Heavy metal's original madman, Ozzy Osbourne is proof that sometimes in life there are second chances. And third. And fourth. Bouncing back from his firing from Black Sabbath in April 1979, Ozzy went on to even greater commercial success as a solo artist, his records going multi-platinum while he played increasingly massive gigs throughout the 80s.
Even as hair metal took a dirt nap at the start of the 90s, Ozzy continued to thrive. 1991's No More Tears offered a creative rebirth that carried him to ever-greater heights, while even "retirement" a few years later couldn't keep him away as he launched his own festival and paved the way for the next generation of rising metal star.
Although he was forced to retire from touring in February 2023, Ozzy still isn't counting himself out just yet, revealing plans to record a new album in 2024 and a determination to play shows in future, even if only as one-offs.
But then, it's that indefatiguable spirit that has made Ozzy one of metal's most enduring icons, so to celebrate his 75th birthday, we've updated our massive list of the greatest Ozzy Osbourne songs of all time to include songs from his latest record - 2022's Patient Number 9 - and some choice collaborations from over the years. There's no Sabbath to be found here - that's for another time - but with no further ado these are the 60 greatest Ozzy Osbourne songs of all-time.
60. Changes (feat. Kelly Osbourne) (2003)
One of Black Sabbath's most enduring ballads, Changes has been covered countless times in the five decades since its original release, picked up by everyone from thrashers Overkill to noise rockers Fudge Tunnel. Ozzy himself had a crack at reimagining the track in 2003 with daughter Kelly, reframing the song around the father-daughter relationship and giving it choir backing that lends it the aesthetic of turn-of-the-millennium R&B. Released at the height of The Osbournes TV show's popularity, the song managed to top the UK charts - proof that Ozzy really is the master of the unexpected comeback, even though he's never particularly been away.
59. Bloodbath In Paradise (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
Ozzy was heading into slow decline by the end of the 80s, particularly where his health was concerned. In spite of this, moments of rock'n'roll glory still shine through on 1988's No Rest For The Wicked, the album that introduced Ozzy's guitar god in waiting, Zakk Wylde. Wylde tackles Bloodbath In Paradise like his life depends on it, strutting and firing pinch harmonics off like there was a half-off sale. It lends a bit of arena rock bombast to an otherwise dark track, Ozzy tackling the Manson murders with a song that surely had parents getting lawyers up on speed-dial.
58. Scary Little Green Men (Ordinary Man, 2020)
On the whole, 2020's Ordinary Man is an uncharacteristically sombre offering from Ozzy, the singer grappling with his mortality in ways that you can't help but compare to David Bowie's Blackstar or Johnny Cash's The American Recordings. The inclusion of songs like Eat Me and Scary Little Green Men help to off-set the sheer existential dread tackled elsewhere on the record in a typically zany way, Ozzy showing that he still had a glint of mischief in his eye even on his most serious work.
57. Old LA Tonight (Ozzmosis, 1995)
The 80s were over but Ozzy hadn't fully let go. The power ballad Mama, I'm Coming Home had provided Ozzy with something of a surprise commercial hit on 1991's No More Tears, but four years later the landscape was looking very different. For one, Ozzy had retreated into semi-retirement after the conclusion of the No More Tours run and while the singer didn't stay gone long the magic was so much harder to capture a second time round. Old LA Tonight makes an admirable effort nonetheless, guitarist Zakk Wylde chucking some neoclassical spins into his solo that harkened back to the time when power ballads ruled the world.
56. Parasite (Patient Number 9, 2022)
Reuniting Ozzy and guitarist Zakk Wylde in the studio for the first time since 2007's Black Rain, Parasite taps into some of the goofy, fun energy Ozzy exhibited on tracks like Scary Little Green Men with the added bonus of Wylde leaving his distinctive fingerprints all over the song's guitar work. Granted, it's somewhat throwaway, but the sheer stomp and force is a welcome showing that Ozzy isn't mellowing with age so far as his music tastes go.
55. Tomorrow (Ozzmosis, 1995)
Harkening back to his days in Black Sabbath, there is something decidedly Planet Caravan about the intro to Tomorrow (not hurt by the fact Ozzy's Sabbath band-mate Geezer Butler was playing in his solo band at the time). But when the song kicks in its pure Ozzy solo record bliss, the singer delivering one of his most forceful vocal performances. Part-written by production duo Duane Baron and John Purdell who had helmed Ozzy's previous record No More Tears, the song evokes the revivalist energy that had reinvented Ozzy for the 90s - saving his career in the process.
