The Clash – London Calling
Released in December 1979, London Calling is one of those rare albums that transcends its era and its genre. While punk rock had exploded…
Read More »
Latest Reviews
AC/DC – Highway to Hell
By 1979, AC/DC had already built a reputation as one of the hardest-working live bands in rock. Years of relentless touring, blistering performances, and…
Read More »
The Specials – Specials
By the late 1970s, Britain was grappling with economic hardship, unemployment, racial tension, and social unrest. Out of that environment came a band that…
Read More »
The B-52’s – The B-52’s
Before new wave fully took over the charts in the early 1980s, one quirky band from Athens, Georgia, arrived with a sound unlike anything…
Read More »
Van Halen – Van Halen
Some debut albums introduce a promising new band. Others completely redefine what listeners believe is possible. Van Halen’s self-titled debut, released in February 1978,…
Read More »
Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
No band arrived with a debut album quite like Devo. Emerging from Akron, Ohio, the group wasn’t simply trying to make catchy rock songs—they…
Read More »
Funkadelic – One Nation Under a Groove
By 1978, George Clinton’s P-Funk empire had become one of the most creative forces in popular music. With Parliament delivering massive, horn-driven funk spectacles…
Read More »
Chic – C’est Chic
Disco dominated dance floors in 1978, but few groups embodied the genre’s sophistication quite like Chic. Founded by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard…
Read More »
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Few albums in popular music have become as universally admired as Rumours. Released in February 1977, Fleetwood Mac’s eleventh studio album emerged from extraordinary…
Read More »
Billy Joel – The Stranger
By 1977, Billy Joel had already proven he could write memorable songs, but he had yet to create the defining album that would establish…
Read More »
Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols
Punk rock was already gaining momentum in Britain by 1977, but no band embodied its rebellious spirit more completely than the Sex Pistols. They…
Read More »
Talking Heads – Talking Heads: 77
By the late 1970s, New York’s punk scene had become one of the most exciting places in rock music, but not every band emerging…
Read More »
Wire – Pink Flag
The first wave of British punk produced several landmark albums, but few were as unconventional—or as influential—as Wire’s Pink Flag. Released in 1977, the…
Read More »
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life
Few artists have reinvented themselves as dramatically as Iggy Pop. After the groundbreaking chaos of The Stooges and a period marked by addiction and…
Read More »
Television – Marquee Moon
Punk rock exploded in the mid-1970s with short songs, raw aggression, and an anti-establishment attitude, but Television took a remarkably different path. Sharing the…
Read More »
Rush – 2112
By early 1976, Rush found themselves at a crossroads. Their self-titled debut had earned modest attention thanks to “Working Man,” but their follow-up, Fly…
Read More »
Ramones – Ramones
When Ramones arrived in 1976, rock music had grown increasingly elaborate. Progressive rock bands filled albums with lengthy compositions, arena acts relied on massive…
Read More »
Peter Tosh – Legalize It
Introduction Peter Tosh spent years helping define reggae as one-third of The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, but Legalize It proved he…
Read More »
Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!
