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The Beatles' Abbey Road cover, with the Fab Four striding across a zebra crossing, is the epitome of pop culture cool. Snapped by photographer Iain Macmillan outside the album's namesake studio, it's sparked countless imitations and conspiracy theories (Paul is barefoot, so he must be dead, right?). Beyond its quirks, it symbolizes the band's unity, even as their journey together neared its end.
- Release Date: 1969
- Producer: George Martin
- Tracks: Here Comes the Sun, Oh! Darling, Because
- 1Something928 Votes
- 2Come Together934 Votes
- 3Here Comes the Sun917 Votes
- 4You Never Give Me Your Money828 Votes
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Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon boasts an iconic cover that's as mesmerizing as the album itself. Designed by Storm Thorgerson, the prism spectrum represents light showing its true colors, paralleling the album's themes of conflict, greed, and time. Its simplicity and depth have turned it into a visual shorthand for Pink Floyd, transcending its roots to become a timeless symbol in music culture.
- Release Date: 1973
- Producer: Pink Floyd
- Tracks: Time, Any Colour You Like, Speak to Me / Breathe
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Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here showcases a striking cover depicting two businessmen shaking hands, one engulfed in flames. Conceptualized by Storm Thorgerson, the image serves as a raw commentary on the band's disdain for the music industry's insincerity and the emotional detachment it breeds. This haunting visual metaphor reflects the album's themes of absence and disillusionment, making it a powerful statement in rock history.
- Release Date: 1975
- Tracks: Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts VI–IX
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles features a cover as legendary as the album itself. Crafted by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it’s a surreal gathering of the band’s “heroes” in a colorful collage of historical figures, celebrities, and icons. This visual feast not only redefined album art but also encapsulated the spirit of the 60s, blending art, music, and culture in unprecedented ways.
- Release Date: 1967
- Tracks: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Within You Without You
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Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut album cover is as explosive as the tracks within. Featuring the iconic image of the Hindenburg airship engulfed in flames, it visually captures the intensity and raw power of the band's music. This dramatic choice reflects Led Zeppelin's desire to make a bold entrance into the rock scene, symbolizing destruction of the old and heralding their revolutionary sound.
- Release Date: 1969
- Tracks: Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me, How Many More Times
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Nirvana's Nevermind cover, featuring a baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a hook, instantly became a defining image of the 90s. Its striking visual commentary on capitalism and innocence lost resonated deeply, mirroring the album's raw critique of society. The irony? This iconic cover, symbolizing the chase for wealth, helped propel Nevermind into a multi-million selling phenomenon, forever embedding itself in rock history.
- Release Date: 1991
- Tracks: Breed, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Something in the Way
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Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti features a captivating cover of a New York City tenement building, which frames the album's eclectic musical journey. The intricate design, conceived by Peter Corriston, encourages a visual exploration with windows that reveal various images and faces, hinting at the diverse themes and sounds within. This architectural marvel doesn't just house the band's music; it mirrors the album's depth and complexity.
- Release Date: 1975
- Producer: Jimmy Page
- Tracks: In My Time of Dying, Custard Pie, Houses of the Holy
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Led Zeppelin IV carries an enigmatic cover that's as mystifying as its untitled nature. Featuring a rustic painting of an elderly man shouldering sticks, hung on a dilapidated wall, it contrasts sharply with the urban backdrop on its reverse side. This imagery, rich in ambiguity, aligns with the album's themes and reinforces the band's departure from the conventional, inviting listeners into a realm of myth and symbolism.
- Release Date: 1971
- Producer: Jimmy Page
- Tracks: Black Dog, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks
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Pink Floyd's Animals features a cover as stark and provocative as its critique of capitalist society. The image of a giant inflatable pig floating between the chimneys of London's Battersea Power Station is unforgettable. A technical mishap led to the pig breaking free, creating an unintended spectacle and a perfect metaphor for the uncontrollable nature of the societal forces critiqued within the album.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Pink Floyd
- Tracks: Pigs (Three Different Ones), Sheep, Pigs on the Wing
David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars features a cover as iconic as its content. Captured under a London street lamp, Bowie, as Ziggy Stardust, appears otherworldly against a backdrop of ordinary urban life. This juxtaposition not only visually embodies the album's concept of an alien rock star but also Bowie's own transformative impact on music and fashion.
- Release Date: 1972
- Tracks: Ziggy Stardust, Rock 'N' Roll Suicide, Hang On To Yourself
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Queen II flaunts a mesmerizing cover that became iconic the moment it was released. The striking black-and-white image featuring the band members in diamond formation, illuminated in moody studio lighting, was inspired by a Marlene Dietrich photo. This dramatic visual not only showcases the band's theatrical flair but also hints at the complex, layered tracks within, setting the stage for Queen's unique blend of rock and opera.
- Release Date: 1974
- Producer: Roy Thomas Baker
- Tracks: White Queen (As It Began), Some Day One Day, Ogre Battle
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Supertramp's Breakfast in America presents a whimsical yet sharply satirical take on American iconography. The cover features a diner waitress posed as the Statue of Liberty, serving up breakfast with a cityscape made from diner items in the background. This clever twist on American ideals and consumer culture not only captures the album's playful critique but also remains a memorable image in rock history.
- Release Date: 1979
- Tracks: Breakfast in America, Child of Vision, Oh Darling
- 13Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 5 August 1966 in the United Kingdom and three days later in the United States. The album marked a progression from their 1965 release Rubber Soul and signalled the band's arrival as studio innovators, a year before the seminal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. On release, Revolver was widely recognised by critics as having redefined the parameters of popular music. The album's diverse influences and sounds include the incorporation of tape loops on the experimental "Tomorrow Never Knows", the use of a classical string octet on "Eleanor Rigby", and the Indian-music setting of "Love You To". Together with the children's novelty song "Yellow Submarine", "Eleanor Rigby" became an international hit when issued as a double A-side single. The album's Grammy Award-winning cover design was created by Klaus Voormann, one of the Beatles' friends from their fledgling years in Hamburg. In the UK, Revolver 's 14 tracks were released to radio stations throughout July 1966, with the music signifying what author Ian MacDonald later described as "a radical new phase in the group's recording career".
- Release Date: 1966
- Producer: George Martin
- Tracks: Yellow Submarine, Taxman, She Said She Said
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Black Sabbath's eponymous 1970 album cover is the stuff of nightmares, perfectly capturing the essence of its groundbreaking heavy metal sound. Featuring a haunting figure standing in front of an old, eerie mill, it sets a chilling, occult-like mood that compliments the dark themes explored in their music. This unsettling image marked a stark departure from the era's psychedelic art, heralding the arrival of heavier, darker rock.
- Release Date: 1970
- Tracks: Evil Woman, Don't Play Your Games With Me, N.I.B.
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Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album cover is as enigmatic as the music it encases. The stark white lines rippling against a black background are actually data from a pulsar star's radio waves. Designed by Peter Saville, this minimalist masterpiece represents the unknown, the outer reaches of experience and emotion explored in the album—making it an enduring symbol of post-punk aesthetics.
- Release Date: 1979
- Tracks: Interzone, Candidate, Day of the Lords
- 16Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released on 14 August 1971. Its origins lie in an abortive multi-media rock opera written by chief songwriter Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The album was commercially and critically successful, and became the only one by the group to top the UK charts. Townshend had begun to consider a follow-up to Tommy during the latter half of 1970, and came up with Lifehouse as a means of integrating the band and audience together, using rock music as a means of enlightenment. The group played a series of concerts at the Young Vic theatre in London, and recorded material at the Record Plant studios in New York, before abandoning the project due to its complexity and manager Kit Lambert's addiction to hard drugs. Following the cancellation of Lifehouse, Townshend was persuaded to record the songs as a straightforward studio album, with assistance from recording engineer Glyn Johns. After recording "Won't Get Fooled Again" at Mick Jagger's house Stargroves using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, the group relocated to Olympic Studios where most of the material was recorded and mixed.
- Release Date: 1971
- Tracks: Behind Blue Eyes, Bargain, The Song Is Over
- 17Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by British rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. It is their first album composed of entirely original material, and represents a musical turning point for the band, who had begun to record songs with more layering and production techniques. Containing some of the band's most famous songs, including "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song" and "No Quarter", Houses of the Holy became a huge success, and was certified eleven times platinum by the RIAA. In 2012, it was ranked #148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The title track was recorded for the album, but was delayed until the band's next release, Physical Graffiti, two years later.
- Release Date: 1973
- Producer: Jimmy Page
- Tracks: The Ocean, The Crunge, The Rain Song
- 18In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut studio album by the British rock group King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969. The album reached number five on the British charts, and is certified gold in the United States, where it reached #28 on the Billboard 200. The album is generally viewed as one of the first works to truly embody the progressive rock genre, where King Crimson largely departed from the blues influences that rock music had been founded upon and mixed together jazz and classical symphonic elements. In his 1997 book Rocking the Classics, critic and musicologist Edward Macan notes that In the Court of the Crimson King "may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released". The Who's Pete Townshend was quoted as calling the album "an uncanny masterpiece". In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came fourth in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums". The album was named as one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock". The album was remastered and re-released on vinyl and CD several times during the 1980s and 1990s.