54. Steal Away (The Night) (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
It's not so much that Steal Away (The Night) is a lesser song in Ozzy's canon, just that the material on his solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz remains among the most beloved by fans. Steal Away (The Night) boasts all the hallmarks of Ozzy's early work - massive choruses, a sense of triumph and some true guitar wizardry by Randy Rhoads, but doesn't have the sheer colossal breakthrough energy of Crazy Train, I Don't Know or Mr. Crowley.
53. So Tired (Bark At The Moon, 1983)
When So Tired was chosen as the second single from Bark At The Moon in 1983, the decision proved unpopular, particularly considering the album's title track caught the singer at his most demonic (albeit in a hammy, b-movie kind of way). Even so, So Tired's symphonic swells help it elevate its status among Ozzy's other power ballad fare, lending a sense of grandeur that whilst perhaps not on the level of fellow Brummies ELO still showed a sense for the theatrical that served the singer so well in those early years.
52. Centre Of Eternity (Bark At The Moon, 1983)
Still reeling from the death of Randy Rhoads the previous year, Ozzy nonetheless persevered in the creation of 1983's Bark At The Moon. New guitarist Jake E. Lee does his best to train rolling and Centre Of Eternity isn't completely removed from the tone and pace Ozzy had picked up on his first two solo efforts. Even so, much like with Steal Away (The Night), there is a sense that Centre Of Eternity feels more ignorable when put against the more well-known hits from that early 80s period.
51. Patient Number 9 (Patient Number 9, 2022)
From Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde, Ozzy has a knack for working with some of rock and metal's most illustrious guitarists. Patient Number 9 took that to a whole new level by drafting in a bevy of all-star guitarists to provide some grandstanding moments of shred brilliance, Ozzy bringing in Jeff Beck for the record's title-track, a mid-paced number that bridges the emotional weight of Ordinary Man to the more grandstanding, classic rock vibe of its follow-up.
50. The Ultimate Sin (The Ultimate Sin, 1986)
Ozzy's own personal choice for least favourite solo record, The Ultimate Sin caught the singer amidst interpersonal conflicts within his band, much of them due to songwriting credits - or lack thereof. With guitarist Jake E. Lee refusing to submit material without a contract guaranteeing him credit and bassist Bob Daisley falling out with Ozzy partway through the writing process and departing the band, things looked bleak in the Osbourne camp. Nonetheless, The Ultimate Sin became one of Ozzy's best selling records, buoyed by the popularity of metal in the mid-80s and the fact fans were happy to follow the adage 'if it ain't broke...'.
49. Gets Me Through (Down To Earth, 2001)
Despite its all-star line-up (Zakk Wylde on guitar, Faith No More's Mike Bordin on drums, a soon-to-be Metallica's Rob Trujillo on bass), 2001's Down To Earth remains an almost entirely ignorable entry in Ozzy's canon. Though it performed reasonably well commercially, the record proved to be without staying power, its songs seldom being played beyond its album cycle. Though Zakk Wylde re-joined the Ozzy band after a six-year departure, his contributions were little more than as a session player, arriving too late to have any impact on the writing process. As a result songs like Get Me Through are admirable efforts on the part of Ozzy himself, whose vocals bristle with defiance reflected in the lyrics, but otherwise lacks the magic touch Wylde usually brings to the band.
48. Straight To Hell (Ordinary Man, 2020)
When he puts his mind to it, Ozzy can be a menacing bastard. The line 'I'll make you scream/I'll make you defecate' is delivered with more glee than perhaps was necessary, but the accompanying cackle afterwards seals Straight To Hell as one of the more brilliantly maniacal songs in Ozzy's contemporary catalogue.
47. Demon Alcohol (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
By 1988 Ozzy knew exactly what his downfall looked like. Demon Alcohol reflects the singer's realisation that he had gone from the PMRC hellraising madman of the early days to a rapidly degenerating drunk who couldn't control his bowel movements, but alas the realisation alone was not enough to stop his path to self-destruction. Within 12 months of releasing Demon Alcohol Ozzy would be in prison for attempting to strangle wife Sharon, the final straw that pushed him into rehab and to (mostly) abandon the heavy excesses he had imbibed so much throughout the 80s.
