Lots of great material here. The only major issue is that you've probably heard many of these songs on classic rock radio a million times. They're still great songs, though. The album comes in at just over 74 minutes, so you're getting a whole lotta sabbath here. This is probably a great disc to buy for someone who enjoys Sabbath, but has never bought any of their CD's (e.g., maybe they only own stuff on tape or vinyl).

This is a compilation album that covers the original Ozzy years of the band up through the "Sabotage album. The original vinyl version was a 2 record set, that has been reduced to a single disc for CD. Two tracks were omitted on the CD version. This is a cool collection and includes some of the band's all time best stuff. About half of the "Paranoid" album is represented here along with "Black Sabbath" and "The Wizard" from their first one. Every song her is a classic including two of my all time favorite Sabbath tracks "Children Of The Grave" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". The ballad "Changes" is a bit of a change of pace for the band (it was recently re-recorded as a duet between Ozzy and Kelly Osborne). One of the things that I find interesting and is a bit of the sign of the times when these tracks were recorded in the early 70's, is that there are no less than 3 tracks on this collection that are basically love songs devoted to drugs. "Fairies Wear Boots" is about acid, "Sweet Leaf" Marijuana, and "Snowblind" cocaine. The album closes with another Sabbath classic "N.I.B." (Nativity In Black). In more recent years there have been Sabbath compilations released that cover significantly more ground than this one, so if you are just looking to get into the band I would probably recommend one of those, but for the time this one was released it was a very nice collection indeed.

This is where modern metal began. This "best of" CD captures the best of the Ozzy-era Sabbath and includes the band's biggest hits. A great "starter kit" for metal fans.

Top Tracks: "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "Iron Man", "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath"

I used to own the double-album. Remember vinyl albums? Well the double album version had more songs than the CD so I'm giving it 3 stars even though all the songs deserve 5 stars.

Obviously this album is missing a few key tracks. For example about half of the good tracks from Sabotage. Killing yourself to live, Cornucopia, Embryo, and Wicked World. But for a cheap best hits, this is good. You can also get the Best of Sabbath called "Symptom of the universe". It's pretty good actually. But back to this album. There are 3 songs from the debut, 4 songs from paranoid, 2 songs from Master of Reality, 3 songs from Vol.4, 1 song from Sabbath bloody Sabbath and 1 song from Sabotage. I really can't believe they only included "Am I going insane" from the Sabotage album. Am I going insane was one of the worst tracks on there. It honestly doesn't make any sense. But if you just want something from the metal gods, just get this album and you should be happy for a while

Like i said in the title, this compilation is great. But obviously it is missing many important tracks. If they want to have a greatest hits album they have to take tracks from the greatest studio albums. right? But there are only 2 songs from Sabbath bloody sabbath and sabotage. WHAT?! that is crazy talk. the other songs are absolutely crucial in greatest hits for black sabbath. This really should have been a double disc album. I would have included Megalomania, Hole in the sky, Symtom of the universe, Killing yourself to live, Sabbra Cadabra, Cornucopia, wicked world, and maybe into the void. But if you are low on money and just want something that has to do with sabbath, buy this album

A GOOD RELEASE TO START WITH IF YOUR JUST GETTING INTO BLACK SABBATH.IT COVERS THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF THE BAND WITH OZZY WHILE THEY ARE AT THEIR PEAK.....

I know this orginal record probally pre dates crazy train or something but for anyone new to the band that song rocks reason for three stars i'm not into the whole satin thing this is true with other bands yes but black sabbath really took it where others didn't especially ozzy now i'm not saying this to be a dick and I resepct other peoples belifes forsure but I don't think they need to be in the music i'm a christian but I hate christian music so untalented for the most part anyway I still love the music for the insermentals and the songs that are not what I was talking about iron man being my fav song I do like metal becides new metal (linkin park can go to hell lol) but this band deep purple metallica GNR very good bands IMO

THIS ALBUM IS A CLASSIC AND EACH SONG ON THIS CD ARE AWSOME. THE ONLY THING MISSING ON THIS ALBUM IS ELECTRIC FUNERAL. BESIDES THAT THIS CD IS PERFECT.

