241) Black Sabbath

Buy the album at Rhino.com

Recorded in a single twelve-hour blurt by a hippie-leaning former blues band, this lumbering debut conjures up a new, sludgy sound: the birth pains of heavy metal. The slide guitar on "Wizard" and the grungy boogie of "Wicked World" would influence not only future metal spawn but even the sound of Nirvana.

Total album sales: 1 million +

Peak chart position: 23

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