46. Iron Man (This Means War) (Nativity In Black II, 2000)
Arriving at peak nu metal era, the second Nativity In Black - an all-star tribute to Black Sabbath first released in 1994 - featured more than a few rap-metal takes on Sabbath classics thanks to covers from the likes of Godsmack, Soulfly and Hed PE. But the biggest curio - and arguably the most unique song on the record - has to be Busta Rhymes cover of Iron Man, an almost total reinvention that saw Rhymes take the iconic original riff and throw some furious verses over the top, while Ozzy contributes all-new verses, proving that even one of heavy metal's original architects wasn't immune to the changing tides of music at the turn of the millennium.
45. Nothing Feels Right (Patient Number 9, 2022)
With Zakk Wylde again tackling guitar duties, Nothing Feels Right tonally feels like a natural successor to the melancholic, strident tones of No More Tears as though the 30 years between releases hadn't happened. If that sounds like it might be a tad too nostalgic, rest assured; the song still has a sense of gravitas and growth that has crept in on Ozzy's recent material.
44. Time After Time (No More Tears, 1991)
When it comes to Ozzy Osbourne ballads, the No More Tears era takes some serious beating. Although not as universally acclaimed as Mama I'm Coming Home, Time After Time nonetheless captures a similar sense of wistfulness and regret that communicates a sense of reflectiveness that made the record so fascinating, dialling back the hedonism and wild-eyed mania of the 80s so Ozzy could endure for another decade.
43. One Of Those Days (Patient Number 9, 2022)
With a bluesy guitar courtesy of guest Eric Clapton, One Of Those Days is one of Patient Number 9's strongest singles with a powerful vocal hook and evocative imagery. Exploring the idea of faith - or a lack thereof - in the face of adversity, the track proved to be one of the more lyrically relevant tracks in Ozzy's canon, taking a look at wider global events and questioning everything.
42. It's A Raid (Ordinary Man, 2020)
After collaborating with Post Malone on 2019's Take What You Want, Ozzy returned the favour by bringing the rapper in for the energetic rocker It's A Raid. The pair's vocals work incredibly well together and although decidedly more on the daft side of Ozzy's canon, the final track is a fun, wild ride from start to finish.
41. Crucify The Dead (Slash - Slash, 2010)
Slash's debut solo album came with more than its fair share of fantastic guest pieces, but amidst the rock'n'roll bangers - Doctor Alibi, We're All Gonna Die - Ozzy injects a power ballad sensibility. Asked at the time about the lyrics, Ozzy said he saw them as what Slash should have said to Axl Rose during the pair's decades-long feud. There's no word on if this helped thaw relationships at all, but Crucify The Dead remains a banger nonetheless.
40. All My Life (Ordinary Man, 2020)
Love ballads were seldom Ozzy's strong suit. Instead, when it comes to the softer side of the singer's repertoire, the magic so often comes from the more reflective and personal lyrics, even if such songs are so often offered via the medium of a character. Even so, there are poignant lines in All My Life that feel like they truly belong to Ozzy himself, reflections of a man in his seventh decade who has seen friends fall away in recent years and knows the end must surely be nigh.
39. I Ain't No Nice Guy (Motorhead - March Or Die, 1992)
Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy and Slash walk into a recording studio. It's not a joke (well, depending on how you feel about ballads), but the actual set-up that saw Motorhead record I Ain't No Nice Guy for their 1992 record, March or Die. Considering the previous collaboration between Ozzy and Lemmy on No More Tears had yielded the likes of Mama, I'm Coming Home, I Don't Wanna Change The World, Hellraiser and Desire, there was a clear sense of magic to the team-up and this Motorhead ballad managed to recapture the spirit, if only a little.
38. Breakin' All The Rules (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
Ozzy's career was in a strange place as the end of the 80s closed in. Even then, LA's glam metal scene was beginning to show signs of bloat and oversaturation, Penelope Spheeris' Decline Of Western Civilisation: The Metal Years documentary showing just sorry a state metal's biggest stars were in, Ozzy included. Yet, despite it all Ozzy was still an undeniable star, his music still drawing arenas full of fans every night. Breakin' All The Rules might not be the biggest anthem in Ozzy's repertoire, but it showed he was still fighting to stay on top even as the changing of the guard approached, still capable of churning out bona fide heavy metal anthems.