This collection has been in my CD library for close to twenty years now. I play it (usually skipping tracks 2,6 & 12) around Halloween time. The kids always get a good scare from it.

01. Black Sabbath - 10/10
02. The Wizard - 7/10
03. Paranoid - 10/10
04. War Pigs - 10/10
05. Iron Man - 10/10
06. Tomorrow's Dream - 5/10
07. Fairies Wear Boots - 9/10
08. Changes - 7/10
09. Sweet Leaf - 9/10
10. Children of the Grave - 10/10
11. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 10/10
12. Am I Going Insane - 3/10
13. Snowblind - 9/10
14. N.I.B. - 10/10

Love live...BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE & THE TIJUANA BRASS!

there couldn't of been a better greatest hits than this. Truly a great compilation.

i love metal and grunge and punk, so mainly im into anything that has distoted guitars in the musicand none of that would have happened if sabbath hadent came alonh, and for the fact that tony ioomi has a bit of his finger missing so had to tune the strings lower and focos more on riffing then playing.

A good introduction to Black Sabbath in all their sabbathy wonder. It's got all the classics here (well not ALL), as well as a few others that are just as good. I would've liked to see Electric Funeral on here, however.

1. Black Sabbath- 5/5 Creepy and awesome. The vocals here are chilling.

2. The Wizard- 4/5 Haven't heard another song that rocks as hard with a harmonica.

3. Paranoid- 5/5 Yeaaaaahh!!! Who doesn't love this one?

4. War Pigs- 5/5 Powerful.

5. Iron Man- 5/5 Definitely one of my favorite Black Sabbath songs, awesome riff.

6. Tomorrow's Dream- 3/5 Doesn't really stand out, but give it a listen anyway.

7. Fairies Wear Boots- 5/5 A nice weird song you can listen to over and over again.

8. Changes- 4/5 A good ballad. No guitars here though.

9. Sweet Leaf- 4/5 hahahaha... Ozzy loves his sweet leaf.

10. Children of the Grave- 5/5 Really good heavy song.

11. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- 5/5 I just might love this one more than iron man. If you don't like this song than just stay away from Black Sabbath.

12. Am I Going Insane-3/5 A change of pace here, not that bad.

13. Snowblind- 5/5 Another classic.

14. N.I.B.- 5/5 The best song to end this cd. It's evil I tell you!

i got this cd off my mum when i was about 9 and listened to it almost every day. It has loads of great songs, i especially love fairies wear boots, especially as i hate all footwear that isnt boots, i like changes too. there is no song on this cd i don't like.

A good compilation album, all with Ozzy singing. Most people confuse these with his solo project, but those on this page know better. All of these are good, if not great (except Am I Going Insane), and is essential for fans of awesome "old metal".

1. Black Sabbath- 5/5- this song is friggin' crazy! So heavy that it scared Metallica frontman James Hetfield (according to a review in Rolling Stone). Great intro for what is to come.
2. The Wizard- 5/5- sort of light after the intro track. Head-banging harmonica... what a concept.
3. Paranoid- 5/5- short, but awesome. Their biggest-selling single, apparently, even more so than Iron Man.
4. War Pigs- 5/5- one of my favorites. The riffs are amazing. Tony Iommi can out-riff almost anyone.
5. Iron Man- 5/5- the enigma. One of the most famous riffs ever, right up with Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple (something about bands with colors in the title). If you don't recognize this song, get out. Now.
6. Tomorrow's Dream- 4/5- not bad, but not one of my favorites. Cool riff though.
7. Fairies Wear Boots- 5/5- gloomy yet trippy. This is a great song. We all have fun with this one, right? (Humor me here)
8. Changes- 3/5- the piano is sort of unexpected. The lyrics are good, but this definitely would have been better on the guitar.
9. Sweet Leaf- 5/5- is it possible to go wrong with a song glorifying pot in the 70's? I don't think so.
10. Children Of The Grave- 5/5- back to the heavy stuff. Cool solo, really good. Amazing when Ozzy does it live on the Randy Rhoads Tribute album.
11. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- 666/5- alright, everyone, horns in the air! This song RULES! Awesomely heavy, lyrics you could sacrifice a goat to. This song alone is a reason to get this (well, that and War Pigs).
12. Am I Going Insane (Radio)- 1.5/5- my least favorite on the album. This should've been replaced with Electric Funeral from Paranoid. Very un-Sabbathy.
13. Snowblind- 5/5- great song. Even more effective when it's snowing outside and you're looking out the window (who could've guessed that one?).
14. N.I.B.- 5/5- 666! The origional Devil song. Awesome outro.