- Release Date: 1969
- Tracks: 21st Century Schizoid Man (including Mirrors), Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion), Epitaph (including March for No Reason and Tomorrow and Tomorrow)
- 19Bat Out of Hell is the second album and major-label debut by American rock musician Meat Loaf, as well as being his first collaboration with composer Jim Steinman, released in October 1977 on Cleveland International/Epic Records. It is one of the best-selling albums in the history of recorded music, having sold over 43 million copies worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 343 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003. Its musical style is influenced by Steinman's appreciation of Richard Wagner, Phil Spector, Bruce Springsteen and The Who. Bat Out of Hell has been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as a platinum album, fourteen times over. The album went on to become one of the most influential and iconic albums of all time and its songs have remained classic rock staples. This album's title also became the title for two more Meat Loaf albums. Steinman produced the 1993 album, Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell. Desmond Child produced the 2006 album, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Todd Rundgren
- Tracks: Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Heaven Can Wait
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Boston's debut album cover is a heady fusion of music and sci-fi imagination. Featuring guitar-shaped spaceships escaping a planet on the brink of destruction, it visually encapsulates the band's explosive entrance into the rock scene. Designed by Roger Huyssen, this iconic image not only heralded the arrival of a new musical force but also captured the era's fascination with space and the unknown.
- Release Date: 1976
- Producer: John Boylan, Tom Scholz
- Tracks: Rock & Roll Band, Something About You, More Than a Feeling
- 21London Calling is the third studio album by English punk rock band the Clash. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. London Calling is a post-punk album that incorporates a range of styles, including punk, reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock. The album's subject matter included social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, and the responsibilities of adulthood.
- Release Date: 1979
- Tracks: Brand New Cadillac, Rudie Can’t Fail, Lost in the Supermarket
- 22Aladdin Sane is the sixth album by David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1973. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album he wrote and released as a bona fide rock star. NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray called the album "oddly unsatisfying, considerably less than the sum of the parts", while Bowie encyclopedist Nicholas Pegg describes it as "one of the most urgent, compelling and essential" of his releases. The Rolling Stone review by Ben Gerson pronounced it "less manic than The Man Who Sold The World, and less intimate than Hunky Dory, with none of its attacks of self-doubt." It was one of six Bowie entries in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and ranked No. 77 on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 100 albums of the 1970s.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: Lady Grinning Soul, Drive-In Saturday, The Prettiest Star
- 23Hotel California is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Eagles, released on Asylum in late 1976. It is the first Eagles album without the appearance of their founding member Bernie Leadon and their first album with guitarist Joe Walsh. It is also the last album featuring original bassist Randy Meisner. The album became the band's best-selling studio album, with over 16 million copies sold in the U.S. alone and over 32 million copies sold worldwide. The album topped the charts and won the band two Grammy awards for "Hotel California" and "New Kid in Town". The album was nominated for Album of the Year but lost to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. The album yielded three Top 20 singles, "New Kid in Town", "Hotel California", and "Life in the Fast Lane". "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California" both topped the Billboard Hot 100, and "Life in the Fast Lane" reached number 11 on the charts. The album was ranked number 37 on Rolling Stone 's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album further established the group as the most successful American band of the decade, making the Eagles household names.
- Release Date: 1976
- Producer: Bob Ezrin
- Tracks: Take it Easy, Life in the Fast Lane, Already Gone
- 24Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record reached the top of both the United States Billboard chart and the United Kingdom Albums Chart. The songs "Go Your Own Way", "Dreams", "Don't Stop", and "You Make Loving Fun" were released as singles. Rumours is Fleetwood Mac's most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rumours has received diamond certifications in several countries, including the US, Canada, and Australia. The band wanted to expand on the commercial success of the 1975 record Fleetwood Mac, but struggled with relationship breakups before recording started. The Rumours studio sessions were marked by hedonistic behaviour and interpersonal strife between Fleetwood Mac members; these experiences shaped the album's lyrics.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat
- Tracks: The Chain, Don’t Stop, Dreams
- 25News of the World is the sixth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in 1977. Containing the hit songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", it went 4x platinum in the United States, 2x platinum in the United Kingdom and achieved high certifications around the world. News of the World was the second album to be produced solely by the band and recorded at Sarm West and Wessex Studios, London and co-produced and engineered by Mike Stone.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Rick Rubin, Queen, Mike Stone
- Tracks: My Melancholy Blues, Fight From the Inside, Sleeping on the Sidewalk
- 26Candy-O is the second studio album by the American rock band The Cars. It was released in 1979 on Elektra Records. Featuring the Top 20 hit "Let's Go" and the minor hit "It's All I Can Do", the album surpassed the commercial success of its predecessor, charting 15 places better on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured a notable album cover by pin-up artist Alberto Vargas.
- Release Date: 1979
- Producer: Roy Thomas Baker
- Tracks: Night Spots, Double Life, Lust for Kicks
- 27Disraeli Gears is the second studio album by the English rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching No. 4 on the American charts. The album was No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States. The album features the two singles "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love". The title of the album is based on a malapropism. Eric Clapton had been thinking of buying a racing bicycle and was discussing it with Ginger Baker, when a roadie named Mick Turner commented, "it's got them Disraeli Gears", meaning to say "derailleur gears", but instead alluding to 19th-century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. The band thought this was hilarious, and decided that it should be the title of their next album. The original 11-track album was remastered in 1998, and then subsequently released as a two-disc Deluxe Edition in 2004. In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
- Release Date: 1967
- Producer: Felix Pappalardi
- Tracks: Take It Back, World of Pain, We’re Going Wrong
- 28The Wall is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is the last studio album released with the classic lineup of Gilmour, Waters, Wright and Mason before keyboardist Richard Wright left the band. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was supported by a tour with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a 1982 feature film, Pink Floyd – The Wall. As with Pink Floyd's previous three albums, The Wall is a concept album and explores themes of abandonment and personal isolation. The album is a rock opera that follows Pink, a character whom bassist and lyricist Roger Waters modelled after himself and the band's original leader, Syd Barrett. Pink's life begins with the loss of his father during the Second World War and continues with abuse from his schoolteachers, an overprotective mother, and the breakdown of his marriage; all contribute to his eventual self-imposed isolation from society, represented by a metaphorical wall. Waters conceived the album during Pink Floyd's 1977 In the Flesh Tour, when his frustration with the audience became so acute that he imagined a wall between the audience and the stage.
- Release Date: 1979
- Tracks: In the Flesh, The Thin Ice, Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
- 29Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. It was recorded and mixed from October to November 1980 at Le Studio located in Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada, and released on February 12, 1981. Moving Pictures became the band's biggest selling album in the US rising to #3 on the Billboard charts and remains the band's most popular and commercially successful studio recording to date. The album was one of the first to be certified multi-platinum by the RIAA upon establishment of the certification in October 1984, and eventually went quadruple platinum. Following the formula of their previous album, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures follows a more radio-friendly format and includes several of the band's signature tracks, including the hits "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight", the FM rock radio standard, "Red Barchetta", and the band's highly praised instrumental, "YYZ". Moving Pictures is one of two Rush albums listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Kerrang! magazine listed the album at #43 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". In 2012, Moving Pictures was listed as the #10 'Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time' by Rolling Stone.
- Release Date: 1981
- Producer: Rush, Terry Brown
- Tracks: Tom Sawyer, YYZ, Limelight
- 30Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the seventh studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elton John. Released in 1973, it has come to be regarded as one of his best and most popular albums. Recorded at the Château d'Hérouville, the double album contains the Marilyn Monroe tribute "Candle in the Wind" as well as three other successful singles: "Bennie and the Jets", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting". In 2003, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The album was ranked No. 91 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and No. 59 in Channel 4's 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums. The album has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: This Song Has No Title, All the Girls Love Alice, Harmony
- 31The Division Bell is the fourteenth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the UK by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and the US by Columbia Records on 4 April. The music was written mostly by David Gilmour and Richard Wright; lyrically, the album deals with themes of communication. Recording took place in several locations, including the band's Britannia Row Studios, and Gilmour's houseboat, Astoria. The production team included Pink Floyd stalwarts such as producer Bob Ezrin, engineer Andy Jackson and saxophonist Dick Parry. Gilmour's new wife, Polly Samson, co-wrote many of the album's lyrics, and Wright performed his first lead vocal on a Pink Floyd album since 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon. The album reached number one in the UK and the US, but received mixed reviews. Its release was followed immediately by a tour of the US and Europe. The Division Bell was certified gold, platinum and double platinum in the US in 1994, and triple platinum in 1999.
- Release Date: 1994
- Tracks: Lost for Words, Take It Back, Poles Apart
- 32Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. Released shortly after the band's 1969 American Tour, it is the follow-up to 1968's Beggars Banquet and the last album by the band to feature Brian Jones as well as the first to feature Mick Taylor.