37. Stillborn (Black Label Society - The Blessed Hellride, 2003)
After returning to Ozzy Osbourne's band in 2001, Zakk Wylde nonetheless still forged ahead with side project Black Label Society. It says something about just how integral Wylde's style of playing had become for the Ozzy Osbourne sound that even away from the band his songs had a distinctive Ozzy twang, so it was only natural he'd bring in the boss for a guest-spot on 2003 single Stillborn. The result is a powerful, stomping heavy metal tune that ranks among the best Ozzy produced in the 2000s, even if he is only a guest star.
36. Rock 'n' Roll Rebel (Bark At The Moon, 1983)
Now this is more like it - given room to manoeuvre, Jake E. Lee shows off exactly what he can do, reinjecting the panache that fans had come to expect from Ozzy's solo output. Lyrically, the song tackled some of the controversies Oz was caught up with at the time, not least battles with the PMRC [though admittedly it was Dee Snider that did much of the fighting] and accusations of satanism. But as Ozzy himself says here - 'They say I worship the devil/why don't they open their eyes?/I'm just a rock 'n' roll rebel'.
35. Waiting For Darkness (Bark At The Moon, 1983)
The best moments of Bark At The Moon come when Ozzy is moving away from the more arena-y moments a la Blizzard and Diary of a Madman and instead playing up to the devilish image represented on the album cover. Waiting For Darkness is pure horror theatre, its synths and stabbing strings over the solo feeling like a headlong plunge into Thriller territory (a wise move, considering just how much of a success Michael Jackson's own horror-inclined record proved to be).
34. Killer Of Giants (The Ultimate Sin, 1987)
Originally the title-track for the album that would become The Ultimate Sin, Killer Of Giants moves away from the stadium rock flair found elsewhere in Ozzy's canon to instead go down a more classical heavy metal route. The synth section of the song that kicks off around the 4-minute mark suggests creative ambitions that stretched almost towards prog territory, pushing Ozzy's stylistic boat out in a satisfying way that begs the question of what direction the material would have took if Jake E. Lee remained in the Ozzy band going forwards.
33. Let Me Hear You Scream (Scream, 2010)
Its parent album Scream may have been a commercial disappointment, but there's no denying that lead single Let Me Hear You Scream was an absolute belter. In fact, so far as Ozzy's harder rocking songs of the 21st Century go, Let Me Hear You Scream is about as close to nailing the anthemic bombast of his youth as Ozzy has got, interim guitarist Gus G showing he wouldn't be engulfed by the towering shadow of on-again-off-again guitarist Zakk Wylde.
32. Crazy Babies (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
Cemented around a chunky riff from Zakk Wylde, Crazy Babies almost feels as though it belongs on No Rest For The Wicked's 1991 follow-up No More Tears, fitting in perfectly alongside the likes of I Don't Wanna Change The World and Desire. What it does show is that even when he was barely through the doors, Wylde was already having an impact on the shape of Ozzy's material.
31. Desire (No More Tears, 1991)
Compared to the ploddy crisis of creativity Ozzy suffered in the mid-80s, his first two releases with Zakk Wylde as co-pilot in the songwriting department feel like a rocket taking off. Going in to write No More Tears, Ozzy insisted that the band tackle every single song on the record like it could be a radio hit - and why not, rock'n'roll was still big business in the early 90s after all. Desire shows just how much that approach paid off, roaring to life and reminding people why Ozzy was one of metal's biggest names in the first place.
30. Believer (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
As if the menacingly creeping guitar lines weren't enough to set the nerves on edge, Believer goes ahead and chucks horns and droning, wailing guitars to make sure the unsettling vibes are in full swing for this Diary Of A Madman track. Shifting away from the arena rock bombast of Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary allowed Oz to return to the horror-adjacent aesthetic so carefully cultivated with Black Sabbath. The sheer buffet of tones on display shows indicates the more experimental tendencies that were creeping into the band's songwriting, in turn playing up to the over-the-top madman persona Ozzy had come to inhabit.
