Ozzy Osbourne may be notorious for many things, but his guitarists have always been among the best musicians in heavy metal. Say what you will about the Prince of Darkness, but he knows how to pick them. For over forty years, guitar players associated with Ozzy have carved the metal landscape and stood as icons for up-and-coming players everywhere. English singer and songwriter Ozzy Osbourne revealed in a 2024 podcast episode of The Madhouse Chronicles that fellow Black Sabbath icon Tony Iommi is the best guitarist he has ever worked with. Together, Osbourne and Rhoads made heavy-metal history with Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, combining poppy vocal melodies, pseudo-occult musings and blistering, neoclassical guitar acrobatics. Ozzy's Favorite Solo Guitarist In late 2019, Osbourne declared that Randy Rhoads was the "best" guitarist he's played with throughout his solo career. If Ozzy Osbourne has done one thing right with his solo career, it’s been employing some of the best hard rock and metal guitarists on the planet. Considering the company, being the “worst”, if you can call it that, of Ozzy’s guitarists is still an honorable place to be in heavy metal history. What would Ozzy Osbourne 's amazing solo career be without the many guitar heroes who have stood beside him for the past 30-plus years? Not much, unless he had his sights on playing music other Ozzy Osbourne's seven all‑time greatest tracks 1. Crazy Train “Crazy Train” is perhaps Ozzy’s signature solo anthem. The opening riff is a classic, deemed one of the greatest guitar solos ever by Guitar World readers, and the song has amassed over half a billion Spotify streams, making it his most played solo track. From Randy Rhoads, to Zakk Wylde and Jake E. Lee, Ozzy Osbourne has performed with a stellar line-up of guitar players over his decades onstage and in the studio. Now he named the player he considers to be the best guitarist he’s ever performed alongside. After a sighing guitar note and a robotic voice proclaiming, “I am Iron Man,” Osbourne narrates a sci-fi horror story about a jilted metal monster on this hit off Sabbath’s Paranoid album. So we will use the opportunity and go through all of Ozzy Osbourne's guitar players. NOTE: Tony Iommi doesn't count since Tony Iommi didn't play for Ozzy. Ozzy sang for Tony Iommi. Ozzy Osbourne has been lucky to work with excellent guitarists throughout his career, but he recently revealed who his favourite is. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. Wylde's signature bulls-eye design appears on many of his guitars and is widely recognized. From the virtuosic Randy Rhoads, who helped shaped Ozzy's early post-Sabbath days, to the likes of Brad Gillis, who served small-yet-crucial roles in the larger Osbourne ecosystem, the Prince of Darkness's list of collaborators isn't short of top tier players. Below, you can find the guitarists who wrote and played on Ozzy’s classic albums and took part in his legendary tours. Last month, Wolfgang was asked by Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station to name his favorite guitar player who played with Ozzy — a list that includes SABBATH legend Tony Iommi and Randy Rhoads. Black Sabbath was a metal dream band of players, but Ozzy Osbourne has maintained that commitment to musicianship and excellence, recording with some stellar players during his solo career. It's impossible to narrow down Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's most important and influential songs to just 15, but these are a good point of entry. Ozzy Osbourne's death has prompted musicians to react with messages of grief, with the Black Sabbath star dying at 76. Even if Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t play the guitar, it didn’t stop him from having a favorite guitarist. During an interview, Ozzy revealed that his favorite guitarist is Randy Rhoads. With his unique style, Rhoads helped create the albums “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of a Madman,” which brought Ozzy back into the limelight. Ozzy once confidently said that Rhoads was his favorite guitarist during his solo career because he made him enjoy his work again. Rhoads was not just talented but also a source of encouragement.
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