- Release Date: 1969
- Tracks: Midnight Rambler, Let It Bleed, Live With Me
- 331984 is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. It remains Van Halen's most successful album in terms of sales, with 10 million copies shipped in the United States, and U.S. chart performance. 1984 reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained there for five weeks, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller. It produced several memorable singles, including "Jump", which reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, the top 13 hits "Panama" and "I'll Wait", and the MTV sensation "Hot for Teacher". 1984 was the last, full-length Van Halen album to feature the band's original frontman David Lee Roth until 2012's A Different Kind of Truth and the final full-length album with all four original members.
- Release Date: 1984
- Tracks: Jump, House of Pain, Top Jimmy
- 34Asia is the self-titled debut studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 1982. It contains their biggest hit and signature song, "Heat of the Moment", which reached #4 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- Release Date: 1982
- Producer: Mike Stone, Mike Stone
- Tracks: Without You, Cutting It Fine, Wildest Dreams
- 35The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by American rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records. Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain attention for its experimentalist performance sensibilities.
- Release Date: 1967
- Producer: Andy Warhol, Tom Wilson
- Tracks: There She Goes Again, I’ll Be Your Mirror, Run Run Run
- 36Master of Puppets is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986 by Elektra Records. Recorded at the Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the first Metallica album released on a major label. Master of Puppets is the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus crash during the album's promotional tour. The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. It was certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2003 for shipping six million copies in the United States. Master of Puppets was released to critical acclaim and has been included in several publications' best album lists. Its driving, virtuosic music and angry, political lyrics drew praise from critics outside of the metal community. The album is considered the band's strongest effort of the period, and is one of the most influential heavy metal albums. Critics credit it for consolidating the American thrash metal scene with its atmospheric and meticulously performed songs.
- Release Date: 1986
- Tracks: Master of Puppets, Damage, Inc.
- 37Whipped Cream & Other Delights is a 1965 album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, called "Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass" for this album, released on A&M Records. It is the band's fourth full album and arguably their most popular release. This album saw the band nearly abandoning its Mexican-themed music, featuring mostly covers of popular songs, and also generating some major pop hits for the first time since "The Lonely Bull". One "tradition" of the early Brass was to include a number rendered in "strip-tease" fashion, and this album's entry for that style was "Love Potion No. 9".
- Release Date: 1965
- Tracks: A Taste of Honey, Green Peppers, Bittersweet Samba
- 38
ZZ Top - Eliminator
- 39Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by English rock group the Beatles. It was recorded in just over four weeks to make the Christmas market, and was released on December 3, 1965. It was produced by George Martin. Unlike the five albums that preceded it, Rubber Soul was recorded during a continuous period, whereas the group had previously recorded albums during breaks in between tour dates or other projects. After this, Beatles albums would be made without the burden of other commitments, except for the production of short promotional films. Rubber Soul is a folk rock album that incorporates R&B, pop, soul, and psychedelic music styles. The album is regarded by musicologists as a major artistic achievement that continued the Beatles' artistic maturation while attaining widespread critical and commercial success. It was the second Beatles album – after the British A Hard Day's Night album – to contain only original material; the Beatles would record no more cover songs for their records until 1969, with the "Maggie Mae" excerpt appearing on the Let It Be album. Rubber Soul is regarded by fans and critics alike as one of the greatest albums in popular music history.
- Release Date: 1965
- Tracks: Drive My Car, If I Needed Someone, Girl
- 40Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Prince and The Revolution and is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. It was released on June 25, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records. Purple Rain is regularly ranked among the best albums in music history. Time magazine ranked it the 15th greatest album of all time in 1993, and it placed 18th on VH1's Greatest Rock and Roll Albums of All Time countdown. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the second-best album of the 1980s and 76th on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Zounds magazine ranked it the 18th greatest album of all time. Furthermore, the album placed 4th in Plásticos y Decibelios' list of The Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2007, the editors of Vanity Fair labeled it the best soundtrack of all time and Tempo magazine named it the greatest album of the 1980s. In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #2 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" behind only Michael Jackson's Thriller. That same year, the album was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important"
- Release Date: 1984
- Tracks: Let's Go Crazy, Computer Blue, I Would Die 4 U
- 41Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released October 24, 1995 on Virgin Records. Produced by frontman Billy Corgan with Flood and Alan Moulder, the 28-track album was released as a two-disc CD and triple LP. The album features a wide array of styles, as well as greater musical input from bassist D'arcy Wretzky and second guitarist James Iha. Led by the single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", the record debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, the only such occurrence for the group with first week sales of 246,500 units. The album spawned five more singles—"1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", the promotional "Muzzle", and "Thirty-Three"—over the course of 1996, and has been certified diamond by the RIAA. Praised by critics for its ambition and scope, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness earned the band seven Grammy Award nominations in 1997, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
- Release Date: 1995
- Tracks: Cupid de Locke, Bagpipes Drone (Sadlands demo), Tonight
- 42Piece of Mind is the fourth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, originally released in 1983 by EMI, and by Capitol in Canada and the US, where it was reissued later by Sanctuary/Columbia Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Nicko McBrain, who had recently left the Paris-based band Trust and has been Iron Maiden's drummer ever since. Piece of Mind was a critical and commercial success, reaching No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart and achieving platinum certification in the UK and North America.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Still Life, Where Eagles Dare, To Tame a Land
- 43A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release. A commercial success, A Night at the Opera has been voted by the public and cited by music publications as one of Queen's finest works. The album takes its name from the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera, which the band watched one night at the studio complex when recording. The album was originally released by EMI in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks, and Elektra Records in the United States, where it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and became the band's first platinum selling album in the US.
- Release Date: 1975
- Tracks: Sweet Lady, Bohemian Rhapsody, Death on Two Legs (Dedicated To…)
- 44Holy Diver is the debut album by American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio had just finished his first tenure in Black Sabbath, whose drummer Vinny Appice he took with him to put together his own band. The roster was completed by his former band mate in Rainbow Jimmy Bain on bass and by the young guitarist Vivian Campbell, coming from the NWOBHM band Sweet Savage. The album was critically acclaimed by the music press and is the most successful of the band.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Rainbow in the Dark, Shame on the Night, Don’t Talk to Strangers
- 45The Doors is the debut album by American rock band the Doors, recorded in August 1966 and released on January 4, 1967. It was originally released in different stereo and mono mixes, and features the breakthrough single "Light My Fire", extended with an instrumental section mostly omitted on the single release, and the lengthy song "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. The Doors credit the success of the album to being able to work the songs out night after night at the Whisky a Go Go and the London Fog nightclubs. The album has become one of the most influential albums in the progression of psychedelic rock, and remains one of the most prolific and popular albums in all of popular music. As of April 2014, The Doors has sold 4 million units in the U.S and over 17 million units worldwide, becoming the Doors' most successful studio album in commercial sales. The Doors was ranked number 42 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2015, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.
- Release Date: 1967
- Producer: Paul A. Rothchild
- Tracks: The End, Take It As It Comes, The Crystal Ship
- 46Parallel Lines is the third studio album by the American rock band Blondie, released in September 1978 by Chrysalis Records. The album reached #1 in the United Kingdom in February 1979 and proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the United States, where it reached #6 in April 1979. As of 2008, the album had sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
- Release Date: 1978
- Tracks: Heart of Glass (12″ disco version), Sunday Girl, 11:59
- 47Aqualung is the fourth studio album by the rock band Jethro Tull. Released in 1971, Aqualung, despite the band's disapproval, is regarded as a concept album featuring a central theme of "the distinction between religion and God". The album's "dour musings on faith and religion" have marked it as "one of the most cerebral albums ever to reach millions of rock listeners". Aqualung 's success marked a turning point in the band's career, who went on to become a major radio and touring act. Recorded at Island Records' studio in London, it was their first album with John Evan as a full-time member, their first with new bassist Jeffrey Hammond and last album featuring Clive Bunker on drums. Something of a departure from the band's previous work, the album features more acoustic material than previous releases; and—inspired by photographs of homeless people on the Thames Embankment taken by singer Ian Anderson's wife Jennie—contains a number of recurring themes, addressing religion along with Anderson's own personal experiences. Aqualung has sold more than 7 million units worldwide according to Anderson, and is thus Jethro Tull's best selling album.
- Release Date: 1971
- Tracks: Wond’ring Aloud, Cheap Day Return, My God
- 48
Alice Cooper - School's Out
- 49Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records, catalogue COC 39108. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, and became the band's top selling album in the United States, certified by the RIAA as having six million copies sold as of 2000. It was a major critical success, becoming the only The Rolling Stones album in their complete discography to be nominated for a Grammy in the Album of the Year category the following year and with many reviewers calling it a classic return to form, and their best album since 1972's Exile on Main St.
