It's not exactly a revelation is it?

Not exactly and I still prefer the Ozzy era. However I haven't listened to any Sabbath other than the Dio era for months now. Such good stuff.

Holy Mother of Jesus Christ our savior, I love Black Sabbath. First album I got was Master of Reality and it completely blew my mind. Amazing record. So with my mind still blown I went out and bought Paranoid, not as good as Master of Reality but still great. Waiting for Vol. 4 and Black Sabbath to arrive in my mailbox now.

The mailman better hurry.

My alltime favorite band. Great thread
I totally agree about 'Changes'. Ozzy must have written it during a lucid moment.

Was there actually a song called 'Rat Salad', or was it a mistake on the cover?

The Dio stuff is phenomenal. So much so, they should have been allowed to rename the band at that point.

Sabotage is probably my most listened to album. I wonder if the 'blow on a jug' song is on the CD?

Any rumours about new stuff from Tony in 2011?

I find it hard to forgive him for being so cruel to Bill Ward.

There is definitely an instrumental called Rat Salad on my CD copy of Paranoid.

Sabbath calls for a simplistic approach, preferably over a beer.

Best albums: "Sabbath bloody sabbath", "Sabotage".
Most underrated albums: "Technical ecstasy", "Never say die".
Most overrated album: "Paranoid"
Best riffs: "A national acrobat", "Black sabbath", "Symptom of the universe"
Facepalm: "Rat salad", "Rock'n roll doctor", "Swinging the chain", "She's gone"
Beatles graduates: "Sabbath bloody sabbath", "You won't change me", "It's alright", "Junior's eyes", "Air dance", "Looking for today", "Never say die"
Best instrumental: "Supertzar", "Fluff"

And by the way, Budgie were much cooler than Sabbath. Yeah, I did!

HELL NO you didn't!!!

I actually think Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is pretty overrated, and Technical Ecstacy is one big facepalm.
Rat Salad is a hell of a song, but you were spot on with most overrated, it's not even in their top 5 albums. (If you include Dio material)
Underrated Album: Master of Reality

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is great! With Volume 4, I think Sabbath became slightly repetitive, but with instrumentals such as Fluff, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath added a progressive vein to their vocabulary. And I agree with Dotoar, A National Acrobat has a great riff. Though I think their best riff is the one in Lord Of This World from Master Of Reality, which I think is their best album by far.
I haven't listened to Technical Ecstasy, so I can't comment on that one. :( But I think you can add Changes from Volume 4 to your facepalm-list.