It’s been ten years since the heavy metal world lost one of it’s greatest icons. By all accounts from those who knew him, Ronnie James Dio was one of the “good guys” of rock & roll. When I first began my journey into discovering heavy music, I was well aware of “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Holy Diver” from my VH1 Classic video binges. And I certainly knew of the kickass “Man On The Silver Mountain” from all of the classic rock radio that I listened to.

It took Ronnie’s passing for me to dig deeper into his career. I knew that at one point he fronted Black Sabbath, but wasn’t familiar with that incarnation of the band at all. The day that Dio died, a friend of mine that was a big fan, had a memorial style bonfire/celebration of music with myself and a couple other friends. It was that night that I heard “Heaven and Hell” for the first time.

In the following weeks I was able to start piecing together the rest of his career and found a lot of amazing music. But more importantly, I began to see how much he meant to so many other bands and the metal community in general. One of my favorite memories of seeing Iron Maiden that summer was when they dedicated “Blood Brothers” to Dio’s memory.

On the Mount Rushmore of heavy metal vocalists, Dio is firmly on there with Dickinson, Halford, and Ozzy. Fully aware, now, of his legacy on heavy music; I present to you my ten favorite tracks in the Dio catalog.

#10. The Mob Rules (Black Sabbath – 1981)

 

#9. Stand Up and Shout (Dio – 1983)

 

#8. Neon Knights (Black Sabbath – 1980)

 

#7. Last In Line (Dio – 1984)

 

#6. Children of the Sea (Black Sabbath – 1980)

 

#5. Stargazer (Rainbow – 1976)

 

#4. We Rock (Dio – 1984)

 

#3. Holy Diver (Dio – 1983)

 

#2. Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath – 1980)

 

#1. Man on the Silver Mountain (Rainbow – 1975)

 

And there it is. While it was hard to leave off songs like “I” and “Rainbow in the Dark”; this was ultimately what I narrowed it down to. Share your thoughts in the comments if you agree or disagree. More importantly, add these iconic tracks to your playlist!