- Release Date: 1978
- Tracks: Shattered, Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me), Lies
- 50Fragile is the fourth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1971 on Atlantic Records. It is their first album recorded with keyboardist Rick Wakeman after the departure of Tony Kaye earlier in the year. Formed of nine tracks, four of which are group performances while five are solo features written by each member. It marked the band's first collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who would design their logo and many of their future covers. Fragile was the band's greatest commercial and critical success at the time of its release. It peaked at number 4 in the US and number 7 in the UK. "Roundabout" was released as a single in the US and is one of the band's best-known songs. The album is certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over two million copies.
- Release Date: 1971
- Tracks: Long Distance Runaround, We Have Heaven, Mood for a Day
- 51Licensed to Ill is the debut studio album by the Beastie Boys. The album was released on November 15, 1986. It was the first rap LP to top the Billboard album chart. It was also one of Columbia Records' fastest-selling debut records to date and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the United States.
- Release Date: 1986
- Producer: Rick Rubin, Beastie Boys
- Tracks: She's Crafty, Slow Ride, Posse in Effect
- 52Relayer is the seventh studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1974 on Atlantic Records. It is their only studio album recorded with keyboardist Patrick Moraz in the band's line-up; he joined in August that year after Rick Wakeman left over differences regarding Tales from Topographic Oceans to pursue his solo career. Following Wakeman's decision to leave the band, the remaining members proceeded to work on new material for Relayer. The group wrote and rehearsed new songs and proceeded to record in Squire's home in Virginia Water, Surrey. Relayer has the same format as Close to the Edge, with one track occupying side one and two tracks on side two. The album saw Yes experiment with elements of funk and jazz fusion. Upon release, Relayer helped continue the band's success in the mid-1970s, peaking at number 4 in the UK and number 5 in the US. The closing section of "The Gates of Delirium", titled "Soon", was released as a single in January 1975. The album is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
- Release Date: 1974
- Tracks: Sound Chaser, The Gates of Delirium, To Be Over
- 53Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Greg Lake wrote the lyrics for the album with the assistance of former King Crimson bandmate Peter Sinfield. This was the first Emerson, Lake & Palmer album to have no songwriting contributions from Carl Palmer. The cover art is by H. R. Giger.
- Release Date: 1973
- Producer: Greg Lake
- Tracks: Benny the Bouncer, Toccata, Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression
- 54Strange Days is the second studio album by American rock band The Doors, released in September 1967. It was a commercial success, initially earning a gold record and reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album also yielded two top 30 hit singles, "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times", and eventually a platinum certification.
- Release Date: 1967
- Tracks: Moonlight Drive, When the Music’s Over, My Eyes Have Seen You
- 55Back in Black is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. Produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the album was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. By the late 1970s, AC/DC began to achieve significant popularity outside their native Australia, with high-energy live performances and a string of successful albums. In 1979, they paired with producer Lange and recorded their international breakthrough, Highway to Hell. Shortly before the recording of their follow-up, lead vocalist Bon Scott died after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group continued on with ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson. Back in Black was recorded over seven weeks in the Bahamas in spring 1980. The area was hit by tropical storms at the time, making the sessions difficult at times. Johnson penned the album's lyrics and melodies, while guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young composed the music. Its musical content consists of hard rock–styled numbers with lyrics relating to sex, alcohol, partying and rock and roll. Lange demanded perfection in the band's recordings, particularly on Johnson's vocals.
- Release Date: 1980
- Tracks: You Shook Me All Night Long, Back in Black, What Do You Do for Money Honey
- 56Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, recorded when he was 19 and released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success. Vivian Stanshall provided the voice of the "Master of Ceremonies" who reads off the list of instruments at the end of the first movement. The opening piano solo was used briefly in the soundtrack to the William Friedkin film The Exorcist, and the album gained considerable airplay because of the film's success. The following year the piece was orchestrated by David Bedford for The Orchestral Tubular Bells version. It had three sequels in the 1990s, Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells III and The Millennium Bell. Finally, the album was re-recorded as Tubular Bells 2003 at its 30th anniversary in 2003. A newly mixed and mastered re-issue of the original album appeared in 2009 on Mercury Records, with bonus material. For the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Oldfield rearranged segments from Tubular Bells for a segment about the National Health Service.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: Tubular Bells, Part One, Tubular Bells
- 57Are You Experienced is the debut studio album by the rock band the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Released in 1967, the LP was an immediate critical and commercial success, and it is widely regarded as one of the greatest debuts in the history of rock music. The album features Jimi Hendrix's innovative approach to songwriting and electric guitar playing which soon established a new direction in psychedelic and hard rock music. Coming after three successful European singles, it helped introduce him as a new international star. By mid-1966, Hendrix was struggling to earn a living playing the R&B circuit as a backing guitarist. After being referred to Chas Chandler, who was leaving the Animals and interested in managing and producing artists, Hendrix was signed to a management and production contract with Chandler and ex-Animals manager Michael Jeffery. Chandler brought Hendrix to London and began recruiting members for a band designed to showcase the guitarist's talents, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. In late October, after having been rejected by Decca Records, the Experience signed with Track, a new label formed by the Who's managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.
- Release Date: 1967
- Producer: Chas Chandler
- Tracks: Remember, Third Stone From the Sun, Are You Experienced?
- 58Sticky Fingers is the ninth British and 11th American studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in April 1971. It is the band's first album of the 1970s and its first release on the band's newly formed label, Rolling Stones Records, after having been contracted since 1963 with Decca Records in the UK and London Records in the US. It is also Mick Taylor's first full-length appearance on a Rolling Stones album, the first Rolling Stones album not to feature any contributions from guitarist and founder Brian Jones and the first one on which singer Mick Jagger is credited with playing guitar. Sticky Fingers is widely regarded as one of the Rolling Stones' best albums. It achieved triple platinum certification in the US and contains songs such as the chart-topping "Brown Sugar", the country ballad "Wild Horses", the Latin-inspired "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", and the sweeping ballad "Moonlight Mile".
- Release Date: 1971
- Producer: Jimmy Miller
- Tracks: You Gotta Move, Bitch, Dead Flowers
- 59Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on January 1, 1980. It was recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, and mixed at Trident Studios in London, UK. Permanent Waves became Rush's first US top five album hitting #4 and was the band's fifth gold selling album. The album also marks a distinct transition from long, conceptual pieces, into a more accessible, radio-friendly style and consequently, a significant expansion in the band's sales with hits such as "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" seeing considerable radio airplay.
- Release Date: 1980
- Producer: Rush, Terry Brown
- Tracks: The Spirit of Radio, Jacob's Ladder, Natural Science
- 60With the Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group the Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963, on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me. The album features eight original compositions and six covers. The cover photograph was taken by the fashion photographer Robert Freeman, and it has been mimicked by several music groups over the years. The album became the first Beatles album released in North America when it was released in Canada on 25 November under the augmented title Beatlemania! With the Beatles, with additional text on the album cover, and issued only in mono at the time, catalogue number T 6051. Most of the songs from the album were released in the United States by Capitol Records as the Meet the Beatles! LP on 20 January 1964; the rest featured on their next US album, The Beatles' Second Album. The LP had advance orders of a half million and sold another half million by September 1965, making it the second album to sell a million copies in the United Kingdom, after the soundtrack to the 1958 film South Pacific.
- Release Date: 1963
- Tracks: Not a Second Time, Please Mister Postman, You Really Got a Hold on Me
- 61...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 25, 1988 by Elektra Records. It was the band's first studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted after the death of Cliff Burton in 1986. ...And Justice for All is musically progressive, with long and complex songs, fast tempos, and few verse-chorus structures. The album is noted for its sterile production, which producer Flemming Rasmussen attributed to his absence during the mixing process. The lyrics feature themes of political and legal injustice seen through the prisms of censorship, war, and nuclear brinkmanship. The album's front cover, designed by Stephen Gorman on a scheme by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, features a representation of Lady Justice. The phrase "...And Justice for All" appears spray-painted in the lower right corner. The album title is derived from the American Pledge of Allegiance. Originally released on one vinyl disc, the album was quickly re-released as a double album without additional tracks.
- Release Date: 1988
- Producer: Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen
- Tracks: Harvester of Sorrow, Dyers Eve, Blackened
- 62In Utero is the third and final studio album by American rock band Nirvana, released on September 13, 1993, by DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to diverge significantly from the polished production of its previous album, Nevermind. To capture a more abrasive and natural sound, the group hired engineer Steve Albini to record In Utero during a two-week period in February 1993 at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. The music was recorded quickly with few studio embellishments, and the song lyrics and album packaging incorporated medical imagery that conveyed frontman Kurt Cobain's outlook on his publicized personal life and his band's newfound fame. Soon after recording was completed, rumors circulated in the press that DGC might not release the album in its original state, as the record label felt that the result was not commercially viable. Although Nirvana publicly denied the statements, the group was not fully satisfied with the sound Albini had captured. Albini declined to alter the album further, and ultimately the band hired R.E.M producer Scott Litt to make minor changes to the album's sound and remix the singles "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies".
