Love the Dio era but how could this poll not have the Tony Martin era. They put out some great material with Martin.

What he said.

But I love Dio, too, both his work with Rainbow and his solo career.

I quite like his solo career more, although his Black Sabbath music is great too.

I like the Dio Sabbath a lot, but I like Oz Sabbath a lot more. However, if Dio was one of the choices, I would vote for it. Holy Diver is amazing.

I love Ozzy's work. The first 4 albums in the Sabbath catalog are great. Looking back on some of these posts I don't see why Dio is getting a bad rep. He has an amazing voice and put out some other great albums to such as Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.

Ozzy-era Sabbath made a couple classic albums, but their songs were often dull and sloppy. "Crazy Train" is better than any Sabbath song, but Ozzy never put out a truly great album as a solo artist. Dio-era Sabbath sucked. Just because Dio's dead doesn't mean his vocals were ever anything but bombastic cheese.

LOL @ a hair metal fan calling something cheesy.

Not all hair metal is cheesy. Early Motley Crue is way less cheesy than the kind of stuff Dio is known for, like "Holy Diver" or "Heaven and Hell."

But honestly there's no point in me defending hair metal or you dismissing it. No one here thinks it's great art. I like it for what it is: trashy fun.

However, unlike hair metal, Dio's work gets way more praise than it deserves, now more so than ever. Dio-era Sabbath doesn't deserve even the 12.50% of the vote it currently has.

Explain how early Motley Crue isn't as cheesy, if not cheesier, than anything Ronnie James Dio has been involved with. Too Fast for Love looks like a veritable Wisconsin dairy farm next to Holy Diver.

Vince Neil is not even close to Ronnie James Dio's vocals, dead or alive.
Ive never heard anyone phrase Dio's music as 'bombastic cheese' before.
Ozzy is the 'Prince Of Darkness'! for gods sake, and what always catches my attention is how Dio's music is also on the 'dark side', but all together different than Ozzy's in style and sound, these guys are two of the biggest influences in the history of metal/rock.
(Regardless..of what I think, if someone prefers Motley Crue over Dio, Ozzy, and Sabbath, then more power to ya)! :rolleyes: