Fashion of the 70s George Jones 1970 Album Cover

The '70s sometimes get a bad rap: Oft these years are remembered as the musical era that brought united states disco at its absolute gaudiest. Only there was far more than going on in the decade than polyester, sequins and cocaine; the 1970s saw the rise of the vocalist/songwriter, the birth of punk stone, reggae's infiltration of the mainstream and the long, strange trip led by some of psychedelia'southward finest.

In fact, it'due south a decade so musically diverse, we had quite a time whittling it downwardly to our superlative albums. When we polled our staff, interns and writers, over 250 albums received votes, but ultimately these lxx emerged as clear favorites.

Note: Every bit with our best albums of the 1960s, nosotros've limited each artist to two albums. That means artists like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie all had some stellar work bumped from the listing—but it too means you'll take more to become angry near, so have at it.

70. Diverse Artists, The Harder They Come soundtrack (1973)

There was a lot more than to the early on years of reggae than Bob Marley & the Wailers, and the best of the balance is brilliantly summarized on this soundtrack album for 1 of the best fictional music films ever made. One time they realized they weren't going to become any Wailers tracks, the filmmakers chose brilliantly. Every bit the charismatic outlaw/singer/star of the movie, Jimmy Cliff sang one-half the songs, merely there's non a bad cut in the original soundtrack'southward dozen. Included are reggae'southward best-ever ballad (Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross"), best-ever pop hook (the Maytals' "Sugariness and Corking") and such one-hit wonders equally the Slickers and Scotty. The 2003 "Deluxe Edition" reissue adds a second CD with eighteen more songs, as smartly chosen as the commencement disc. —Geoffrey Himes

69. Blondie, Parallel Lines (1978)

The wondrous pop, stone and disco songs on Parallel Lines weren't supposed to be on good albums, much less all on the same one. To imagine it is to put "The Loco-Motion," "I Wanna Be Your Domestic dog" and "Staying Live" on a mixtape and pronounce it a band. Whether pilfered directly from the Nerves (the breathless "Hanging on the Telephone" takes no prisoners) or stitched together, nursery rhyme-like from Buddy Holly's "Everyday" (few melodies jangle then timelessly as "Sunday Daughter" ), Debbie Harry and Chris Stein'due south shrewd, sexy melodicism on these 12 classics clawed its mode into the pantheon from the unproblematic ambition to conquer any radio format they touched. One fashion or some other, they sneered. We're gonna please ya please ya please ya please ya. —Dan Weiss

68. Nick Drake, Pink Moon (1972)

Few albums on this listing take anile as well as Nick Drake's final anthology from 1972, recorded in a pair of mail service-midnight sessions with just Drake and producer John Wood. The simplicity of acoustic guitar, subtle pianoforte and whispered vocals could have been recorded four decades later—and indeed Drake has sold many more copies of his albums since his death in 1974. And, of course, the heartbreak of which he sings will never become irrelevant. Beauty and melancholy take seldom meshed so completely equally on songs that tackle longing, despair and the slimmest rays of promise. —Josh Jackson

67. Devo, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978)

I recall I was 16 when I realized Devo wasn't a jokey one-striking wonder but one of the greatest stone bands of all time. Not that "Whip It" isn't an astonishing song, just it was a little as well goofy and ubiquitous for me to take seriously at that very serious age. If I had heard the spastic fine art stone of Are Nosotros Not Men? beginning I never would've doubted them. Information technology'southward not their best album, but it'due south the best at convincing serious immature stone nerds that Devo were more than a airheaded footnote. —Garrett Martin

66. Derek and the Dominos, Layla and Other Contrasted Love Songs (1970)

For a band that only released one studio album, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle and Jim Gordon sure made it count. The supergroup recorded both modernized interpretations of archetype songs similar "Nobody Knows You When Y'all're Downwardly and Out" and "Information technology'due south Too Tardily," as well as original compositions similar "Why Does Honey Got to Be So Sad?" and the eponymous "Layla." Though originally snubbed, Layla has continued to exist recognized as an explosion of blues-infused stone 'northward' scroll and a seminal work in Clapton's career. —Hilary Saunders

65. T. Rex, Electrical Warrior (1971)

T.Rex's sixth record would be worth talking about even if information technology was a collection of bad Monkees covers, based solely on the sheer awesomeness of its cover art. If that doesn't make yous desire to play the electrical guitar, there is something wrong with you. Fortunately, Marc Bolan brought the tunes to back information technology up. "Bang A Gong" and "Jeepster" are the hits, and great ones at that, but spaced-out acoustic numbers like "Cosmic Dancer" and "Planet Queen" and the fuzzy blues riffs of "Lean Adult female Dejection" give the album its depth and diversity. Add in lyrics about flying saucers, girls and cars, and glam stone has never sounded so weird and wonderful. —Charlie Duerr

64. The Stooges, Fun Business firm (1970)

Although The Stooges fabricated their get-go sonic statement with 1969's self-titled effort, they didn't practise it right until their sophomore album with the rowdy, Don Galluci-produced Fun House. With the ring recording in a raw, live setting, they were almost able to capture their untamable live energy onto tape. The Stooges might accept reached a much wider audience with Funhouse'southward follow-upward, Raw Power, just they never once more were able to produce the gritty, warts-and-all intensity seen in staples like "Downwards on the Street" and "T.Five. Middle." And, possibly to tie in with the anthology's title, closing runway "L.A. Blues" sounds like Iggy and the boys crying out for assist on the way to the loony bin—only this fourth dimension, they're using wailing guitars; harsh, stick-splintering drums; and Popular's unmistakable wail. —Tyler Kane

63. Can, Ege Bamyasi (1972)

Cartoon influences from Stockhausen to The Beatles, Can refined their broad range of influences on Tago Mago'south follow-up. The term "krautrock" never fully represented the Cologne collective's musical latitude, but nevertheless Ege Bamyasi has get one of the sub-genre'due south essential recordings. The 7-song record is tense and concise, requiring patience and understanding to fully comprehend the group's experimentalism. But once the allure of tracks like "One More Night," "Vitamin C" and "Spoon" creeps in, there's no turning dorsum. —Max Blau

62. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti (1975)

Afterwards starting off their career with 5 studio albums (I, II, Three, 4 and Houses of the Holy) that ensured their legacy as one of the decade's definitive rock acts, Led Zeppelin had no need to show themselves farther. That didn't terminate them from putting out their most ambitious tape—a sprawling, fourscore+ minute double album that encapsulates their earlier blues rock and latter mystical psych-synth audio. On the first one-half of Concrete Graffiti, Jimmy Page, Robert Constitute, John Paul Jones and John Bonham crafted some of their almost influential songs, including "In My Time of Dying," "Houses of the Holy" and "Kashmir." It's the record'due south latter part, nevertheless, that brings it all together with a deep-cutting run featuring the band'south most unheralded songs. —Max Blau