- Release Date: 1993
- Producer: Steve Albini, Scott Litt
- Tracks: All Apologies, Scentless Apprentice, Pennyroyal Tea
- Tales from Topographic Oceans is the sixth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in December 1973 on Atlantic Records. It is their first studio album recorded with drummer Alan White after Bill Bruford left in 1972 to join King Crimson. Originally presented as a double album with one track on each of the four sides of the LP, its concept is based on singer Jon Anderson's vision of four classes of Hindu scripture, collectively named the shastras, based on a footnote in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Tales from Topographic Oceans was a commercial success; it is the first album in the UK to earn a gold certification based on pre-sales alone. It topped the UK album chart for two weeks and peaked at number 6 in the US. The album is noted for the divided reception it received, and the disagreements it caused within the band, resulting in keyboardist Rick Wakeman leaving to pursue his solo career after the supporting tour.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: The Revealing Science of God: Dance of the Dawn, Ritual: Nous sommes du soleil, “The Ancient”: Giants Under the Sun
- 64Crime of the Century is the third album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in September 1974.
- Release Date: 1974
- Tracks: Bloody Well Right, If Everyone Was Listening, Crime of the Century
- 65The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in March 1982. It saw the debut of vocalist Bruce Dickinson, and the final appearance of drummer Clive Burr. The Number of the Beast met with considerable critical and commercial success and was a landmark release for the band, becoming their first album to reach No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and be certified platinum in the US. The album also produced the singles "Run to the Hills" and "The Number of the Beast", the former of which was the band's first top-ten UK single. The album was also controversial – particularly in the US – due to the religious nature of its lyrics and its artwork. Since the release of The Number of the Beast and its subsequent tour, The Beast on the Road, "The Beast" has become an alternate name for Iron Maiden, and was later used in the titles of some of their compilations and live releases, including Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast.
- Release Date: 1982
- Tracks: The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Gangland
- 66Elvis Presley is the debut studio album by Elvis Presley. It was released on RCA Victor, in mono, catalogue number LPM 1254, in March 1956. The recording sessions took place on January 10 and January 11 at RCA recording studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and on January 30 and January 31 at RCA studios in New York. Additional material originated from sessions at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, August 19 and September 10 of 1954, and on July 11, 1955. The album spent ten weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in 1956, the first rock and roll album ever to make it to the top of the charts, and the first million-selling album of that genre. In 2003, it was ranked number 56 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Elvis Presley was also one of three Presley albums accoladed in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, the others being Elvis Is Back! and From Elvis in Memphis. It was certified Gold on November 1, 1966 and Platinum on August 8, 2011 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
- Release Date: 1956
- Producer: Sam Phillips
- Tracks: Money Honey, One‐Sided Love Affair, Trying to Get to You
- 67The Beatles, also known as the White Album, is the ninth studio album by English rock group the Beatles, released on 22 November 1968. A double album, its plain white sleeve has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed. Most of the songs on the album were written during early 1968 at a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India. Although the group's experience of the course was mixed, the lack of external influences or drugs sparked the band's creativity and they returned to England with around 40 new songs. They regrouped at George Harrison's house, Kinfauns, in May and recorded demos of 26 songs, enough for a double album. The group returned to EMI Studios to record the new material, with sessions lasting through to mid October, but their experiences in Rishikesh did not help motivate them in the studio. Because the Beatles had unlimited recording time, there was little attempt to rehearse anything as a group, so everything was captured on tape, after which they would overdub voices and additional instruments. Arguments broke out between the Beatles, and witnesses in the studio saw John Lennon and Paul McCartney quarrel with one another.
- Release Date: 1968
- Tracks: Piggies, Back in the U.S.S.R., Rocky Raccoon
- 68Morrison Hotel is the fifth studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Doors, recorded from between August 1966 and November 1969 and released by Elektra in February 1970.
- Release Date: 1970
- Producer: Paul A. Rothchild
- Tracks: Maggie M’Gill, The Spy, Queen of the Highway
- 69Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on February 4, 1976 by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote about them in an article and contacted Danny Fields, insisting he be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in February 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album. They used similar sound-output techniques to those of the Beatles, and used advanced production methods by Leon. The album cover, photographed by Punk magazine's Roberta Bayley, features the four members leaning against a brick wall in New York City. The record company paid only $125 for the front photo, and has since become one of the most imitated album covers of all time. The back cover depicts an eagle belt buckle along with the album's liner notes. After its release, Ramones was promoted with two singles which failed to chart.
- Release Date: 1976
- Tracks: Blitzkrieg Bop, Chain Saw, Havana Affair
- 70Appetite for Destruction is the debut studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, released on July 21, 1987 on Geffen Records. It was well received by critics and topped the Billboard 200 chart. By September 2008, the album has been certified 18× platinum by the RIAA, making it the best-selling record released on Geffen and best-selling American debut. The album has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
- Release Date: 1987
- Producer: Mike Clink
- Tracks: Rocket Queen, Anything Goes, Sweet Child o' Mine
- 71
Flashback
- 72Demon Days is the second studio album by British rock virtual band Gorillaz, released in May 2005. The album features contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel Choir, and the Children's Choir of San Fernandez. Demon Days entered the UK charts at #1 and the U.S. charts at #6, outperforming the band's 2001 debut, Gorillaz. The album has sold six million copies worldwide. The album features the singles "Feel Good Inc.", "DARE", "Dirty Harry" and "Kids with Guns"/"El Mañana". Much like 2001's Gorillaz, the release of Demon Days and its respective tour were accompanied by various multimedia. These included interactive features on the Gorillaz website, a total of four animated music videos, virtual interview sessions with the band and animatics for each song. Almost all of the visuals associated with the album were designed by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett as his design company, Zombie Flesh Eaters.
- Release Date: 2005
- Tracks: All Alone, November Has Come, Demon Days
- 73A Momentary Lapse of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by the English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in the UK and US in September 1987. It followed guitarist David Gilmour's decision to include material recorded for his third solo album on a new Pink Floyd album with Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and keyboardist Richard Wright. Although for legal reasons Wright could not be re-admitted to the band, with Mason he helped Gilmour craft what became the first Pink Floyd album since the departure of bass guitarist, singer, and primary songwriter Roger Waters in December 1985. A Momentary Lapse of Reason was recorded primarily on Gilmour's converted houseboat, Astoria. Its production was marked by an ongoing legal dispute with Waters as to who owned the rights to Pink Floyd's name, an issue resolved several months after the album was released. Unlike many of Pink Floyd's studio albums, A Momentary Lapse of Reason has no central theme and is instead a collection of songs written mostly by Gilmour and outside songwriters.
- Release Date: 1987
- Tracks: Terminal Frost, One Slip, On the Turning Away
- 74Led Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and August 1970 and released on 5 October by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band's music towards a greater emphasis on folk and acoustic sounds. This surprised many fans and critics, and upon its release the album received rather indifferent reviews. Although it is not one of the highest sellers in Zeppelin's catalogue, Led Zeppelin III is now generally praised, and acknowledged as representing an important milestone in their history. Although acoustic songs are featured on its predecessors, it is this album which is widely acknowledged for showing that Led Zeppelin were more than just a conventional rock band and that they could branch out into wider musical territory.
- Release Date: 1970
- Producer: Jimmy Page
- Tracks: Hats Off To (Roy) Harper, Friends, Bron‐Y‐Aur Stomp
- 75Ghost in the Machine is the fourth studio album by English rock band The Police, released in 1981. Much of the material in this album was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Ghost in the Machine, which also provided the title. It was their first album to bear an English language title. The album reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and number two in the U.S. Billboard 200. The band released three successful singles from the album: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Invisible Sun", and "Spirits in the Material World". In the U.S., however, the song "Secret Journey" was released as an alternative single to "Invisible Sun". The album went multi-platinum in the U.S. It was listed number 322 on Rolling Stone 's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
- Release Date: 1981
- Producer: Hugh Padgham, The Police
- Tracks: Hungry for You (j’aurais toujours faim de toi), Demolition Man, Omegaman
- 76Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the English band Jethro Tull, released in 1972. The album is notable for only including one song, which spans the entire album. Thick as a Brick was deliberately crafted in the style of a concept album. The original packaging, designed like a newspaper, claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by a 8-year-old genius, though the lyrics were actually written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson. The album was a commercial success and topped the US charts.
- Release Date: 1972
- Producer: Ian Anderson
- Tracks: Thick as a Brick, Part 1, Thick as a Brick
- 77Electric Ladyland is the third and final studio album by English-American rock band the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released in October 1968 by Reprise Records. The double album was the only record from the band produced by Jimi Hendrix. By mid-November, it had charted at number one in the United States, where it spent two weeks at the top spot. Electric Ladyland was the Experience's most commercially successful release and their only number one album. It peaked at number six in the UK, where it spent 12 weeks on the chart. Electric Ladyland included a cover of the Bob Dylan song, "All Along the Watchtower," which became the Experience's highest-selling single and their only top 40 hit in the US, peaking at number 20; the single reached number five in the UK. Although it confounded critics upon its release, Electric Ladyland has since been viewed as Hendrix's best work and one of the greatest rock albums of all time. It has been featured on many greatest-album lists, including Q magazine's 2003 list of the 100 greatest albums and Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, on which it was ranked 54th.