29. Mr. Tinkertrain (No More Tears, 1991)
Admittedly, Ozzy's material throughout the 80s (or 70s for that matter) wasn't exactly sunshine and daisies, but even so to open 1991's No More Tears with a song about a paedophile felt like a risqué move even for the Prince of Darkness. It was all in aid of showing the darker, more serious tone Ozzy was putting on display for the record however, dispensing with the b-movie theatricality of the previous decade for songs about abuse and serial killers that reflected the societal angst of the 90s perfectly.
28. S.A.T.O. (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
Picking up again on those experimental tendencies, S.A.T.O. opens with the usage of cosmic tones that wouldn't sound out of place on a Hawkwind record, or in Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds. But when the track properly gets underway it is full-pelt heavy metal, the nimble-fingered riffs a clear marker of Randy Rhoads brilliance on guitar, but also a portent for the faster-than-thou arrival of thrash just two years later, feeling like sped-up NWOBHM as is.
27. Degradation Rules (Patient Number 9, 2022)
Almost a decade on from releasing his final album with Black Sabbath - and bringing the curtain down on the band's career with The End tour, Ozzy teamed back up with Tony Iommi on 2022's Patient Number 9. Of the two tracks the pair collaborate on for the record, Degradation Rules takes top spot for it's sheer bluesy brilliance, evoking some of the Sabbath heft whilst still feeling like a distinctly solo outing for Ozzy, while the inclusion of some harmonica even brings some of the early Sabbath blues influence back into the mix. Basically, it's the best Sabbath song that they never released.
26. I Don't Wanna Change The World (No More Tears, 1991)
Based around a riff guitarist Zakk Wylde came up with as a joke (telling Hammer it was based on the idea of "cruising for girls and going to the local strip club"), I Don't Want To Change The World is exemplar of the enormously anthemic power Ozzy was harnessing for No More Tears, its chorus begging to roared by thousands every night (which, glancing at Ozzy's setlists since its release, it has been). The song even nabbed Ozzy a Grammy - for Best Metal Performance in 1992.
25. Fire In The Sky (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
Ever wondered what Ozzy soundtracking Top Gun would sound like? Fire In The Sky is the answer. So gloriously OTT 80s it comes with its own aviator shades and product placement, Fire In The Sky is nonetheless a genuine anthem and it is criminal that the song is not more of a mainstay in Ozzy's live sets. As much as anything, Fire In The Sky is proof that Ozzy's aspersions about the production on his previous record were correct - complaints that everything felt homogenized proven utterly correct when compared to the dynamic range of songwriting shown across No Sleep For The Wicked.
24. Miracle Man (No Rest For The Wicked, 1988)
Ever the punching-bag for conservative Christians throughout the 80s, with Miracle Man Ozzy offered up his own retort, pointing out the hypocrisy of figures like televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who was involved in a prostitution scandal earlier in the year. Ozzy wasn't playing coy about it either, calling Jimmy out by name in the song's lyrics. The fact that the message came nestled in one of the catchiest songs on the No Rest For The Wicked album served as fiendishly brilliant icing on the revenge cake.
23. Close My Eyes Forever (Lita Ford - Lita, 1988)
A duet with glam metal icon Lita Ford, Close My Eyes Forever was featured on Ford's third solo record Lita and proved to be the highest charting single in both artist's careers when it peaked in the top 10 in the US. The song's conception could all be traced back to Sharon Osbourne, who managed both acts at the time and recognised the opportunity to see both artists combine forces - bagging commercial gold in the process.
22. Road To Nowhere (No More Tears, 1991)
The closing track to No More Tears, Road To Nowhere stylistically owes more to the classic 80s Ozzy sound than it does to the stylistic shifts found elsewhere on the record. A quintessential album closer, the track trades in anthemic sing-alongs and raised lighters like grunge wasn't just about to up-end the rock landscape, providing one last massive power ballad for Ozzy to get out of his system before the new regime set in.
21. I Don't Wanna Stop (Black Rain, 2008)
We won't lie, there's something awkward about hearing Ozzy sing about being 'a junkie without an addiction' (we've read the books, Oz) but nonetheless the lead single from 2008s Black Rain proved to be an affirmation that Oz was back on great form. The largely ignorable Back To Earth in 2001 and 2003 release of Changes made it so that Ozzy was trundling through the 21st Century without any real demonstration of why he was such an icon in the first place. I Don't Wanna Stop provided that and then some, a hard-driving single that updated Ozzy's sound without removing any of the essential character.