61. The Allman Brothers, Swallow A Peach (1972)

The first Allman Brothers Ring album released after Duane Allman's expiry is a sprawling creature that highlights every i of the band's strengths. Chief amidst those are Duane's mastery of the slide guitar and Gregg Allman'south incomparable voice, but Consume A Peach too underscores the band's multifaceted songwriting proficiency, from the one-half-60 minutes "Mountain Jam" to the plaintive pop of "Melissa" to the upbeat guitar calisthenics of Dickey Betts' "Blue Sky. "—Garrett Martin

60. Lynyrd Skynyrd, (Pronounced 'l?h-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) (1973)

(Pronounced 'l?h-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) introduced the world to both the quintessential Southern rock band at the pinnacle of its powers and the epic "Costless Bird," empowering decades of slow-witted would-be hecklers with the ability to provoke audible groans from whatsoever audience throughout the world. More importantly the album features 2 of the absolute greatest rock songs of all fourth dimension, "Simple Man" and the elegiac "Tuesday's Gone. "—Garrett Martin

59. Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire de Tune Nelson (1971)

It takes less than half an 60 minutes for the French maestro to take us through a semi-autobiographical concise exploration of seduction. Serge Gainsbourg was always known for his varied musical styling from album to album, or sometimes even song to vocal. Notwithstanding, Histoire de Melody Nelson's consistency gives the album the sense that it is one long musical slice with unlike scenes. The term "concept album" is thrown about quite frequently, but Gainsbourg was more interested in telling a story than creating a perception. The musician's funky bass lines, orchestral strings and a slam-poetry song commitment helps paint the harrowing story of Gainsbourg crashing his Rolls Royce into a teenaged beauty on her bicycle and the ensuing matter, creating a sense that the entire ensemble of songs is taken from a modern performance meant to be performed in opera houses instead of a studio. Simply Serge Gainsbourg and his real-life muse Jane Birkin could accept immune the world into such intimate emotions. —Adam Vitcavage

58. The Modern Lovers, The Modern Lovers (1976)

If at that place was a Socratic ideal form of how nosotros (mis)think the '70s, it'd probably expect a lot similar The Mod Lovers. Bright, airbrushed guitars, lovably sloppy vocals and an aw-shucks inebriated charm—their 1976 self-titled debut notwithstanding sounds like accidental genius. Information technology's difficult conceding that the Lovers were barely more a myth when it finally hit shelves. Jonathan Richman has gone through many guises and many adorers in his life, but his lasting legacy will forever be centered on those start, gleefully wry sessions. —Luke Winkie

57. Joni Mitchell, Hejira (1976)

In 1976, later on spending years in the limelight, singing and playing hippie-friendly anthems similar "Big Yellow Taxi" and "The Circle Game" for people who came of age in the '60s, Joni Mitchell needed time off to reflect and reassess. Her solution was to drive across America by herself, and the time away gave birth to the songs on Hejira, a give-and-take that loosely translates every bit "traveler" in Standard arabic. Songs like "Amelia," "Coyote" and peculiarly "Song for Sharon" expressed a new depth and maturity in her lyrics that perfectly fused with the challenging new music she was composing. Supported by a stellar who's who of modern jazz musicians including Jaco Pastorious, Tom Scott and Larry Carlton, Mitchell's guitar playing that had previously comprised of piddling more than folk strumming attained a mastery of expressing, phrasing and tone that has lost none of its ability or innovation with the passage of time. Rhythmically complex, daring and cute, Hejira's travelogues of despair and illumination take inspired many to consider it the finest album in her discography. —Doug Heselgrave

56. Gang of 4, Entertainment! (1979)

On Gang of Four'south debut, their post-punk mixed with funk is a clear inspiration for bands ranging from Cerise Hot Chili Peppers to Maximo Park, notwithstanding the album's Entertainment! moniker is quite sarcastic. The album discusses issues like Marxism, Irish prisoners and guerilla warriors, mixed with songs about dearest and animalism. With tracks like "Natural's Not In It" and "Damaged Appurtenances," Gang of Four makes dancing to heavy problems non unusual, only rather encouraged. —Ross Bonaime

55. Harry Nilsson, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

At a 1968 printing conference announcing the formation of Apple Corps., The Beatles were asked about their favorite American creative person and grouping. The Fab Four answered "Nilsson" to both questions. Harry Nilsson may accept been a one-man functioning, but it'southward easy to mistake his perfectly harmonized, multi-tracked vocals for a whole group of talented singers. By 1970, Nilsson had already recorded what would go his near famous songs ("Ane" and "Everybody'due south Talkin'"), just his best album would come up a year later on with Nilsson Schmilsson. On "Early on in the Morn," the singer shows off his skills as a true melodist, while "Jump into the Burn" is a blistering rock 'n' roll tune. Nilsson'south cover of Badfinger's ballad "Without You" serves as the well-nigh heartbreakingly beautiful moment on the record for which he took home the Grammy for Best Male Pop Song. But count on Nilsson to provide a lighthearted counterpoint to melancholy with ane of the record's most memorable moments, "Coconut. "—Wyndham Wyeth

54. Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

With the release of their glorious swan song, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel began the 1970s with a devastating finale. And what a fashion to get out: Though they'd already laid the groundwork on 1968's subtly expansive Bookends, Simon & Garfunkel's last—and best—album is also their virtually eclectic. Opening with the gospel-tinged title track, which featured Garfunkel'southward all-time finest lead vocal, Bridge Over Troubled Water never relents its focus, even equally information technology sprawls: "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" is a mystical folk jewel; the ramshackle popular of "Cecilia" is the very definition of a sing-along; meanwhile, the aching, psychedelic ballad "The Only Living Boy in New York" is merely the greatest song they always released—sort of like having your heart demolished and swiftly re-assembled in just under iv minutes. —Ryan Reed

53. Joy Partitioning, Unknown Pleasures (1979)

There might not have been a better band to usher in the '80s than Joy Sectionalization, a forward-thinking group of English rockers whose sum was more than its individual parts. Vocaliser Ian Curtis had an unmistakable, dry song commitment that composite perfectly with Bernard Sumner's atmospheric, nevertheless always distorted and punchy guitar parts. Peter Hook still inspires slews of pick-wielding, gnarled bass parts, and Stephen Morris brought a dancier take on gloom-rock rhythm. It's hard to recollect of another debut in the decade that took every bit many chances and was every bit self-assured as Unknown Pleasures. —Tyler Kane