- Release Date: 1968
- Tracks: Little Miss Strange, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, House Burning Down
- 78Electric Warrior is the sixth studio album by English glam rock act T. Rex. It was released on 24 September 1971 by record label Fly in the UK and Reprise in the US. The album marks a turning point in the band's sound, dispensing with the folk-oriented music of the group's previous albums and pioneering a new, "glammier" style of rock known as glam rock. The album also drew attention to the band in the United States with the top 10 hit "Get It On".
- Release Date: 1971
- Producer: Tony Visconti
- Tracks: Planet Queen, Monolith, Lean Woman Blues
- 79Highway to Hell is an album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was the band's fifth internationally released studio album and the sixth to be released in Australia. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who died early the following year from over-consumption of alcohol. It was originally released on 27 July 1979 by Albert Productions, who licensed the album to Atlantic Records for release outside of Australia, and was then re-released by Epic Records in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series. On 25 May 2006, Highway to Hell was certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA. In 2003, the album was ranked number 200 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- Release Date: 1979
- Tracks: If You Want Blood (You've Got It), Get It Hot, Touch Too Much
- 80The Cars is the eponymous debut studio album by the American new wave rock band the Cars. It was released on June 6, 1978 on Elektra Records. The album, which featured the three charting singles "Just What I Needed","My Best Friend's Girl", and "Good Times Roll," as well as an abundance of radio hits, was a major success for the band, remaining on the charts for 139 weeks. It has been recognized as one of the band's greatest albums.
- Release Date: 1978
- Producer: Roy Thomas Baker, David McLees
- Tracks: Good Times Roll, You're All I've Got Tonight, Moving in Stereo
- 81Abraxas is the second studio album by latin rock band Santana. Consolidating the interest generated by their first album, Santana, and their highly acclaimed live performance at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, the band followed-up with Abraxas in September 1970. The album's mix of rock, blues, jazz, salsa and other influences was very well received, showing a musical maturation from their first album and refining the band's early sound.
- Release Date: 1970
- Tracks: Se Acabó, El Nicoya, Samba pa ti
- 82Exile on Main St. is a double album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. It was released on 12 May 1972 by Rolling Stones Records. The album's music incorporates rock and roll, blues, soul, country, and gospel genres. Although it originally received mixed reviews, Exile on Main St. has been ranked on various lists as one of the greatest albums of all time. The 2010 remastered version of the album was released in Europe on 17 May 2010 and in the United States on 18 May 2010, featuring a bonus disc with 10 new tracks.
- Release Date: 1972
- Tracks: Soul Survivor, Shine a Light, I Just Want to See His Face
- 83Tommy is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Who, a double album first released in May 1969. The album was mostly composed by guitarist Pete Townshend as a rock opera that tells the story about a deaf, dumb and blind boy, including his experiences with life and the relationship with his family. Townshend came up with the concept of Tommy after being introduced to the work of Meher Baba, and attempted to translate Baba's teachings into music. Recording on the album began in September 1968, but took six months to complete as material needed to be arranged and re-recorded in the studio. Tommy was acclaimed upon its release by critics, who hailed it as the Who's breakthrough. Its critical standing diminished slightly in later years; nonetheless, several writers view it as an important and influential album in the history of rock music. The Who promoted the album's release with an extensive tour, including a live version of Tommy, which lasted throughout 1969 and 1970. Key gigs from the tour included appearances at Woodstock, the Metropolitan Opera House and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
- Release Date: 1969
- Tracks: Sally Simpson, I’m Free, Tommy’s Holiday Camp
- 84Ummagumma is a double album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released on 25 October 1969, through Harvest Records. The first disc is a live album that contains part of their normal set list of the time, while the second contains solo compositions by each member of the band recorded as their fourth studio album. Although the album was well received at the time of release, and was a top five hit in the UK album charts, it has since been looked upon unfavourably by the band, who have expressed negative opinions about it in interviews. Nevertheless, the album has been reissued on CD several times, along with the rest of their catalogue. The album is also notable for its artwork, featuring a number of pictures of the band combined together to give a Droste effect. Like several other of the band's covers, it was designed by Hipgnosis.
- Release Date: 1969
- Tracks: Sysyphus, Part 4, Sysyphus
- 85Synchronicity is the fifth and final studio album by English rock band The Police, released on 1 June 1983. The band's most popular release, the album includes the chart topping hit singles "Every Breath You Take", "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "Synchronicity II". Much of the material in this album was inspired by Arthur Koestler's The Roots of Coincidence, which is what the title and album's concept is based on. At the 1984 Grammy Awards the album was nominated for a total of five awards including Album of the Year and won three. At the time of its release and following its immensely popular tour The Police were hailed as the "Biggest Band in the World". The album was number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, and sold over 8 million copies in the US. Synchronicity was widely acclaimed by critics. Praise centered on its cohesive merging of disparate genres and sonic experimentation.The record has featured in numerous publications' lists of the best albums of the 1980s and the best albums of all time. Many consider Synchronicity to be the band's finest album.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Every Breath You Take, Miss Gradenko, King of Pain
- 86Glass Houses is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on March 10, 1980. It features Joel's first song to peak at #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked number 4 on Billboard's 1980 year-end album chart. The album is the 41st best selling album of the 1980s, with sales of 7.1 million copies in the US alone. In 1981, Joel won a Grammy Award for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for his work on Glass Houses.
- Release Date: 1980
- Producer: Phil Ramone
- Tracks: All for Leyna, Sleeping With the Television On, You May Be Right
- 87Union is the thirteenth studio album by British progressive rock band Yes, released in 1991.
- Release Date: 1991
- Producer: Eddy Offord, Jonathan Elias, Steve Howe
- Tracks: Lift Me Up, Without Hope You Cannot Start the Day, Evensong
- 88Tattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, the album is mostly composed of studio outtakes recorded during the 1970s, and contains one of the band's most well-known songs, "Start Me Up", which hit second place on the United States's Billboard singles charts. The album proved to be both a critical and commercial success upon release, reaching the top of the Billboard charts, and selling more than four million copies in the United States alone. It was also the final Rolling Stones album to reach the top position of the US charts, thus concluding the band's string of number-one albums there, dating back to 1971's Sticky Fingers.
- Release Date: 1981
- Tracks: Hang Fire, Neighbours, Heaven
- 89The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin ' represented the beginning of Dylan's writing contemporary words to traditional melodies. Eleven of the thirteen songs on the album are Dylan's original compositions. The album opens with "Blowin' in the Wind", which became an anthem of the 1960s, and an international hit for folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary soon after the release of Freewheelin '. The album featured several other songs which came to be regarded as amongst Dylan's best compositions and classics of the 1960s folk scene: "Girl from the North Country", "Masters of War", "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". Dylan's lyrics embraced stories taken from the headlines about civil rights and he articulated anxieties about the fear of nuclear warfare. Balancing this political material were love songs, sometimes bitter and accusatory, and material that features surreal humor.
- Release Date: 1963
- Tracks: Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Gamblin' Willie, Rocks and Gravel
- 90Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial success, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound. While its predecessor, the dark and acoustic Nebraska, featured songs of pessimism and isolation, Born in the U.S.A.'s lyrics expressed signs of hope in the daily fight of the ordinary American in following the American Dream, a new feeling complemented by synthesized arrangements and a pop-flavored, radio-oriented sound that helped Springsteen to extend his popularity and appeal to mainstream audiences. The album was supported by an enormous commercial campaign that helped create several hit singles, as well as remixes and music videos. Born in the U.S.A. was the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States, selling 15 million copies in the U.S alone, and 30 million worldwide. The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles and also a worldwide concert tour that was a success. The album was lauded by most critics and is often considered one of Springsteen's finest albums along with his 1975 breakthrough, Born to Run.
- Release Date: 1984
- Producer: Steven Van Zandt, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin
- Tracks: Darlington County, Downbound Train, Born in the U.S.A.
- 91Country Life is the fourth album by British rock band Roxy Music, released in 1974 and reaching No. 3 in the UK charts. It also made No. 37 in the United States, their first record to crack the Top 40 there. The album is considered by many critics to be among the band's most sophisticated and consistent. Jim Miller in his review for Rolling Stone wrote "Stranded and Country Life together mark the zenith of contemporary British art rock." Band leader Bryan Ferry took the album's title from the British rural lifestyle magazine Country Life. In 2003, the album was ranked number 387 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was one of four Roxy Music albums that made the list.