That about wraps this album up, but unfortunately two songs origionally on the 2-tape set didn't make it to the CD:
Warning- 5/5- bluesy and heavy and over 10 minutes long. This manages to keep your interest through the whole thing. WHY IS THIS NOT ON HERE!!!???
Laguna Sunrise- 5/5- low key instrumental. Too bad it wasn't on here, either.
Okay, now I'm done. Metal fans should definitely pick this up.

a greatest hits cd of perhaps the very first metal band, and you have classics on this one. iron man, paranoid, N.I.B, black sabbath, and sabbath bloody sabbath, a great song. maybe my only drawback with this cd is that it doesnt include symptom of the universe or another song from sabotage instead of am i going insane? its a great cd and definitely worth buying.

Many reviewers point out that this is the great place to start. Needless to say, they are right! Over the years I have been only familiar with "Paranoid", "War Pigs" and "Iron Man". My buddy who's the biggest Ozzy/Sabbath fan in the world got me hooked on them now. "Sweet Leaf" and "Am I Going Insane" and others are perfect to shoot pool to and to hang out in bars. I had just seen the original lineup at Ozzfest last month for the first time and after seeing their show I bought this right away. You can't go wrong with the never aging music (although most of the band except Ozzy looks aged, no offense to all) of Sabbath with this. Ward's drumming, Iommi's haunting guitar and Ozzy's screams are a great combination. So pop this in now and turn it up. Rock on, and GO CRAZZZY!

This is really just a sampling of Black Sabbath's first five albums, with the heaviest emphasis being on tracks from "Paranoid" and "Master of Reality". These are classic songs so it's hard to fault this. It's good for listening to in the car, actually.

The track selection is good, but I wonder about the inclusion of the silly "Am I Going Insane (Radio)" as the sole offering from "Sabotage" when there are so many better cuts on that album. I would have pushed for "Hole In The Sky" or "Symptom Of The Universe."

It's best to hear these songs in their original album setting, but this album does serve several useful alternatives:

- For the casual "Ozzy-only" fan

- For those who don't want to shell out for the "Symptom Of The Universe" or "Black Box" collections

- Of course, for those who have to have every Sabbath album and/or everything Ozzy's ever done.

Here's where metal all began. Doom, Black metal, Death metal...so many genres began with Sabbath. We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N' Roll is very good place to start a Sabbath collection. Features all their more well known songs such as Paranoid, Iron Man, Changes...etc. A little disappointed that some of the songs that were just as good but not as popular were left out. Also no songs from the Dio era of Sabbath, I admit that that's not such a big deal though since they only had one good album with him. Again, a great place to start but I would recommend getting the actual albums too. Every Sabbath album is meant to be taken as a whole and, while the songs sound good apart from each other, your missing part of the experience if you just hear one or two songs of a particular album. It's been more than 30 years since Sabbath started and they are still one of the best. Very few have ever been able to match the ambiance, art and effect Sabbath achieved. Their material is as powerful in 2004 as it was 1970.

You know many people dispute what metal really is and that is because of one nameless group(Led Zeppelin) who had the gaul to call themselves metal when guys like Grand Funk Railroad and Deep Purple were playing that 5-7 years before them and everybody should've known what real metal was. Well thankfully like a Savior coming to save the lost, Black Sabbath appeared and a new genre was born which would become the music genre of the next two decades. On this best of compilation, you will find some of Sabbath's greatest hits, from Black Sabbath to Snowblind. Unlike most bands early best hit compilation, this is the perfect album for someone just getting into Sabbath. After you check out this one, check out Paranoid, it has some of the bands best hits that aren't on there. The original We Sold Our Souls for Rock n'Roll came out in 1975 when everything was in vinyl. The cd version has excluded two tracks, Warning and Laguana Sunrise, but I would've excluded those two if I didn't have enough room. So, check it out!