52. Big Star, Third/Sister Lovers (1978)

When it was recorded Memphis' Agog Studios in 1974, Big Star'due south 3rd album couldn't generate plenty interest from record labels to go a proper release. It took United kingdom fans' and critics' enthusiastic response to the rerelease of the commencement two records in 1978 for the music to e'er see the light of day. But the sprawling power-pop masterpiece would take quite an effect on young musicians like R.E.1000.'s Peter Cadet and The Replacements' Paul Westerberg. Over one album, Alex Chilton'due south lyrics bridge the range of homo emotion, simply both the highs and lows are accompanied past perfect pop hooks. —Josh Jackson

51. Talking Heads, Fear of Music (1979)

Fear of Music was leaning out of the '70s, dropping in August of 1979, and that epochal advantage can certainly earn a lot of asterisks. Only David Byrne's premier pop moment in the Talking Heads canon withal feels remarkably singular. The pure exotic pleasures of "Newspaper" and "Cities" brushed correct upwardly against the sardonic "Life During Wartime," merely it all feels remarkably kindled, free of that overshadowing density of their virtually "important" work. We used to call it New Wave, but now it'south just a lovely template. —Luke Winkie

50. Marvin Gaye, Permit's Get it On (1973)

Bated from earning its spot equally the timeless soundtrack for making out (and more), Allow'south Get Information technology On symbolized a provocative, profound evolution for Marvin Gaye. More commercialized than his previous themed album, What's Going On, Gaye's 12th studio album took to Motown, soul, R&B, funk and the blues to understand the disparities and connections between sex and dear. Songs like the heartbreaking, falsetto-laden "If I Should Die This evening" rest the titular track, resulting in a complex record of human being nature and emotion. —Hilary Saunders

49. The Allman Brothers Ring, At Fillmore East (1971)

Ane twelvemonth for my birthday, ane of my best friends bought me 2 very unlike alive albums. I was Ben Folds Live! and the other was At Fillmore East. Up until then, I had never really been a fan of live recordings. I mistakenly thought that all alive songs should sound just similar their studio-recorded counterparts. I too hadn't been to many concerts at that point in my life, and then I didn't empathise there is a sure energy that is trying to exist captured with alive albums. But I was willing to requite At Fillmore Due east a effort at the recommendation of my friend, especially because I had recently gained interest in blues music, and I was relatively unfamiliar with The Allman Brothers. My listen was blown. I couldn't even begin to comprehend Duane Allman's gut-wrenching slide-guitar work, and songs like the most 20-minute jams "You Don't Honey Me" and the album closer, "Whipping Post," begged for repeated listens, despite their length. This tin can exist heard near the stop of the former rails when the band slows downwardly, gliding into the "Joy to the World" section, and someone in the audience emphatically yells out, "Play all night!" At Fillmore East captures the talent of a ring in its heyday that not only played well, but played well together, showcasing the grouping'due south vigor, exquisite timing and precision in what may exist the greatest live album of all time. —Wyndham Wyeth

48. Bob Dylan and The Band, The Basement Tapes (1975)

Afterward Dylan's infamous motorcycle blow in 1967, the singer went into seclusion in the Woodstock surface area of New York. The members of his recent touring band, The Hawks (later to become ameliorate known every bit The Ring), joined him shortly thereafter, and the group of musicians began writing and recording the music that would eventually become The Basement Tapes. Bob Dylan & The Ring recorded over 100 tracks during this time, and while about of them circulated for years on bootleg recordings, it wasn't until 1975 that they were officially released. The album is notable for its audio, which was a singled-out turn away from the type of songwriting Dylan had been exploring on Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 Revisited. The music on The Basement Tapes is characterized by its roots or Americana feel—a stark contrast to the trends of rock music at the time. When everyone else was infusing rock music with psychedelia or using every nook and cranny of the recording studio to create complex production piece of work, Dylan & The Band sent the music world for a loop past going downward into the basement and embracing traditional American stylings. You lot tin always count on Dylan to do the verbal opposite of what is expected of him. —Wyndham Wyeth

47. Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express (1977)

Trans-Europe Express is the well-nigh consistent album by i of the nigh of import bands of all time. Kraftwerk plant the perfect muse for their minimal electronic pop with this concept album about an old European railway system. The album's influence reached beyond electronic music or traditional pop, and somehow this cold, mechanical, Gemanic fine art helped birth hip-hop, with the title runway memorably incorporated into Afrika Bambaataa's seminal "Planet Rock." —Garrett Martin

46. Crosby Stills Nash & Immature, Déjà Vu (1970)

With the follow-up to Crosby, Stills & Nash's critically acclaimed debut, the group decided to enlist the talents of Canadian singer/songwriter Neil Young. All of the group'due south members, including Young, had already established themselves equally musical powerhouses through their work with previous bands Buffalo Springfield (Stills and Young), The Byrds (Crosby), and The Hollies (Nash), and all were on the verge of launching successful solo careers as well. With the addition of Young, CSN gained an extra voice to add to their already complex tidal waves of harmony also equally some other unique songwriter. The effect turned the ring that is often cited as one of the offset supergroups into something even improve. Despite the tensions within the band that stunted their potential over the following years, the fusion of country/folk songwriting with psychedelic/hippie flair and pop sensibility caused Déjà Vu to get a standout record of its fourth dimension and the diamond of the group's catalog. —Wyndham Wyeth

45. The Rolling Stones, Some Girls (1978)

The Stones' decision to make a New York City tape in the late 1970s should have gone drastically wrong. Instead, the veteran rock stars, who most thought were on the terminal legs of their victory lap (ane they announced to still be on), turned in a glorious mishmash of punk, disco, blues and country that silenced their detractors and woke upwards quondam fans. From the groove-heavy "Miss You" to the campy country of "Far Abroad Optics" and Keith's rollicking "Before They Make Me Run," Some Girls is a dirty, sexy mess, much similar the city that was its muse. —Charlie Duerr

44. The Velvet Underground, Loaded (1970)

Loaded was the final anthology recorded with Lou Reed, and the band'southward clearest attempt at making radio-friendly music. In the fourth dimension after it came out, Reed distanced himself from the terminal production, but the trifecta of "Who Loves the Sunday," "Sweet Jane" and "Stone & Whorl" is among the best 3-vocal openings on any rock and roll record. It's as good a soundtrack for the first few minutes of a summer day as in that location is, and guaranteed by doctors to erase a hangover instantly.*
*Perchance. —Jeff Gonick

43. Tom Waits, Small Change (1976)

Tom Waits' tertiary studio anthology, Minor Change, had everybody wondering, "Does Tom Waits demand a hug?" Waits had become a little too comfortable with life on the road and admitted afterwards that he had been drinking too much. The jazz influence present in his previous albums did not waiver with this anthology, just the lyrics became much more night and depressing. "The Pianoforte Has Been Drinking (Not Me)" is a disheartening, speech-slurred bar melody describing what seems to be wrong with the world simply blaming information technology all on everything that isn't the crusade of the trouble. Nothing seems to be going correct for Waits in this album. If Waits' kickoff albums were the upbeat side of jazz, Small Change proved that he understood that it can besides express heartbreak and pain. —Clint Alwahab

42. Elton John, Madman Across the Water (1971)

A year afterwards Madman Across The Water was released, Elton John made Honky Château, which is considered ane of his greatest works, has a stronger foothold in the canon, was better loved by critics and is ultimately probably the better anthology. "Honky Cat," "I Recall I'm Going To Impale Myself" and "Rocket Man" are classics, indeed, only there's something special about Madman. It's a wonderful display of the partnership between Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin—Taupin's ability to tell a compelling story and John using his keys, his vocalisation and his presence to make you care about the characters. There'south the weirdness and sadness of "Levon"—a song full of quirky names and scenarios only a feeling of longing and familial dysfunction all also common, backed with that punch of a chorus. There's "Tiny Dancer," which was and volition e'er exist not bad regardless of what sentimental movie scenes soundtrack information technology, and the powerhouse title rails, of course. And even the deep cuts have their moments, most notably the mournful, mandolin-tinged "Holiday Inn." —Lindsay Eanet

41. The Band, The Concluding Waltz (1978)

A celebrated issue, such equally The Band's "farewell" concert at Beak Graham's Winterland Ballroom on Thanksgiving 24-hour interval, 1976, filmed for posterity by Martin Scorsese, tin can either inspire musicians to greater-than-normal heights or distract them into bombastic overplaying. The Band rose to the occasion on this anthology as their best-known songs were bolstered by adrenaline, by Allen Toussaint'due south horn arrangements and by the presence of so many friends and heroes. Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John. Neil Young, Eric Clapton and the Staples Singers all sang with the headliners, each benefiting from as good a bankroll band every bit they'd e'er had. The album even included a studio session: three new songs, "The Weight" and two instrumentals combined into "The Last Waltz Suite." An expanded version was released in 2002. —Geoffrey Himes

40. Al Dark-green, Permit's Stay Together (1972)

When Al Green released Let'southward Stay Together in 1972, retailers of roses and water beds wore smiles—the anthology quickly became the soundtrack of lovemaking in America. Green'due south astonishing falsetto set him apart in the soul-vocalist pantheon, with Marvin Gaye his only rival in silky smoothness. President Obama covered "Permit'south Stay Together" terminal Jan at an Apollo Theater fundraiser, delivering a credibly sweet verse before Green himself performed. How keen is Al Green? Back in the day, those capricious Greek gods, wickedly fond of changing mortals into narcissus and spider and other flora and fauna, would have made Dark-green a songbird. He'd be singing outside every bedroom in the earth. —Charles McNair

39. Iggy and The Stooges, Raw Power (1973)

Raw Power opener "Search and Destroy" is about as iconic every bit proto-punk gods Iggy Pop and his Stooges got in the '70s. The track, with its sloppy, clipping production ushered in a new era for the band, which featured a new proper noun (Iggy and the Stooges instead of only "The Stooges") help from David Bowie on mixing, and new guitarist James Williamson. The anthology—which at this indicate was the band'southward virtually commercially successful by leaps and premises—featured not only the decade-defining "Search and Destroy," merely other unforgettable, biting tracks like "Your Pretty Face up is Going to Hell" and "Gimme Danger." —Tyler Kane

38. Suicide, Suicide (1977)

Suicide's eponymous 1977 debut, in terms of style and influence, is 1 of the most groundbreaking releases in the history of music. I don't recall that's hyperbole, when you consider that it's regarded as the first synth-popular tape, and has since gone to inspire legions of bands, from Joy Partitioning to MGMT. What'due south interesting is that, different about seminal records, it however sounds ahead of its time today. The reverb, bleakness and atonal drone might have turned off much of the general public, simply like all great artists, Suicide's Alan Vega and Martin Rev had the balls to sound similar sex, danger, madness and ultimately possibility. —Drew Fortune

37. Carole King, Tapestry (1971)

Tapestry was nothing less than the audio of a generation growing up. I was 13 the commencement time I heard "Information technology's Also Belatedly." It shook me, because information technology was i of the start pop songs I tin can remember nearly honey dying, divorce, etc. Sure, there were lots of songs about young love not prevailing —"Breaking Upwards Is Difficult To Do," that kind of thing. Only Carole King sang almost adult beloved non prevailing —virtually heartbreak and compromise being permanent features of the grownup landscape. Tapestry has always been the ultimate chick anthology. But more than than that, it was a mature album, and the globe it described was both as exotic every bit Tahiti, and equally familiar as my parents' chamber, downwardly the hall. —Tom Junod

36. John Lennon, Imagine (1971)

Perhaps atoning for sins committed in his heavy-handed salvation piece of work on The Beatles' Allow It Be recordings, here co-producer Phil Spector brings a simplicity of instrumentation to Lennon's brilliantly written tunes. Fifty-fifty today, the album retains its freshness (except possibly for that annoying sax solo on "It'due south And then Hard"—I don't care if it is King Curtis). Compared to the soaring production of Simon and Garfunkel'south inspirational Bridge Over Troubled Water a year before, the title rail relies on the profundity of Lennon's words with a plumbing equipment, elementary organisation of piano, bass and drums and just a dusting of strings. And and so at that place'south Lennon's formidable vocals. While he moves us with his sincerity on "Imagine" he tongue-lashes his way through "Gimme Some Truth," immediately starting with an obvious impatience and disgust at the incompetence of our political leaders. Afterward, in the same manner, he unabashedly burns his ex-songwriting partner Paul McCartney in "How Do You Sleep?" With every song a gem, this is John Lennon at his multi-layered best. —Tim Basham

35. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, This Twelvemonth's Model (1978)

Elvis Costello had already fabricated a splash with My Aim Is True, merely the addition of his own ring makes an immediate impact, equally the rhythm section of Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas launch correct into "No Activity," colored with organ from Steve Nieve, who'd added so much to "Watching the Detectives." Songs like "Pump It Up" and "Radio, Radio" are as energetic as anything in his catalog. It's a stone 'due north' curlicue tape that would make Buddy Holly happy to have Costello wearing those spectacles. —Josh Jackson