- Release Date: 1974
- Tracks: A Really Good Time, Three and Nine, Out of the Blue
- 92
Eldorado - Electric Light Orchestra
- 93
The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favor
- 94Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 19, 1986. The project was originally handled by Combat Records, resulting in the first mix of the album being co-produced by Randy Burns. Capitol Records then bought the rights to the album and hired another producer, Paul Lani, to mix it himself. The album's front cover, featuring the band's mascot Vic Rattlehead, was created by Ed Repka. The recording of the album was difficult for the band because of the ongoing drug issues the members had at the time. This was the last Megadeth album to feature drummer Gar Samuelson and guitarist Chris Poland, who were fired shortly after the album's promotional tour for drug abuse. The title track, noted for its politically conscious lyrics, was released as the album's lead single. Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? is regarded as a thrash metal classic and as an album that gave prominence to extreme metal. It has been featured in several publications' best album lists, including Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and Martin Popoff's Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.
- Release Date: 1986
- Producer: Dave Mustaine, Randy Burns
- Tracks: Peace Sells, Good Mourning / Black Friday, My Last Words
- 95I Robot is the second album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, engineered by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson in 1977. It was released by Arista Records in 1977 and re-released on CD in 1984 and 2007. I Robot is an art rock album that draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov's science fiction Robot trilogy, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Alan Parsons, Eric Woolfson
- Tracks: I Robot, Total Eclipse, Don't Let It Show
- 96Blues for Allah is the eighth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between February 27 and May 7, 1975, and originally released on September 1, 1975. It was the third release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records. It was the first album with Mickey Hart in over four years, and the band's first album since their short hiatus from touring in 1974. Possibly because of late arrival, Mickey Hart's picture does not appear on the back cover. The album's title track was only performed a handful of times in 1975 and never played again after that, while several other tracks on the album were performed regularly for the rest of the Dead's career, such as Franklin's Tower, Crazy Fingers, and The Music Never Stopped. The album was released for the first time on CD in 1995 by Arista before being remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description 12-CD box set in October 2004. The remastered version was later released separately on CD on March 7, 2006 by Rhino Records.
- Release Date: 1975
- Tracks: Help on the Way / Slipknot!, The Music Never Stopped, King Solomon's Marbles: Part I: Stronger Than Dirt / Part II: Milkin' the Turkey
- 97Metal Health is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Quiet Riot. It was released on March 11, 1983, bolstered by the #5 hit "Cum on Feel the Noize" and the #31 hit "Metal Health". Metal Health is notable for being the first heavy metal album to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard 200. It knocked The Police's Synchronicity out of #1 in the US. The album went on to sell more than six million copies and is considered a classic among heavy metal fans. Some critics, such as Allmusic, describe it as a one-hit wonder, owing to Quiet Riot's relative lack of critical and commercial success with following albums towards the end of the 1980s. The title track was ranked #35 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. The band went on a tour the same year and supported Black Sabbath on their Born Again tour in the US. "Slick Black Cadillac" is a re-recorded version of the same song from Quiet Riot II. The song "Thunderbird" is dedicated to guitarist and founding member Randy Rhoads. Although the bulk of the song was written for Rhoads while he was still alive, Kevin DuBrow added one final verse as a tribute to Rhoads after he died in a plane crash on March 19, 1982.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Run for Cover, Slick Black Cadillac, Cum on Feel the Noize
- 98Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the only studio album by blues rock band Derek and the Dominos, released in November 1970, best known for its title track, "Layla". The album is often regarded as Eric Clapton's greatest musical achievement. The other band members were Bobby Whitlock on keyboards and vocals, Jim Gordon on drums, Carl Radle on bass, and special guest performer Duane Allman on lead and slide guitar on 11 of the 14 songs. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs peaked at #16 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album again made the Billboard 200 in 1972, 1974 and in 1977. In 2011, it charted in Britain, peaking at number 68. In 2000, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2003, television network VH1 named Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs the 89th-greatest album of all time, and Rolling Stone ranked it number 117 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Critic Robert Christgau ranked Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs the third greatest album of the 1970s. In 2012, the Super Deluxe Edition of the record won a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album.
- Release Date: 1970
- Tracks: Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?, I Looked Away, Anyday
- 99Dookie is the third studio album by American punk rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo and its major record label debut. Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 and charting in seven countries. The album helped propel Green Day, and even punk rock music into mainstream popularity. Dookie was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for the shipment of 10 million copies. Dookie produced five hit singles for the band: "Longview", "When I Come Around", "Basket Case", a re-recorded version of "Welcome to Paradise" and the radio-only single "She". The album has garnered considerable acclaim, from its release to present day, winning a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995 and being ranked No. 193 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. As of 2014, Dookie is the band's best-selling album with more than 20 million copies sold worldwide.
- Release Date: 1994
- Tracks: Pulling Teeth, F.O.D. / All by Myself, Chump
- 100Aja is the sixth album by the jazz rock band Steely Dan. Originally released in 1977 on ABC Records, it became the group's best-selling album. Peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. charts and No. 5 in the United Kingdom, it was the band's first platinum album, eventually selling over 5 million copies. In July 1978, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. In 2003, the album was ranked number 145 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. It is widely regarded as a good test recording for audiophiles because of its excellent production value. Donald Fagen has said the title of the album comes from the name of a Korean woman who married the brother of a high-school friend of his. The cover photo by Hideki Fujii features Japanese model and actress Sayoko Yamaguchi. The album features several leading session musicians. The eight-minute-long title track features jazz-based changes and a solo by saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Aja is the subject of one of the Classic Albums, a series of documentaries about the making of famous albums.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Gary Katz
- Tracks: Peg, Black Cow, I Got the News
- 101The Turn of a Friendly Card is the fifth album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1980. The album has a 16-minute title piece, which was broken up into five tracks, with the five sub-tracks listed as sub-sections. The Turn of a Friendly Card spawned the moderate hits "Games People Play" and "Time", the latter of which was Eric Woolfson's first lead vocal appearance.
- Release Date: 1980
- Tracks: Snake Eyes, Nothing Left to Lose, The Turn of a Friendly Card (The Turn of a Friendly Card)
- 102Sad Wings of Destiny is the second album by the English heavy metal group Judas Priest, released in 1976. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it such as "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" have since become live standards. It is the only album to feature drummer Alan Moore. Noted for its riff-driven heavy metal sound and the wide range of Rob Halford's vocals, the album displays a wide variety of styles, moods, and textures, inspired by an array of groups such as Queen, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The centrepiece "Victim of Changes" is an eight-minute track featuring heavy riffing trading off with high-pitched vocals, extended guitar leads, and a slow, moody breakdown toward the end. "Tyrant" and "The Ripper" are short, dense, high-powered rockers with many parts and changes. Riffs and solos dominate "Genocide", "Island of Domination", and "Deceiver", and the band finds more laid-back moments in the crooning piano-backed "Epitaph" and the moody "Dreamer Deceiver". Sad Wings of Destiny had a positive reception but weak sales as it was released just as punk rock was dominating the spotlight in the UK.
- Release Date: 1976
- Tracks: Dreamer Deceiver, Victim of Changes, Tyrant
- 103Low is the eleventh studio album by British musician David Bowie, co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti. Widely regarded as one of Bowie's most influential releases, Low was the first of the "Berlin Trilogy", a series of collaborations with Brian Eno. The experimental, avant-garde style would be further explored on "Heroes" and Lodger. The album's working title was New Music Night and Day.
- Release Date: 1977
- Tracks: Be My Wife, Speed of Life, Warszawa
- 104Selling England by the Pound is the fifth studio album from the English progressive rock band Genesis, released in October 1973 on Charisma Records. It reached number 3 in the UK and number 70 in the US. A single from the album, "I Know What I Like" was released in February 1974 and became the band's first top 30 hit in the UK. The album was recorded in August 1973 following the tour supporting the previous album, Foxtrot. The group set aside a short period of time to write new material, which covered a number of themes, including the loss of English folk culture and an increased American influence which was reflected in the title. Following the album's release, the group set out on tour, where they drew an enthusiastic reception from fans. Critics and the band have given mixed opinions of the album, though guitarist Steve Hackett has said it his favourite Genesis record. The album has continued to sell and has reached Gold certification by the British Phonographic Institute and the Recording Industry Association of America. It was remastered for CD in 1994 and 2007.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), Dancing With the Moonlit Knight, The Battle of Epping Forest
- 105Destroyer is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on March 15, 1976 in the US. It was the third successive Kiss album to reach the top 40 in the US, as well as the first to chart in Germany and New Zealand. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on April 22, 1976, and platinum on November 11 of the same year, the first Kiss album to achieve platinum. The album marked a departure from the raw sound of the band's first three albums.
- Release Date: 1976
- Producer: Bob Ezrin
- Tracks: Flaming Youth, Beth, God of Thunder
- 106A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1977. It was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and mixed at Advision Studios in London. A Farewell to Kings would become Rush's first US gold-selling album, receiving the certification within two months of its release, and was eventually certified platinum. Geddy Lee originally wrote his bass lines on his acoustic bass. The birds heard on "A Farewell to Kings" and "Xanadu" were recorded outside near Rockfield Studios.