20. Under The Graveyard (Ordinary Man, 2020)
Flashing back 40 years, the video to Under The Graveyard effectively acts as a proof of concept for the Ozzy and Sharon biopic reportedly currently in the works. Covering the period after Ozzy had been fired from Sabbath and had set in to drink (and drug) himself into oblivion, the track's sombre tone shows just how close to being a rock'n'roll casualty Ozzy became and how dire his circumstances were before reinventing himself as a solo artist in 1980. A ballad without the schmaltz, the song is an ode to depression and chemical dependency, the line 'my misery owns me now' all too familiar to anyone who has struggled with the black dog.
19. I Just Want You (Ozzmosis, 1995)
A very different kind of ballad, I Just Want You isn't Ozzy pining for 80s power ballads, but rather embracing his more reflective side in a moody yet stirring composition. The song's chorus feels almost as though it is based on moody mid-90s alt rock, but somehow Ozzy and co make it work, the final single from Ozzmosis capturing the zeitgeist whilst not losing sight of who Ozzy is in the first place.
18. Revelation (Mother Earth) (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
Feeling slightly off-key, the grand production of Revelation (Mother Earth) showed that Ozzy wasn't just playing on stadium rock tropes with his reinvention as a solo artist. The kick-in for Revelation (Mother Earth) feels especially Sabbathian, the contrast between the guitars and chiming bells easily imaginable on the first few Sabbath records. Ozzy might have been forging a new identity with Blizzard Of Ozz, but that didn't mean he had left behind his past and the blending of classical elements and 80s production is sublime, the interplay between the synths and pianos being particularly brilliant.
17. Suicide Solution (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
Its meaning often misconstrued, Suicide Solution was initially written by Ozzy in response to mounting deaths of iconic rock stars like Bon Scott and John Bonham and the perils of excessive alcohol consumption. The fact the song could almost as easily apply to the singer himself wasn't lost on fans (nor on songwriter Bob Daisley) - after all, Ozzy had nearly found oblivion at the bottom of a bottle when fired from Black Sabbath, and would again on numerous occasions through the 80s. The song later caused major headache for Oz when parents of a 19-year old fan alleged the teen had killed himself at the urging of the song, taking Ozzy to court over supposed subliminal messaging.
16. Dreamer (Down To Earth, 2001)
Ozzy has never made any great secret of his love for The Beatles, but Dreamer takes his adoration for John Lennon to a whole new level. Styled on Imagine, the song toes the line between schmaltzy pap and heartfelt ballad, but considering the period it was released in (coming just a month after the 9/11 attacks) we can forgive Ozzy's call for 'better days'.
15. I Don't Know (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
The opening track to Ozzy's first solo album Blizzard Of Ozz, I Don't Know couldn't be further from the 'peace and love' messiah complex of Dreamer, Ozzy's simple answer to the woes of the world being 'don't ask me/I don't know'. Randy Rhoads' galloping riff is a sonic cousin to his work on Crazy Train, a handy shorthand to help ease the transition fans may have felt exploring Ozzy's output as a solo artist after a decade in Black Sabbath. One of Ozzy's most enduring songs, played at almost every show in the 40 years since its release.
14. Goodbye To Romance (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
The original Ozzy solo ballad, Goodbye To Romance is a remarkably restrained affair when compared to later Ozzy power ballads. Synths, strings and all other cheap emotional tactics are stripped away to focus purely on the instrumentation of the song, its gentle melodies sidestepping schmaltz to achieve a sense of emotional honesty. Supposedly written as a farewell to his time in Black Sabbath, the song fittingly feels like a poignant parting of the ways, whilst giving Randy Rhoads a chance to break out a wonderfully melodious guitar solo just over the halfway point.
13. You Can't Kill Rock And Roll (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
Much can be said of Randy Rhoads' technical capabilities as a guitarist and how his classical training helped inspire legions of neoclassical guitarists in the years since his death. Less discussed is the man's sheer command of tone - though his time in the Ozzy Osbourne band was cut short, not guitarist since has managed to perfectly segue between different tones as seamlessly as Rhoads could on songs like You Can't Kill Rock And Roll - shifting between the brittle notes of the song's ballad section and its breakout heavy metal moments, Rhoads imbues the song with a sense of drama and dynamics that shows just why he was so revered in the first place.