We Sold our Soul for Rock n Roll covers Sabbath's career up to 1975, so nothing is included from Technical ectasy or Never Say Die, which are two of Sabbath's weaker albums. That aside We Sold our Soul for Rock n Roll is a good first purchase for those curious about Black Sabbath. With the CD version there are 14 songs, if you look hard enough there are cassette versions with 16(Warner Bros)and 17(NEMS)tracks on them.The first two Black Sabbath albums are covered in great detail, and the remainder of the album captures highlights from the other 3 Sabbath albums out at the time. The main problem with the album is that the five albums covered by the complation are the Black sabbath albums that you'll want to own in their entirety.

It may not be anything special to a hardcore Sabbath fan, but if your new to the band and would like find a spot to start in their wide collection of albums We sold our souls for rock and roll is what your looking for! It contains all of Black Sabbath's most famous songs from 1970-1975. The only thing that could have been improved on this compilation Is perhaps a different song from Sabotage instead of Am I going Insane, The song really is out of place on the album.

This is a great collection of songs by a legendary band. I found it quite impressive because up until I had heard this, I had thought that sabbath were garbage. I had not heard any songs that I liked by them, until the very first song on here. Now Sabbath has some of my favorite songs, like Iron Man. This is classic old school metal/hard-rock.

Black Sabbath is a cornerstone that three decades of rock, metal, punk, grunge, and high energy music was built on. These songs still inspire people to pick up guitars. This is a "best of" album and is an great introduction to their music. Once you go "black" there's no turning back.

the ozzy years were the only good ones. the other ones can suck a ball cuz dio is wakk. ozzy is the man. buy the last supper dvd and watch that old bastard rock.

I read some reviews, and I'm buying this album for the second time. Simply because my other copy got too scratched up from playing it too much. I don't know what one person is talking about what with the scratching of chalkboards ... but as a serious musician who has been playing for more than a decade and a half, as someone who spends thousands of dollars on CDs alone every year, and as someone who listens to all genres, not just classical, or rock, or folk music, that this is one of my favorite CDs in my collection. I have a feeling that person didn't know what they were talking about, but it is not my place to make that claim

This is a good place to get a first taste of the band that invented heavy metal, bar none. I have gone through several LPs and cassettes of this over the years before finally getting the CD. It's also much cheaper than the recently released "Symptom Of The Universe" set, if less comprehensive (that set covers the entire Ozzy Osbourne period, this one only goes up to 1975's "Sabotage").

From what I have read from interviews with the band, the Sabs really had no involvement with putting the compilation together, but nonetheless the person(s) involved generally showed good taste and judgement. Most of the tracks are drawn from "Black Sabbath," "Paranoid," "Master of Reality" and "Volume 4," with one track each from "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (the killer title cut) and "Sabotage" (the utterly stupid "Am I Going Insane (Radio)").

Get this together with the phenomenal Dio-era "Live Evil" to begin exploring Sabbath, and then be adventurous and give a good, fair listen to the other Dio-era discs, along with the Tony Martin, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes-fronted lineups rather than just say "Black Sabbath is Ozzy and Ozzy is Black Sabbath, everything else stinks," as is politically correct to say. If you're open-minded to excellent heavy metal music, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

So, with my praise for this disc, why only three stars?

First of all, though I respect him for his role in making Sabbath what they are, I just don't understand the adulation over Ozzy Osbourne. He is not a singer (though he IS an entertainer) and played very little role in the actual songwriting. I believe what really made the early Sabbath great was the instrumental interplay between Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Second, the CD release of this album cuts out "Warning" (an extended jam from the first LP) and "Laguna Sunrise" (an exquisite Tony Iommi acoustic guitar solo from "Volume 4") from the original release. There are other cuts that could have been elbowed to make way for these two - the aforementioned "Am I Going Insane?" and the braying "Changes" (for that matter, some of the heavier cuts from "Sabotage" should have been included - "Hole In The Sky" and "Symptom Of The Universe" are essential Sabbath).