34. David Bowie, Low (1977)

In 1977, David Bowie had shed his Thin White Knuckles persona and began cleaning up after the severe cocaine addiction that fueled the Station to Station sessions. He relocated to French republic and and so Berlin to begin work on his side by side anthology, Low. The record embraced a highly experimental and avant-garde style that was directly influenced past the work of bands like Kraftwerk and Neu! also as Bowie's collaboration with Brian Eno. The event is an LP that is simultaneously compelling and confounding. Polarizing critics and fans when it was released, Low is split into two singled-out halves with their own unique sounds. The commencement is made up less of songs, but rather "song fragments" that seem to get-go and end from out of nowhere, fascinating the listener even so. The second half is characterized past mostly instrumental sprawling, spacey tracks. Low became the offset installment in Bowie'due south famous "Berlin Trilogy," and would go along to become highly influential in its own right through its structure, encompass of electronic sounds, and unique product techniques. —Wyndham Wyeth

33. The Kinks, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Role One (1970)

Some of the best music in beingness was written to poke fun at the music industry, which was the source of inspiration for Lola versus Powerman, including tracks similar "Top of the Pops," "Denmark Street" and "Get Dorsum In Line." The ring's musings on the modern historic period are still every bit worth pondering and absorbing as they were back and so. "This Time Tomorrow" even so induces chills; "Lola" can yet get crowds of all ages and at all levels of inebriation going. —Lindsay Eanet

32. Michael Jackson, Off the Wall (1979)

Michael Jackson'south Off the Wall marks the icon's transition from a Motown singer to one of the biggest solo artists of all fourth dimension, garnering him a Grammy and a quartet of big hits on the Billboard 100. With its single "Don't Stop Til You Go Enough," Off the Wall is widely acknowledged as one of the bang-up, enduring popular albums from years past, so it's easy to forget that the record is also brindled with heartfelt ballads. Merely the ane-2 punch of raw emotion (Jackson actually cries at the terminate of the take for "She's Out of My Life") and pop prowess is at the center of who Jackson really was equally an artist, and why his music is nonetheless and so beloved after so many years. —Rachel Bailey

31. Neil Young, Harvest (1972)

While an album's sales are seldom a reliable measure of its true value, Immature's Harvest struck a chord with record buyers. Billboard ranked it the best selling album of 1972, quite a feat considering the year'due south release of at present-classic albums by Carole King, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and on and on. Even more amazing, I can overlook radio'due south oversaturation of the single "Heart of Gold" and hear information technology for what it is: a song as pivotal to its time equally other classics in theirs, like Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" or Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." The album was a further affirmation of a audio Immature had already begun with Subsequently the Gold Rush. The "unplugged"production of songs like "The Needle And The Harm Done" and "Harvest" mix surprisingly well with the almost Broadway-like "A Homo Needs A Maid" and "There's A World" before endmost with a CSN&Y-similar "Words (Between the Lines of Historic period)". Country-stone before information technology was "alt." —Tim Basham

thirty. Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Boondocks (1978)

In 1977, Springsteen'south songwriting made a dramatic shift, breaking with his previous romanticism to write with a hard-edged realism and in a populist vernacular nigh and for the working-course kids he'd grown up with and still saw in his audience. The result was some of the all-time songs he'd ever write: "The Promised Land," "Badlands," "Racing in the Street" and the title rails. The fact that Springsteen insisted that he could "still believe in the promised land" after all the injustices he'd described created the dramatic tension that drove the record. And the songs blossomed from their overly studied studio versions into liberated and liberating live versions, all-time represented by the bonus DVD of a Houston show on the 2010 box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. —Geoffrey Himes

29. Patti Smith, Horses (1975)

Get-go impressions have always been important in discussions near art, from Elizabethan literature to more than contemporary jams. And good Lord, does Horses make an entrance: that dirge of a piano riff, and then Patti Smith, with a slow burn, that line: "Jesus died for somebody's sins/but not mine." With the piano and guitar as kindling, the backbeat stoking the flames, that burn builds and builds to the explosion of "Gloria," the chaotic "ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong" of Smith'south heartbeat. And from there, you're in dearest, with Gloria, with Patti. Horses is the kind of album people attempt to talk about and it ever turns into a sermon or a sales pitch. When people talk almost an creative person or an album having "saved their life," this is the kind of record they mean. Information technology's the kind of anthology we wish parents would standard-issue give their children as a ways of encouraging personal growth and survival. And as further evidence of Horses' importance, Smith is however making records decades later, and they're still swell. —Lindsay Eanet

28. Queen, A Day at the Races (1976)

Coming off of the heels of A Night at the Opera (and their biggest hit of all time, "Maverick Rhapsody") Queen decided it best to non allow the success linger and released A Twenty-four hours at the Races but piffling over a year later. Like so many of Queen'south albums, this 1 was an assorted alloy of current metal and classical music and meant to be played in the largest arenas in the world. The album weaves through blaring guitars, cathedral pianos, fast and furious vocals and deep ballads, just it's Freddie Mercury's gospel-baroque hits of "Somebody to Love" and "Adept One-time-Fashioned Lover Boy" that sent millions of fans over the edge. Once you flip the record and hear the multi-layered vocals and circuitous melodies, you know the boys in Queen weren't suffering whatever slump in the hits department. "Lover Male child" is a curt and sweetness ragtime moment that doesn't seem like much, but then turns into another show-stopping sing-along. —Adam Vitcavage

27. George Harrison, All Things Must Laissez passer (1970)

While his mate John Lennon was quick with the tricky hooks for the peace and love movement of the times, it was George who answered with specific instructions, exemplified in songs similar "Awaiting On You All": "You don't demand a love in, you don't need a bed pan. You don't demand a horoscope or a microscope to see the mess that yous're in." Co-producer Phil Spector's wall-of-sound brings a layered depth (listen to "Wah-Wah") to Harrison's impressive enshroud of talent, which included Ringo, Eric Clapton, Badfinger, Dave Mason, Billy Preston and the infamous saxophonist Bobby Keys, whose signature licks were heard on many a 1970s anthology, like the Stones' Exile On Main Street. Harrison's devotion to the Hindu god Krishna permeates the 20+ tracks. The innocently plagiarized "My Sweet Lord" still stands as a symbol of the personal musical exhilaration Harrison must accept experienced with his mail-Beatles explosion of songwriting, long kept in the shadows by the hugeness that was Lennon and McCartney. —Tim Basham