12. Ordinary Man (Ordinary Man, 2020)
The title-track to Ozzy's 2020 record, Ordinary Man dissects Ozzy's history in a more candid way than almost any other song in his canon. A beautifully crafted piano ballad, it makes perfect sense that Ozzy would draft in fellow rock icon Elton hn as a guest for one of his most well-crafted ballads. Forget Lemmy, Lita, Kelly and Miss Piggy - this is the definitive Ozzy duet, a reflective masterpiece that caps off a career spanning over half-a-century.
11. Perry Mason (Ozzmosis, 1995)
The first single released from 1995's Ozzmosis, Perry Mason announced the return of Ozzy Osbourne from retirement with an enormously theatrical production. With a swell of strings underpinning the song's natural drama, Perry Mason puts Zakk Wylde through his paces as he swings from juddering, chugging riffs to wailing guitar leads that underpin one of Ozzy's most underrated choruses. Though barely played in Ozzy's live sets, Perry Mason feels like the quintessential track to demonstrate just how dynamic Ozzy's compositions can get.
10. Hellraiser (No More Tears, 1991)
Written by Lemmy, Hellraiser feels decidedly more like a Motorhead track than anything else in Ozzy's repertoire (which goes some way to explaining why Lemmy and the gang decided to cover the song the following year on March Or Die). Even so, Ozzy's voice brings the perfect heavy metal histrionics for the song's greased up stomp, cementing it as a heavy metal anthem for the 90s. The song would ultimately go on to be used by wrestling team The Hell Raisers, showing Lemmy's ear for great wrestling themes began long before he teamed up with Triple H.
9. Flying High Again (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
Ozzy was well on the way to becoming one of the biggest heavy metal stars of the 80s, but with Flying High Again the band were taking a trip back a decade. The song's juicy main riff could easily have been lifted from the textbook of Montrose or Boston, layering the syrup on thick to make sure it got lodged good and proper in rock fans' ears. The song's triumphant mood was said to be a reflection of Ozzy's own feelings after his solo career took off - facing down the end of his dreams only to come back stronger than ever.
8. Over The Mountain (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
While Ozzy's solo band were a largely untested proposition when it came to making Blizzard Of Ozz, by the time they got round to the follow-up Diary Of A Madman Ozzy was again being regarded as a heavy metal icon. The album's triumphant tone reflects the mood in the band of the time, the opening one-two of Over The Mountain and Flying High Again setting a conquering tone for the rest of the record. With its galloping riff, Over The Mountain set a tone for the panache expected of heavy metal bands in the early 80s as they quickly ascended to arena status.
7. Shot In The Dark (The Ultimate Sin, 1986)
The first single from The Ultimate Sin also gave Ozzy his first taste of the US Top 100, as well as in the top 10 of US mainstream rock charts. Originally written by bassist Phil Soussan in his pre-Ozzy band Wildlife, Soussan brought Shot In The Dark along to the songwriting sessions for The Ultimate Sin where it became subsumed into the Ozzy framework. With Ozzy's brand behind it, the song became a big hit for Ozzy and a mainstay of sets for years to come.
6. Mama, I'm Coming Home (No More Tears, 1991)
The early 90s were a time of enormous change for Ozzy Osbourne. Freshly fit and sober, the singer was crushed when he was (erroneously) diagnosed with Parkinson's. Recognising the dangers that constant touring presented - not only on his health condition, but on the fragile state his family were in and the temptations of being stuck on the road for months on end, Ozzy opted to announce a retirement tour, deciding to focus on family going forward.
Amazingly, Mama, I'm Coming Home's lyrics weren't written by Ozzy, but by Motorhead vocalist Lemmy. Though, as Ozzy told Hammer in 2021 when looking back on the No More Tears record, "Lemmy understood and wrote the things I wanted to say without ever needing to hear them." The result was an emotional, heartfelt ballad that ultimately became his only solo single to ever reach the top 40 of the US Billboard 100, an enduring anthem for homesickness and affection.
5. Bark At The Moon (Bark At The Moon, 1983)
Perhaps Ozzy's most iconic music video, Bark At The Moon was also his first. The video saw the singer playing up to his madman image in full Hammer Horror b-movie fashion. Drafting in the talents of make-up artist Rick Baker, who was fresh from working on both Michael Jackson's Thriller and American Werewolf In London (both directed by John Landis), Ozzy went full-ham to terrorize the MTV generation... and it worked.
