Photo Credit: HBO
Originally I was going to post something about the new HBO
series Vinyl. It’s a show about the
record business that takes place during the early 70s and it has an impeccable pedigree
thanks to a stellar set of producers that includes Martin Scorsese, Mick
Jagger, and Terence Winter. Yet it’s not nearly as good as I hoped it would be.
None of the characters are particularly likable and the pacing of several of
the episodes is a mess. I planned to write all about it but one of my favorite
authors beat me to the punch here. His complaints don’t exactly mirror mine,
but that’s what I get for watching it on DVR. Writing about it in detail now
feels even more unnecessary than my normal blather. So rather than subject you
to that rambling, I’m giving you my list of the best 40 rock albums of the past
40 years instead. The list is probably just as uneven and ultimately as disheartening
as the show, but they have something else in common. They both remind us in
stark detail that rock is dead. I had a really tough time narrowing my choices
down to 40, but the kicker is that the newest of them was released in 1997. Vinyl at least tries to take us back to
that magical time when rock was amazing and inventive, full of fire and passion.
The record business now? Well I hope you like pop music. That’s about all we’ve
got.
To clarify my criteria for this list, my definition of rock
may be a bit subjective, but it’s probably similar to Gene Simmons’ recent rant
about the induction of N.W.A. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rock isn’t Bob
Marley and the Wailers, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, Elton John, Billy Joel, Public
Enemy, Prince, or Michael Jackson. I enjoy those acts as much as the next guy,
but I don’t consider them rock. I also didn’t include any live albums or
greatest hits collections. These are all studio albums released since 1976.
That also means the list doesn’t include some of history’s best rock bands. The
Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors were done and gone while Led Zeppelin and
the Who were but faint shadows of their former selves. So with all of that
said, here we go…
40. Mama Said (1991)
by Lenny Kravitz – Kravitz has produced several good discs, but his sophomore effort is his best. It includes standout tracks like “It
Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over”, “Stop Draggin’ Around” and my favorite, “Always on
the Run” featuring Slash on guitar.
39. Shake Your Money Maker (1990) by The Black Crowes – This is throwback bluesy Southern rock done right. The Robinson brothers and company's debut album delivered a great package of songs including hits like "Twice As Hard", "Jealous Again", "Hard to Handle", and the ballad "She Talks to Angels".
38. Rebel Yell (1983)
by Billy Idol – The platinum-haired rocker’s second and most successful album,
this disc received heavy airplay on the radio and MTV and it features hits
including the title track, “Eyes Without a Face”, and “Flesh for Fantasy”.
37. Dreamboat Annie
(1976) by Heart – Anne and Nancy Wilson may have sold more records with the 80s
pop version of this band, but their debut album featured two of their best rock
and rollers, “Magic Man” and “Crazy On You”.
36. Tattoo You (1981)
by The Rolling Stones – The 18th album by The Rolling Stones is
definitely not one of their best. Those spots are reserved for their earlier
work. But this is the last Stones disc to go #1 and it includes the classics
“Start Me Up” and “I’m Just Waiting on a Friend”.
35. London Calling
(1979) by The Clash – The third disc from this seminal English punk band, this
album focuses on their anger toward the social injustices that plagued England
at the time and it’s often voted by music critics as one of the best albums of
all time.
34. Slowhand (1977)
by Eric Clapton – Clapton’s long career includes a ton of great songs but this
album gave us the classics “Cocaine”, “Lay Down Sally” and “Wonderful Tonight”
which lands it, out of all of his efforts, on this list.
33. The Colour and the
Shape (1997) by Foo Fighters- The most recent album on this list, the Foo
Fighters are still making great music today, but their second disc is my
favorite. It includes the songs “Monkey Wrench”, “My Hero”, and “Everlong”.
32. Get a Grip (1993)
by Aerosmith – This Grammy-winning collection of hits includes “Livin on the
Edge”, “Cryin”, and “Amazing” amongst other singles and proved Aerosmith’s 80s
comeback wasn’t going to be short-lived.
31. The Long Run
(1979) by The Eagles – For a band that rarely received critical praise, these
guys were awfully good. This disc includes the title track, “Heartache
Tonight”, “In the City”, “I Can’t Tell You Why” and one of my favorites, “Those
Shoes”.