26. Talking Heads, More Songs Nearly Buildings and Nutrient (1978)

More Songs About Buildings and Food launched what would become a career-spanning relationship between Talking Heads' leading man David Byrne and Brian Eno, whose tight production has been credited with helping the band aggrandize their audition beyond their original stomping grounds at CBGB. The album features some of Byrne's virtually delightfully quirky song topics, including songs written from the indicate of view of art school students ("Artists But") and a track about a couple who gets so sick of lousy TV that they but go out and make their own shows ("Found a Job"). The Talking Heads and, afterwards, David Byrne went on to make a long serial of cracking records, and More Songs About Buildings and Food was their introduction to the wider world. —Rachel Bailey

25. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Goodbye Yellowish Brick Road is perhaps the best case of the magic that was the Elton John-Bernie Taupin songwriting partnership. Information technology produced some of John's best-known tracks, including the rollicking "Sabbatum Night's Alright For Fighting," the Marilyn Monroe tribute "Candle in the Wind," the titular ballad and the karaoke staple "Bennie and the Jets." John seamlessly shifts from brash to mournful over the course of its 17 tracks, and the result is not unlike when Dorothy steps into the Technicolor land of Oz for the first fourth dimension. —Bonnie Stiernberg

24. Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Primal of Life (1976)

To celebrate his independence from the Motown automobile, Wonder released this album, even more extravagantly packaged than the Beatles' White Album. He produced and wrote or co-wrote all 21 tracks, handled the lion'due south share of instruments and vocals, and released the results as a ii-LP, gatefold anthology with a 24-page booklet and seven-inch EP. All this hubris was justified by the terrific music—catchy as hell, impeccably performed and oftentimes very funky. There were iv meridian-xl singles, including two #1s ("I Wish" and "Sir Duke"), plus his much-covered standard, "Isn't She Lovely." This closed out Wonder'due south five-year, five-album run of meridian functioning, but information technology closed it out with a bang. —Geoffrey Himes

23. Neil Young, After the Gold Rush (1970)

Along with Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, After the Gilded Blitz is ane of the greatest break-up records e'er made regardless of intention. Even though it has nothing to do with the anthology, which was inspired by a Dean Stockwell-Herb Berman screenplay, I liked to imagine that information technology was written to capture the feeling too frequently ignored by movies and music. The truth of loss that comes after the magic, after the bum-rush of serotonin and possibilities, later on you lot realize the holes inside haven't been plugged, that the overflow of emotion you poured in ran right out. —Jeff Gonick

22. The Clash, The Clash (1977)

At the beginning of the 1970s, John Graham Mellor was, at various points, a gravedigger, a busker in the London Secret, a pinch-hitter vocalist and guitarist for bar bands. Then came the release of The Clash'south eponymous kickoff anthology in '77, a year associated forever with the explosion of punk stone. Mellor would become Joe Strummer and lead his band charging onto the scene with their debut, 35 minutes of pure energy, challenging the youth of Great britain and the world to mind and to get upwards and trip the light fantastic toe (er, pogo). The Clash is an important reminder of how diverse the influences on the scene were, especially for a mode of music that seems so uncomplicated. "Police & Thieves" recontextualizes the words of reggae greats Inferior Murvin and Lee "Scratch" Perry; the harmonica and guitar fuzz on "Garageland" recalls the American R&B and early rock that Joe Strummer played in pubs when he was getting his get-go. But what stands out are the lean, guitar-driven howlers and sing-a-longs, like gleeful opener "Janie Jones," "White Riot" and "I'yard So Bored With the United statesA." Indeed, The Disharmonism took their influences and environment and all the things that were pissing them off and turned it all into a anarchism of their ain. —Lindsay Eanet

21. Joni Mitchell, Blue (1971)

It'south no coincidence that the title of Mitchell'south quaternary album echoes the title of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, for the singer-songwriter similarly uses modal minimalism and augmented chords to lend a translucent glow to romantic melancholy. Written in the wake of her suspension-up with longtime lover Graham Nash, these songs have such sturdy melodies and stories that they tin can beget to be stripped down and stripped blank in the studio, often to nothing more than than Mitchell's soprano and audio-visual guitar, dulcimer or piano. The results include her catchiest tune since "Both Sides Now" ("Carey") and the decade's best new Christmas song ("The River"). —Geoffrey Himes

20. Elvis Costello, My Aim is True (1978)

Costello's debut album bridged the gap between the roiling punk free energy of the mid-70s and the staid tradition of literate, intimate, pop songwriting that traces from the Gershwins, Berlin and Porter to Buddy Holly and Lennon/McCartney. The tape (with the country-tinged carol, "Alison," the straight-up rockers "Mystery Dance" and "I'm non Angry," the politically charged "Less Than Zero") simply hints at the eclectic latitude and telescopic of Costello's future catalog, and it sets the musical and fashion stage for the and so-chosen New Moving ridge. Not Costello'due south greatest piece of work, but a landmark, highly influential offset album. —Marker Baker

xix. Pink Floyd, The Wall (1979)

The legacy of Pink Floyd was not cemented with merely The Dark Side of the Moon. The Wall is one of the greatest concept albums of all time. It tells the tale of Pink, a troubled young human being raised by an overprotective female parent, who is trying to break down the wall in his listen that has been constructed past the authoritative figures in his life. It's a painful story that most can relate to or at least comprehend, not merely because so many have suffered like pains in life, but considering information technology comes from the story of a real person. Lead vocaliser, bassist and founding member of the band Roger Waters wrote the album based on experiences in his ain life. The themes that present themselves throughout the anthology stitch the story together, making a cohesive 26-track anthology. The tour that followed the album'south release took information technology to new heights, turning it into a rock opera. The psychedelic music that Pink Floyd so heavily influenced is present throughout the entire album. Pinkish Floyd and The Wall non only inverse a genre of music, but music itself. —Clint Alwahab

18. Funkadelic, Maggot Brain (1971)

Funkadelic'south Maggot Brain opens with a kaleidoscopic 10-minute suite that ruminates on the pratfalls of drowning in 1'south own shit. It merely gets weirder from there. Clinton apparently didn't call back much of sampling infant coos on the implacable call to artillery "Wars of Armageddon;""You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" bedecks a archetype 20th Century parable with rolling juke pianos and static flourishes of electronic organ. "Can You Become to That" seesaws on the dueling voices of Gary Snider and Pat Lewis, taking on the air of a violent fantasia. Maggot Encephalon doesn't always brand sense, either technically or thematically, but information technology's big and florid and overwhelming—imagine staring into a gilded, floor-to-ceiling mirror while on DMT. —M.T. Richards