- Release Date: 1977
- Tracks: Cygnus X-1, Book I: The Voyage, Xanadu
- 107War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 28 February 1983. The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time; Bono stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982." While the central themes of their earlier albums Boy and October focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, War focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional after-effects. Musically, it is also harsher than the band's previous releases. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade." War was a commercial success for the band, knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the charts to become the band's first number 1 album in the UK. It reached number 12 in the US and became their first Gold-certified album there. While poorly received by British critics at the time of release, War has since gained critical acclaim.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Two Hearts Beat as One, Surrender, Seconds
- 108Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records. The musical styles of Blood Sugar Sex Magik differed notably from the techniques employed on the Chili Peppers' preceding album, Mother's Milk, and featured little use of heavy metal guitar riffs. The album's subject matter incorporated sexual innuendos and references to drugs and death as well as themes of lust and exuberance. Peaking at number one in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and at three on the United States' Billboard 200, the album has sold over 13 million copies worldwide and was the Red Hot Chili Peppers' introduction into worldwide popularity and critical acclaim. Blood Sugar Sex Magik produced an array of hit singles including the hugely successful "Under the Bridge". The other four singles released were "Give It Away", "Suck My Kiss", "Breaking the Girl", and "If You Have to Ask". Guitarist John Frusciante quit the band mid-tour in 1992 due to his inability to cope with the album's popularity.
- Release Date: 1991
- Producer: Rick Rubin
- Tracks: Under the Bridge, Naked in the Rain, Mellowship Slinky in B major
- 109Toto IV is the triple platinum-certified fourth studio album by American rock band Toto released in the spring of 1982 by Columbia Records. The album marked the band's career zenith. The lead single, "Rosanna", peaked at number 2 for five weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, while the album's third single, "Africa", topping the Hot 100 charts as well, became the group's first number 1 hit. Both songs were smash hits in the UK as well, reaching number 12 and 3 respectively. The fourth single, "I Won't Hold You Back", also peaked within the top ten on the Hot 100, at number 10, but atop the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks. It also went within the top 40 in the UK. With the success of "Africa", the album climbed back into the top 10 in early 1983 on both sides of the Atlantic. Toto IV received six Grammy Awards in 1983 including Album of the Year, Producer of the Year for the band, and Record of the Year for "Rosanna". It reached number four on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States alone, shortly after its release.
- Release Date: 1982
- Producer: Toto
- Tracks: Africa, I Won’t Hold You Back, We Made It
- 110Bella Donna is the debut studio album by American singer, songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album reached number one on the U.S. Billboard charts in September of that year. Bella Donna was awarded Platinum status by the RIAA on October 7, 1981, less than three months after its release, and has since been certified quadruple-platinum. 'Bella Donna' spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200 from July 1981 to June 1984. The album has sold over 8 million copies worldwide, including more than 4 million copies in the US alone with approximately a million copies since 1991 in the US according to Nielsen Soundscan. It is Nicks' best selling solo album to date. The album spawned four substantial hit singles during 1981 and 1982: the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-penned duet "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around", the Don Henley duet "Leather and Lace", the iconic "Edge of Seventeen", and country-tinged "After the Glitter Fades". Bella Donna would mark the beginning of Nicks' trend of calling upon her many musician friends and connections to fully realize her sparse demo recordings.
- Release Date: 1981
- Producer: Jimmy Iovine
- Tracks: After the Glitter Fades, The Highwayman, Outside the Rain
- In Saturday Night Fever, Tony Manero (John Travolta) is a Brooklyn paint-store clerk who'd give anything to break out of his dead-end existence. It's the disco era and dance floor becomes his stage. Life turns rhythmic, under the mirrored ball, with pulsating music that drowns reality. Amidst this, he encounters Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney), an ambitious dancer with dreams beyond the boroughs. The film, a drama peppered with romance, encapsulates their journey through life and dance. Winner of 2 Golden Globes, it captures the quintessence of the 70s disco scene.
- 112Debut is the second studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk. The album was released in July 1993 on One Little Indian in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. Björk worked on the album with producer Nellee Hooper who co-wrote five of Debut's songs with her. The album mostly consists of love songs relating to subjects such as her boyfriend Dominic Thrupp, her producer Nellee Hooper and the love of life itself. Musically, the songs on this album took a different direction from her previous albums with her former band the Sugarcubes, with the backing music ranging from house, jazz and trip hop styles. Most of the songs from Debut were written years prior to the production of the album. As well as working with Graham Massey, Björk wanted to work with jazz musicians and contacted Oliver Lake and Corky Hale to record jazz arrangements to some of the songs. After meeting producer Nellee Hooper, the two completed production on the album in 1993. On Debut's initial release, the album sold far greater than her label predicted, charting at number three in the United Kingdom and 61 in the United States.
- Release Date: 1993
- Tracks: One Day, There’s More to Life Than This (recorded live at the Milk Bar toilets), Come to Me
- 1134, also known as Foreigner 4, is the fourth studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released in 1981 on Atlantic Records. Several singles from the album were hugely successful, including "Urgent", "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero". The album was an immediate smash worldwide, holding the #1 position on the Billboard album chart for a total of 10 weeks. It eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States alone.
- Release Date: 1981
- Producer: Robert Lange
- Tracks: Woman in Black, Girl on the Moon, Urgent
- 114Alpha is the second studio album by British rock band Asia, released in 1983. It was certified Platinum in the United States, eventually selling close to two million copies. Released one year before the departure of guitarist Steve Howe, Alpha was the last album with the band's original line-up until 2008's Phoenix, after the original members reunited in 2006, and the last album with Howe until Aqua in 1992.
- Release Date: 1983
- Tracks: Midnight Sun, Eye to Eye, My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want)
- 115Meddle is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released on 30 October 1971 by Harvest Records. It was produced between the band's touring commitments, from January to August 1971. The album was recorded at a series of locations around London, including Abbey Road Studios and Morgan Studios. With no material to work with and no clear idea of the album's direction, the group devised a series of novel experiments which eventually inspired the album's signature track, "Echoes". Although many of the band's later albums would be unified by a central theme with lyrics written mainly by Roger Waters, Meddle was a group effort with lyrical contributions from each member. The cover, incorporating a close-up shot of an ear underwater was, as with several previous albums, designed by Hipgnosis, though Storm Thorgerson was unhappy with the final result. The album was well received by music critics upon its release. However, despite being commercially successful in the United Kingdom, lackluster publicity on the part of their United States-based label led to poor sales there upon initial release.
- Release Date: 1971
- Producer: Pink Floyd
- Tracks: A Pillow of Winds, San Tropez, Echoes
- 116Dangerous is the eighth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 26, 1991 by Epic Records. His first album under his new contract with Sony Music, it was also Jackson's first album since 1975's Forever, Michael not to be produced by longtime collaborator Quincy Jones, who had agreed to split after the final recording sessions for Jackson's 1987 album, Bad. Dangerous has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, 7 million albums were shipped in the United States alone, and has been cited as one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album produced four top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including one number-one. Similar to the musician's previous material, the album's music features elements of R&B, pop and rock while also incorporating a newer genre, new jack swing, after the inclusion of producer Teddy Riley to the project in a bid to present Jackson to a younger urban audience. Dangerous took over a year in production. Lyrical themes expressed in the album included racism, poverty, paranoia, romance, the welfare of children and the world and self-improvement, topics Jackson had covered before.
- Release Date: 1991
- Tracks: Dangerous, Can't Let Her Get Away, Gone Too Soon
- 117The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977. While his four previous albums had been moderately successful, The Stranger became Joel's true critical and commercial breakthrough, spending six weeks at #2 on the U.S. album charts. Considered his magnum opus, it remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date, and was ranked number 70 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
- Release Date: 1977
- Producer: Phil Ramone
- Tracks: Everybody Has a Dream, Vienna, Just the Way You Are
- 118Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the fifth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in December 1973. It was produced by the band and Tom Allom and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973.
- Release Date: 1973
- Tracks: Looking for Today, Sabbra Cadabra, Who Are You?
- 119Eat a Peach is the third studio album by American rock band the Allman Brothers Band. Produced by Tom Dowd, the album was released on February 12, 1972, in the United States by Capricorn Records. Following their artistic and commercial breakthrough with the release of the live album At Fillmore East, the Allman Brothers Band got to work on their third studio album. Many in the band were struggling, however, with heroin addictions, and checked into rehab to confront these problems. Shortly after leaving rehab, group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in the band's home of Macon, Georgia thus making it the final album to feature guitarist Duane Allman. Eat a Peach contains live recordings from the band's famed Fillmore East performances, but primarily functions as a group studio effort. Dickey Betts, the band's second lead guitarist, gradually became the band's primary leader. The album contains the extended, half-hour-long "Mountain Jam," as well as vocalist Gregg Allman's tribute to his brother, "Melissa," plus "Blue Sky", which became a radio staple. Album artwork was created by W. David Powell and J. F.
- Release Date: 1972
- Tracks: Trouble No More, Les Brers in A Minor, Mountain Jam
- 120
Uriah Heep - Demons & Wizards
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