With the video hitting heavy rotation Ozzy became a by-word for heavy metal's takeover, the song's cascading riff leaving no doubt as to what genre the fanged madman inhabited. While it surely added fuel to the fire for those that wanted Ozzy banned from the airwaves, ultimately Bark At The Moon became the enduring image most people associated with Ozzy Osbourne.
4. No More Tears (No More Tears, 1991)
With its soaring synths and steadily building guitars, you'd be forgiven for thinking No More Tears was an anthem of empowerment, a reflection of the healing Ozzy underwent after going through rehab. The truth was far more bizarre. Lyrically centred around a serial killer, No More Tears was another example of Ozzy using dark subject matter as fuel for the new direction he was taking, reinventing his image just in time to avoid the mass culling of 80s rock stars that grunge precipitated.
One of the last tracks written for the album, No More Tears came together in the studio as bassist Mike Inez conceived the opening riff (though Inez ultimately didn't play on the record, he was credited with 'inspiration' in the album's liner notes) and Ozzy repeatedly sang the title line. Built on a bedrock of hard-driving rock, the song ultimately achieved moderate chart success, landing Ozzy another spot in the US top 100.
3. Diary Of A Madman (Diary Of A Madman, 1981)
Ozzy had flirted with the horror aesthetic so prized by his past band Black Sabbath on his solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz, but otherwise played things largely straight. With Diary Of A Madman however the old familiar taste for the dark was creeping back in, nowhere more apparently than in the album's title track. Choirs and strings only added to the enormous theatricality of Diary Of A Madman's production, the song effectively giving carte blanche to Randy Rhoads to go as grandiose as possible, his guitar tones drifting between dreamy brittle notes and snarling distorted riffs.
Though Diary Of A Madman caught Ozzy on a creative peak, it also saw the emergence of interpersonal issues which would colour the rest of the decade. Songwriting credits were not issued to all members of the band, ultimately causing bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake to depart. Worse still, the album would ultimately become coloured by tragedy when Randy Rhoads was killed in a plane accident while the band were on tour, the record's virtuosic playing and experimentation made all the more poignant for the loss of one of its driving forces.
2. Mr. Crowley (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
Though Ozzy and co. largely played it straight with a mixture of stadium rock and heavy metal for his solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz, Mr. Crowley proved the singer hadn't turned his back entirely on themes of horror and the occult that had been so crucial to Black Sabbath in the beginning. Opening on an iconic keyboard solo from Don Airey, the song is everything the Prince Of Darkness should be, its lyrics inspired by infamous occultist and magician Aleister Crowley.
One of heavy metal's most iconic songs, the Mr. Crowley single ultimately achieved gold status in the US and helped cement Ozzy Osbourne as a star in his own right, the Blizzard Of Ozz record becoming of the best-selling albums of the 1980s.
1. Crazy Train (Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980)
For all the darkness and horror Ozzy courted with Black Sabbath (and would continue to court in his many controversies throughout the 80s), the fact remains that Ozzy's very first solo single remains his most beloved. Absolutely everything about it is iconic; from Ozzy's maniacal cackle, to the thumping heart-beat of bass provided by Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake's rumbling drum-beat that evokes a train in its own right and of course Randy Rhoads' iconic riff.
While not as overtly menacing as his past work, Crazy Train nonetheless dealt with nuclear annihilation and paranoia surrounding the Cold War, albeit in such a subtle way that you could almost mistake it for a fun heavy metal party anthem. With Randy Rhoads, Ozzy had found his own secret weapon to inject fresh vitality into his music and Crazy Train showed just what the new boy was capable of, picking up the pace whilst still bringing along some sizable heft to keep headbangers happy.
Osbourne's most-played track (with over 1150 instances of the song being played live, as well as over 11 million plays on YouTube and a further 398,000,000 on Spotify), Crazy Train remains one of heavy metal's most recognisable and beloved anthems, a guaranteed party starter at any rock or metal club. Considering one of Black Sabbath's final tours with Ozzy in the 70s had seen them regularly trounced by newcomers Van Halen, Ozzy's return with a wunderkind guitarist of his own proved to be just the boost needed to revitalise not only his career, but his life.