30. Pyromania (1983)
by Def Leppard – Producer “Mutt” Lange added the polish that took a young
hard-rocking band and turned them into chart-topping superstars. This album
includes the hits “Photograph”, “Rock of Ages”, “Foolin”, and “Too Late for
Love”.
29. Superunknown
(1994) by Soundgarden – Soundgarden’s Grammy-nominated breakthrough album
includes the hits “Fell on Black Days”, “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman” and
served as an introduction of the band’s complex sound and lead singer Chris
Cornell’s fantastic voice to the masses.
28. Achtung Baby
(1991) by U2 – After developing a reputation for being overly earnest, U2
released this Grammy-winning disc that showed they knew how to lighten up when
the situation called for it too. It includes the songs “Mysterious Ways”, “One”,
“The Fly”, and “Even Better Than the Real Thing”.
27. Use Your Illusion I
(1991) by Guns N Roses – One half of the band’s output in 1991, this is the
stronger of those two efforts. It includes their version of “Live and Let Die”,
other hits “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain” as well as one of my personal
favorites, “Dust N’ Bones”.
26. The Downward Spiral
(1994) by Nine Inch Nails – Industrial-rocker Trent Reznor brilliantly delves
into the darkness of depression and drug abuse on this disc that includes the
songs “March of the Pigs”, “Closer”, and “Piggy”.
25. Pump (1989) by
Aerosmith – Steven Tyler and Co.’s best album since Toys in the Attic, this one includes “Love in an Elevator”,
“F.I.N.E.”, and their Grammy-winning song about the controversial topics of
incest and murder, “Janie’s Got a Gun”.
24. Dr. Feelgood
(1989) by Motley Crue – The Crue’s best album and the last before they took a
hard slide into mediocrity, this disc includes standouts like the title track,
“Kickstart My Heart”, and “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)”.
23. Dirt (1992) by
Alice in Chains – Featuring songs about depression, death, war, and drug abuse,
this dark album is nevertheless the band’s top selling disc to date and it
spawned the singles “Would?”, “Them Bones”, “Rooster”, “Down in a Hole” and
“Angry Chair”.
22. Document (1987)
by R.E.M. – Georgia natives R.E.M. churned out several great albums both before
and after they went mainstream, but their last effort on the indie label I.R.S.
Records is my favorite. It includes the songs “It’s the End of the World as We
Know It (And I Feel Fine)”, “Finest Worksong”, and “The One I Love”.
21. Full Moon Fever
(1989) by Tom Petty – Petty’s first solo album includes contributions by such
standouts as Jeff Lynne, Mike Campbell, and George Harrison and it raised the
bar on an already stellar career. The disc includes the singles “I Won’t Back
Down”, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, and “Free Fallin”.
20. 4 (1981) by
Foreigner – Another "Mutt" Lange production, 4
was the #1 album on the Billboard chart for 10 weeks. This disc features
“Waiting for a Girl Like You”, “Urgent”, and my all-time favorite of theirs,
“Jukebox Hero”.
19. The Game (1980)
by Queen – Queen had a ton of hits over the course of their long career before
lead singer Freddy Mercury’s early demise. This album includes the title track,
“Another One Bites the Dust”, and the classic, “Crazy Little Thing Called
Love”.
18. Escape (1981) by
Journey – Known as much for their love songs as they are for their rockers,
Journey’s best album features some of both. Escape
includes “Stone in Love”, “Don’t Stop Believin”, “Open Arms”, and “Who’s Crying
Now”.
17. Core (1992) by
Stone Temple Pilots – STP’s debut album came out when I was still in college
and it immediately blew me away. “Sex Type Thing” was the first song I heard
and I loved it. “Plush”, “Dead & Bloated”, and “Wicked Garden” soon
followed and I’ve been a massive fan ever since.
16. Siamese Dream
(1993) by Smashing Pumpkins – The Pumpkins’ masterpiece that introduced them to
a mass audience and solidified their status as one of the greatest bands of the
decade. The album includes the songs “Cherub Rock”, “Today”, “Disarm”, and
“Rocket”.