17. Van Morrison, Moondance (1970)

On his third solo release, the Belfast troubadour reached a hallowed space betwixt the irresistible pop structure of "Chocolate-brown Eyed Girl" and the bulletproof poetry of 1968'south Astral Weeks. Moondance was calculating in its musical precision, simply unrestrained in its radiating and joyful imagery, as exemplified in songs like the title track, "Caravan," and "Crazy Love." Even decades removed, Moondance still serves as the one-disc, unmarried-creative person soundtrack to '70s FM radio. —Hilary Saunders

16. Sly & The Family Rock, There's A Riot Goin' On (1971)

With the world aging around Sly Stone—including dissolving relationships and political pressure from the Black Panther Political party—he and his group nose-dived into the era'south drug civilisation. During this period, they picked apart their already-successful psych-soul design to make a darker, more somber tape. Stone teetered on the edge during the making of There's a Riot Goin' On, holding on long enough to create one of the formative post-flower-power psychedelic albums. Within this work, Sly and the Family unit Stone offer a disillusioned wait at the changing landscapes around them, sharing a loosely conceptualized and cynical outlook depicting the signs of the times. —Max Blau

15. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977)

By 1977, hitmaking couple Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had lost each other in a psychotropic haze. On Fleetwood Mac'south Rumours, that haze is thick enough to suck the air out of the room. These 11 tracks saturate in bad religion. "2d Hand News" and "Don't Terminate" put on a happy face, merely even they evoke violent sensations: the stinging baste of a cocaine high; the lurking, painful realization that your hymeneals vows were meaningless. This tension climaxes in "The Concatenation," where all five members air out their grievances in a somewhat bizarre trip the light fantastic of kabuki theater. The Nicks-anchored "Dreams" is even darker, employing a theme of comfortless suffering. From the slo-mo churn of "Oh Daddy" to the boogying disco shuffle of "You Make Loving Fun," Rumours hasn't aged a day in 35 years. It might be a snapshot of a band in peril, just it refuses to yellow. —M.T. Richards

14. Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (1973)

By spring 1971, "Piffling" Stevie Wonder had grown tired of Motown'due south upbeat manufactory sound. The Vietnam War, riots and assassinations put the nation in peril, yet much of Stevie's music still resembled that sugary soul of the 1960s. Stevie, at present an adult, had heavier things to say. By 1973, Stevie's new management would achieve its peak: Innervisions is arguably his best work, and one of the decade's definitive albums. It tackled drug usage ("Likewise High"), inner metropolis blight ("Living For The Urban center"), and religion ("Jesus Children of America") with refreshing clarity, and solidified Stevie Wonder equally a national treasure. —Marcus Moore

13. The Who, Who'south Side by side (1971)

It's kinda hard to believe Who's Next, The Who'south rawest, most powerful and perfect anthology, came out in 1971. Barely out of the flowery 1960s (and fresh off their psychedelic—and chaotic—rock-opera, Tommy), guitarist-songwriter-vocalist Pete Townshend set up to work on Lifehouse, a futuristic follow-up concept anthology and so epic in its proposed telescopic, it fabricated Tommy'southward deafened-dumb-bullheaded-pinball-playing narrative look meager past comparison. While Townshend's outlandish ideas eventually got away from him, it worked out for the best: Who's Next, a bastardized version of the original concept album, is hard rock's definitive masterpiece, crammed top-to-lesser with classics like "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Bargain," "Baba O'Riley," and, well, everything else. —Ryan Reed

12. David Bowie, The Ascent and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)

It'southward an end of days story, the earth is out of resources. Nosotros all are, equally my grandmother would say, up shit creek without a paddle. Along comes Ziggy Stardust, an alien returned for our waning days to bring a message of hope. I tend to call up bringing giant space-spiders along with yous to convince people everything is going to exist alright is a questionable determination, only what's inarguable is the greatness of the album both in terms of concept execution and rock 'north' scroll range. It'due south every bit timeless as any record of the era, proven by its acoustic recreation for The Life Aquatic, and its historical reinterpretation for The Velvet Goldmine. —Jeff Gonick

xi. The Beatles, Let information technology Exist (1970)

The thing about Permit Information technology Be is that it was recorded in the death throes of a band no longer at the top of its game. Many fans don't realize—because the songs are notwithstanding, for the about part, all classics—that they were actually playing stylistic take hold of-up on the album. In Get Back, the big tome detailing the recording of Permit It Be, there'south an instance where John tells the other Beatles that they "have to make information technology sound more than like The Band." The Beatles were no longer groundbreaking or absurd when they fabricated Let It Be, but some of their greatest songs came out of the process. The last anthology they released ended up being a plumbing fixtures snapshot, a manifestation of every major trope of their music and careers: the sweetness of a McCartney/Lennon dear ditty ("Two of Us"), John celebrating Yoko and his ever-nowadays new life ("Dig A Pony"), George Harrison'south growth and presence as a songwriter ("For Y'all Blue"), the Scouse amuse and sense of humour that earned them a base of operations in the kickoff place (the Liverpudlian folk vocal "Maggie Mae"), their ability to pick at our consciousness ("Across the Universe"), their occasional non-sequitur weirdness ("Dig It"), the life-affirming rockers ("Don't Let Me Downward," "Get Back"). And then, at that place's the title track, yet always capable of making the hardest fan cry. "The only currency in this bankrupt globe," we're told in the gospels of Almost Famous, "Is what we share with someone else when we're uncool." If that'due south the case, the Beatles made us all exponentially richer. —Lindsay Eanet

10. Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here'southward the Sex Pistols (1977)

It would've been more shocking if the Pistols stuck around long enough to brand a second LP. Every marketing gimmick has a shelf-life and the Pistols' was particularly short. Bollocks is a musical Ouroboros, as its reputation has cycled from "dangerous salvation of rock 'northward' roll" to "embarrassing drawing" multiple times over since 1977. If you can ignore big sweeping statements and the misplaced notions of grandeur forced upon information technology yous might be able to appreciate its relatively frills-free take on caustic rock 'n' curlicue backsliding. And hey, at least two people responsible were in on the joke, which is probably two more than than The Police. —Garrett Martin

nine. Television, Marquee Moon (1977)

