Osbourne’s early solo recordings as he sings convincingly, once again, about going crazy. “Ozzy’s voice has always been a godsend to me,” Trujillo once said. “It’s just beautiful — the soul, the grease, the grit, and even the notes that he may struggle with are part of what makes him so special.” —K.G.