Get this, then dig deeper.

when i listen to the wizard i think "how on earth can something so great exist' it is an awsome somg and so are the others.iron man is one of my all time favorites. why would you buy this if you thimk it so bad mr cranky

I had only just heard about Black Sabbath, and wasn't sure if they were any good or not. However, in the end I decided to do something I didn't normally do and buy the album with no way of telling if they were going to be good or not. Them inute I got home I popped it into my CD player and was amazed. I listened to all of the tracks, each one amazing in its own way. Here are my thoughts on all the songs:

Black Sabbath(title track): 10/10

a slow song with incredible guitar and eerie lyrics from Ozzy osbourne about a guy going straight to hell. A very chilling and exciting song that says a lot about black sabbath as a band.

The Wizard: 9/10

Ozzy sings and plays harmonica to the tune of another truly great song about a wizard who spreads joy and happiness. Not something to expect from a metal band, but still a good song. Actually, the Wizard could be interpreted as a drug dealer who traveles the streets, which makes the song a little less sugar-coated

Paranoid: 9/10

its an okay song, but way to overrated and with a very... interesting guitar solo. Its sort of messed up, but not really, its hard to explain. Still a good song though

War Pigs: 10/10

an anti war song featuring very intersting and skillfull bass guitar. it also has a great beat and really powerful lyrics. one of my Favorites.

Iron Man: 10/10

probably the most recognizable Black sabbath song, Feasturing some great solos and vocals. Another great song.

Tommorow's Dream: 6/10

its an okay song, but I usually skip it. Nothing noticeably interesting.

Fairies Wear Boots: 8/10

a very drug induced and weird song. Its a little to slow and drawn-out for my liking, but still worth the occasional listening.

Changes: 5/10

a slow, classical song, very soft and not at all typical of Black Sabbath. Then again, its really not a bad song, per se. I guess you might like it.

Sweet Leaf: 10/10

another great song, with fantastic guitar(then again, you grow to expect great guitar from such an amazing band). It more fast-paced than the last three songs and is a lot better of a song as well.

Children of the Grave: 10/10

Another great song, but I don't really have anything to say about it.

Sabbath bloody Sabbath: 7/10

Its an okay song, but I liked it better as I listened to it more often. Its a fairly average song.

Am I going insane: 9/10

another unusual song, but it really grew on me. A very wiird tune, but worth listening too.

snowblind: 7/10

this is an okay song I guess, but I don't really like it and usually skip past it.

NIB 10/10

the last song on the CD, and its a very interesting song that shows the talents of all the band members.

total score:

120/140

Wow. Thats one amazing CD. I highly reccomend this to anyone who likes metal or hard rock and hasn't heard too much black sabbath before. You will not be dissapointed.

This is one of the greatest cds ever made. It is heavy metal at its best. Ozzy freakin rocks and the music is amazing. Buy this cd you won't be sorry.

Black sabbath are basically the founders of dark rock/metal, this album contains there best tracks from the time when they were with ozzy. A great intro to sabbath, and to classic rock in general.

This could be called "The Essential Black Sabbath", because it's pretty much the best of the best. Of course there are killer tracks missing, like "Into the Void", "Planet Caravan", and "Supernaut", but it is just one disc. However, the recent 2-disc collection "Symptom of the Universe 1970-1978" has twice as much, but obviously costs more. This does though include the classics "Iron Man", "Sweet Leaf", and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", among others. Overall, it's a great intro to "Sabbath", and perfect for the casual fan. If you like "Ozzy's" solo work, this is even better. It's the beginning of metal as we know it.

bloody hell! one of the best sabbath cd's but then again you cant go wrong if you like black sabbath, its all good

this cd is a great cd for new fans of black sabbath.all the classics are here paranoid,black sabbath,n.i.b. and iron man. a great cd to add in your cd collection.

This is the greatest hits of Black Sabbath during the Ozzy era, which is good because this is when Black Sabbath was good! But if you really want the best of the ozzy Era you need the first six Sabbath albums (Black Sabbath, Paraniod, Master Of Reality, Vol. 4, SbbathBloddy Sabath, and Sabotage). But THis is good for a beginner, I mean if you are just getting into Sabbath this is a must own cause it has some of the best songs like "War Pigs (my Favorite)" Paraniod" Feirys Were Boots" "Children Of The Grave" "Symptoms of The Universe", and a whole lot more. so if you are starting out id start with this then the other six albums