Television, NYC'south post-punk godfathers, simply fabricated two albums during their late '70s heyday (including 1978's oft-disregarded Hazard), merely in many ways, they really just needed to release one. 1977'due south masterful Marquee Moon was a commercial flop upon its initial release, but its legacy was cemented immediately; capturing the fluid, technical, dynamic unison of the band's acclaimed live show, Marquee Moon stuck out like a sore thumb from the blooming punk scene: Compared to The Sexual practice Pistols, whose blistering, chaotic debut was released that aforementioned twelvemonth, Television were an anachronism: Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd's clean, interlocking guitar patterns bordered on the psychedelic, with Verlaine'southward snotty, head-cold whine called-for blisters over the muscular rhythms of bassist Fred Smith and drummer Baton Ficca. Every moment is devastating, and the winding title track could be the greatest vocal to ever eclipse 10 minutes. —Ryan Reed

viii. The Ramones, Ramones (1976)

No single album did more to define the audio and attitude of punk rock. The immortal debut's 14 songs cover puppy love ("I Wanna Exist Your Beau") and its reverse ("I Don't Wanna Walk Around With Yous"); crime narratives ("53rd & 3rd") and B-movies ("Chain Saw") confronting a properties of Johnny's frantic downstroke, Joey's yelping croon, and the steady backing of bassist Dee Dee and drummer Tommy. More than 35 years later Joey first hollered "Hey! Ho! Let'southward Get!" at the album'south opening, da bruddahs' rally call nevertheless resonates. —Bryan C. Reed

7. Miles Davis, Bitches Brew (1970)

Later playing at the forefront of jazz for decades, Miles Davis had nothing left to testify past 1970. When Bitches Brew came out that yr, it reflected his belief that things had inverse and that information technology was rock musicians and non jazz players who were extending the boundaries of what was possible. With tracks like "Pharaoh's Dance" and "Spanish Key" averaging effectually 20 minutes each, Bitches Brew successfully fused Miles Davis' staccato, wailing trumpet with the psychedelic sounds he'd been soaking up past hanging out in San Francisco and opening upwardly for bands like The Grateful Dead and Santana. More 40 years after information technology was beginning released, Bitches Brew is still ane of the most aggressive, confrontational and downright beautiful albums e'er recorded. —Doug Heselgrave

vi. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

It's difficult to call Led Zeppelin 4 the greatest "hard rock" anthology in music history—only because (in spite of its legacy) information technology's much, much more than a "difficult stone" anthology. Led, as e'er, by the black-magic mojo of guitarist-producer Jimmy Page, Led Zep truly indulged in 1971, branching out into extended progressive-rock (the sweeping, majestic ballsy "Stairway to Heaven"), medieval folk (the witchy "The Battle of Evermore") and psychedelic balladry (the emotional centerpiece, "Going to California"), in add-on to their trademark electrified blues ("Stone and Roll," "Black Canis familiaris," "4 Sticks," "When the Levee Breaks"). 8 tracks, eight classics: It'southward one of the greatest stone albums ever recorded, whatever it is. —Ryan Reed

5. Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run (1975)

After nearly 40 years of consistent veneration from critics and fans alike, in that location's little left to say about Born To Run. In simply eight tracks, Bruce and the Eastward Street Ring constructed a nearly perfect album—dynamic in its instrumentation, euphoric in its lyricism, contradictory in its youthfulness and maturity and iconic in its metaphors and imagery. From the beginning piano notes in "Thunder Road" through the soul-stirring saxophone solo that closes "Jungleland," Born To Run captured the collective mindset of a generation and perpetuated it through many more.
—Hilary Saunders

4. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

What else can be said almost The Night Side of the Moon that hasn't been said already? It's 1 of those records that seems to exist in its ain little earth. There hasn't been another quite like it earlier or since its release, and its impact on nearly every attribute of music—songwriting, production, technology—is nonetheless felt fifty-fifty decades later. In regards to Pink Floyd as a band, the anthology marked a distinct modify of direction in the grouping's audio, due in large part to the departure of Syd Barrett, who had been the band's master songwriter until his deteriorating mental land forced him to get out the group. Barrett'south mental problems besides served as inspiration for much of Nighttime Side'south concept and themes, which focused on bug like madness, the passage of time, conflict and death. —Wyndham Wyeth

iii. The Rolling Stones, Exile On Main St. (1972)

Listening to Exile on Principal St. hardly creates a sense of highly-crafted musicianship or fine-tuned production. If you read into the history of the The Rolling Stones' twelfth album, it adds to that notion—Mick Jagger is galavanting throughout the French countryside with his soon-to-be wife while Keith Richards is drugged out on heroin. The band struggled to go all of its members to show up for recording sessions day-in and day-out. Out of this period from 1968-1972 emerged an unpolished realism that ebbs and flows throughout Exile, in which The Stones perfected the art of imperfection, basking in their humanity and all its accompanying honesty. There's an abundance of triumphant moments inside these 18 songs, but the transcendence occurs when the ring juxtaposes adept and the bad, the flawed and flawless. In doing and so, The Stones cap off a golden 4-anthology run, exhibiting the band at the peak of their land-gospel greatness. —Max Blau

two. Marvin Gaye, What'due south Going On (1971)

If Marvin Gaye had been a better athlete—or less obstinate—we might non have gotten 1 of the greatest albums of all time. In 1970, after the death of his musical partner Tammi Terrell, the Motown singer tried out for the Detroit Lions. When he returned to music, it was on his own terms. What's Going On was an ballsy response to his brother Frankie'south letters from Vietnam—politically charged and musically ambitious, a soul album with jazz time signatures and classical instrumentation. The album's posture was i of lament for the way things were rather than an aroused protestation, making the message both clear and hard to tune out. Information technology was such a divergence from Gaye's radio-friendly pop that his brother-in-police Berry Gordy Jr. initially refused to release information technology on Motown Records. Gaye had produced the album himself with backing from the Funk Brothers, and presented it every bit a complete 9-song suite. Information technology was a atypical vision and one that hasn't lost its power over fourth dimension. —Josh Jackson

i. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks (1975)

With proficient reason, Bob Dylan is about revered for his nearly unparalleled streak of legendary albums in the 1960s (including 1963's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 1965's Highway 61 Revisited, and 1966's Blonde on Blonde), merely he saved arguably his finest album ever until 1975, making 1 of stone 'n' ringlet's most jaw-dropping comebacks with the striking, emotional Claret on the Tracks. Despite being recorded in a ridiculous 10 days (disallowment a last-minute re-tracking of a few songs), the album remains Dylan'southward warmest, richest recording—loads of purring organs, shuffling acoustics, and soulful rhythm sections. But as always with Dylan albums, it's the words that steal the show, peculiarly on the bitter epic "Idiot Wind" and the haunting, uplifting "Tangled Up in Blue." Rock's most critically acclaimed troubadour kept on releasing wonderful albums later on Blood on the Tracks—only he never topped information technology. —Ryan Reed