Ozzy Osbourne vs. Ronnie James Dio: Who's Better?

• I liked his duet with Lita Ford. And 'dreamer', 'mama i'm coming home' etc. . . I love both of these guys but Ozzy's solo career wasn't as bad as you are making it seem.

• The best thing to happen to metal was Oz departing and Dio's entrance! Oz had no imput into Sab's writing! Shame!!! Dio wrote the songs for Sabbath! Oz would have never had his writing discovered! Dio Rocks Get With It People

• You know, this used to be a fun debate, but it really doesn't seem like much fun now that one of these metal legends has passed on. To be honest, with all they've accomplished in their careers, I'd say call it even. A lot of the myths about how the two stack up tend to get blown out of proportion. Conventional wisdom says that Dio is the better singer and Ozzy is the better frontman. Certainly, Dio is a better singer in technical terms, but many people (myself included) actually prefer Ozzy's vocals because of their expressiveness. In rock n roll, it's often not technical chops that make the difference;Bruce Springsteen is more popular by far than, say, Geoff Tate, and has affected more people. Likewise, while Ozzy is notoriously good at connecting with a crowd, Dio was nothing less than a legendary frontman. His style may have been a bit less wildman and more traditional showman, but he was a consummate professional and more;he definitely knew how to command a stage. Dio made two, possibly three of the best Sabbath albums ever (heck, maybe four if you count "The Devil You Know"), but all of the Ozzy-era Sabbath albums are classics (even the underrated "Never Say Die" and "Technical Ecstacy") which gives him 8 to Ronnie's 4. And I'd personally give Ozzy the edge in solo career (and sales figures would be on my side), but again they've both done great solo. Both of them put out at least two post-Sabbath solo albums that are undeniable metal classics ("Blizzard of Ozz", "Holy Diver", "Diary of a Madman" and "Last in Line") and countless other great (and top-selling) albums. If Ozzy does have an edge with his Sabbath and solo stuff, Ronnie closes the gap by having put out 3 more classic albums with another legendary band, Rainbow. His pre-Rainbow career, from Ronnie Dio & the Prophets to Elf, had a lot of great moments, too.  Bottom line? They've both done so much and, between the two of them, virtually defined metal (or at least metal singing). One can make a personal call as to who was better, but there's not much doubt they are two of the most legendary rock singers ever and they helped shape hard rock and metal. \m/

• Lol at this article.

• Legacy, are you shitting me? Who the hell outside of the metal circle even knows who Ronnie James Dio is? RJD had a poor voice for what Sabbath fans were accustomed to, and that is why they dropped off of the charts. He was a better singer in terms of technicality, but Ozzy's voice has a more unsettling tone to it; it is more properly suited for Sabbath's doom-y type of metal. Ozzy could undoubtedly please a crowd better, and his live energy was always more electric. His first two solo albums were pretty much the pinnacle of metal at the time of their release; none of RJD's albums were ever the pinnacle of anything.

• This is totally Biast. You talk bad about Ozzy the majority of this and praise Dio. Dio was definately a great Singer but Ozzy deserves just as much credit and whataya mean he just follows the riffs?? War Pigs, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Children of the Grave, SOLITUDE!!! And No More Tears is as classic a record I've ever heard. I Don't Wanna Change the World, Desire, S.I.N, etc He is just as good as Dio. And he never lost it he hit a few bumps along the road but who doesn't

• You've got a right to your opinion. But oh, my goodness, how wrong you are. And no disrespect to Ronnie. The two albums they made with him are probably better than Technical Ecstasy, but I don't understand why so many people consider Never Say Die to be so bad. Probably because it's got jazz elements. Listen to Air Dance and tell me it's not a masterpiece. Also, Ozzy's first two albums are BOTH better than any Dio album (as great as Dio's first two albums were).

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