Released in January 1976, Peter Frampton’s blockbuster double-live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, stands as one of the most commercially successful and culturally defining live…
Read More »
Eagles – Hotel California
Released in December 1976, the Eagles’ landmark fifth studio album, Hotel California, stands as the definitive defining document of 1970s American rock, capturing the…
Read More »
Queen – A Night at the Opera
Released in November 1975, Queen’s fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera, stands as a monumental triumph of unbridled artistic ambition, opulent production,…
Read More »
Aerosmith – Toys in the Attic
Released in April 1975, Aerosmith’s third studio album, Toys in the Attic, stands as the absolute high-water mark of American hard rock, capturing a…
Read More »
Kraftwerk – Autobahn
Released in November 1974, Kraftwerk’s landmark fourth studio album, Autobahn, marks the exact historical pivot point where electronic music ceased to be a mere…
Read More »
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
Released in March 1973, Pink Floyd’s monumental eighth studio album, The Dark Side of the Moon, stands as a peerless cultural artifact that permanently…
Read More »
Lynyrd Skynyrd – (pronounced ‘leh-‘nerd ‘skin-‘nerd)
Released in August 1973, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s astonishing debut album, (pronounced ‘leh-‘nerd ‘skin-‘nerd), arrived like a thunderclap from the deep American South, permanently rewriting the…
Read More »
Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy
Released in the summer of 1973, Steely Dan’s sophomore long-player, Countdown to Ecstasy, occupies a singular, electrifying space in the band’s legendary catalog as…
Read More »
Deep Purple – Machine Head
Deep Purple’s 1972 opus, Machine Head, is more than just a collection of hard rock tracks; it is a profound historical document that captures…
Read More »
Paul McCartney and Wings – Band on the Run
Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band on the Run, released in December 1973, stands as the quintessential triumph of McCartney’s post-Beatles career, capturing the artist…
Read More »
David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released in June 1972, stands as a defining masterwork of…
Read More »
Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill
Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy a Thrill, released in November 1972, serves as the remarkably polished debut of one of rock’s most meticulous and intellectually…
Read More »
Alice Cooper – School’s Out
Alice Cooper’s School’s Out, released in June 1972, stands as a defining masterwork of hard rock and theatrical provocation, capturing the band at the…
Read More »
Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, released in January 1972, stands as a defining masterwork of the Memphis soul sound, capturing the artist at the…
Read More »
The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.
The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St., released in May 1972, stands as a sprawling, definitive masterwork of rock-and-roll, capturing the band at the…
Read More »
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, released in May 1971, stands as a landmark masterpiece of soul music, representing a profound artistic evolution that challenged…
Read More »
Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain, which arrived in July 1971, stands as a genre-defying masterpiece that pushed the boundaries of psychedelic rock, funk, and soul into…
Read More »
David Bowie – Hunky Dory
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, which arrived in December 1971, stands as a pivotal masterwork that crystallized his artistic transformation into a shapeshifting, postmodern icon.…
Read More »
Joni Mitchell – Blue
Joni Mitchell’s Blue, which arrived in June 1971, stands as the definitive, foundational document of the singer-songwriter era, capturing an artist at the absolute…
Read More »
John Lennon – Imagine
John Lennon’s Imagine, which arrived in September 1971, stands as a defining, landmark record that helped establish the intimate, introspective singer-songwriter aesthetic that would…
Read More »
T. Rex – Electric Warrior
T. Rex’s Electric Warrior, which exploded onto the scene in September 1971, stands as the groundbreaking blueprint for glam rock, signaling a tectonic shift…
Read More »
Jethro Tull – Aqualung
Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, which arrived in March 1971, stands as a defining achievement of the progressive-rock era, capturing the band at the peak of…
Read More »
Carole King – Tapestry
Carole King’s Tapestry, which arrived in February 1971, stands as the quintessential masterwork of the singer-songwriter era, capturing an artist at the absolute zenith…
Read More »
The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East, which arrived in July 1971, stands as the definitive, legendary document of the live-performance era, capturing the…
Read More »
Isaac Hayes – Shaft
The soundtrack for Shaft, which arrived in 1971, stands as a transformative monument of soul, funk, and cinematic scoring, establishing Isaac Hayes as a…
Read More »
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, which hit the shelves in September 1970, stands as the foundational document of heavy metal, transforming the band’s blues-rock roots into…
Read More »
Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, which emerged in April 1970, stands as the definitive, revolutionary document that shattered the traditional boundaries between jazz and rock,…
Read More »
Neil Young – After the Gold Rush
Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, which arrived in September 1970, stands as a quintessential masterpiece of the singer-songwriter era, capturing an artist at…
Read More »
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Deja’ vu
Released in March 1970, Déjà Vu stands as the definitive document of the supergroup era, capturing Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at the absolute…
Read More »
Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman
Released in late 1970, Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman stands as a defining, landmark record that helped establish the intimate, introspective singer-songwriter aesthetic…
Read More »