15. Nevermind (1991)
by Nirvana – Often blamed for the demise of classic rock in favor of grunge,
the impact of this album was huge. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “In Bloom”,
“Lithium”, and “Come As You Are” ushered in a change in musical taste and made
the late Kurt Cobain a legend.
14. Born in the U.S.A.
(1984) by Bruce Springsteen – The Boss has made several solid records, but this
is the one that made him a mega-star. It spawned seven Top 10 singles including
the title track, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Cover Me”, Glory Days”, and “I’m on
Fire”.
13. The Cars (1978)
by The Cars – This debut album includes more hits than many bands have in an
entire career. Songs on the disc include “Good Times Roll”, “My Best Friend’s
Girl”, “Just What I Needed”, “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”, and “Moving in
Stereo”.
12. Boston (1976) by
Boston – Seven of the eight tracks on this massive-selling disc are on almost
constant classic rock radio rotation even today. Those songs include “More Than
a Feeling”, “Peace of Mind”, “Foreplay/Long Time”, “Rock & Roll Band”, and
“Smokin”.
11. Hysteria (1987)
by Def Leppard – This is the first album to feature drummer Rick Allen after he
lost an arm in a car crash, and the last to feature lead guitarist Steve Clark.
Producer “Mutt” Lange came through yet again. This disc contains a slew of hits
including “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Animal”, “Rocket”, “Women”, “Armageddon
It”, and the title track.
10. Metallica (1991)
by Metallica – While some of the band’s earliest fans might call this album a
sellout, I still call it their very best. By slowing down their tempo,
Metallica turned their metal sound into great songs like “Enter Sandman”,
“Wherever I May Roam”, “Sad but True”, “The Unforgiven”, and “Nothing Else
Matters”.
9. Hotel California
(1976) by The Eagles – The Eagles lost bassist Randy Meisner, added guitarist
Joe Walsh, and just kept getting better. For me, this is The Eagles' best album
and best song (the title track). The disc also includes great tunes like “Life
in the Fast Lane”, “Victim of Love”, “Wasted Time”, and “New Kid in Town”.
8. 1984 (1984) by
Van Halen – The original lineup of Van Halen already had a cult following of
hard rock fans, but 1984 marked the
start of a more radio-friendly sound courtesy of Eddie Van Halen’s synthesizer
chops and it gave them their biggest selling album. “Jump”, “Panama”, “Hot for
Teacher” and “I’ll Wait” were all big hits. Too bad David Lee Roth and the rest
of the band went their separate ways immediately afterward.
7. The Joshua Tree
(1987) by U2 – U2 has released several great albums, but this is their best. Inspired
by what this Irish band experienced while heavily touring America, this disc
went on to win the Grammy for Album of
the Year and it includes the hits “With or Without You”, “Where the Streets
Have No Name”, and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”.
6. The Wall (1979)
by Pink Floyd – This was an instant classic and the last Floyd album to feature
Roger Waters. A concept album about personal isolation that also became a cult
movie and a hugely successful stage show, the disc includes the hits “Another
Brick in the Wall (Part II)”, “Hey You”, “Comfortably Numb”, and “Run Like
Hell”.
5. Moving Pictures
(1981) by Rush – Every music geek that was at least 10 years old when this
album was released in 1981 must air drum to Neil Peart’s amazing solos on this
album whenever they hear it. It’s a rule. Songs include “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”,
“Red Barchetta”, “Vital Signs”, and the instrumental, “YYZ”.
4. Back in Black
(1980) by AC/DC – Yet another “Mutt” Lange produced album (see a trend here?) this
is the first to feature lead singer Brian Johnson who took over after the death
of Bon Scott. It remains one of the best-selling albums of all-time and it
includes the title track, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, “Hells Bells”, and “Rock
and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”.
3. Purple (1994) by Stone
Temple Pilots – It’s hard to top STP’s initial album, but the band did with
this sophomore effort. While plenty of people will disagree with me ranking
this one so high, I like every song on the disc including the well-known hits “Vasoline”,
“Big Empty”, and “Interstate Love Song”. This collection of songs saw Scott
Weiland, the DeLeo brothers, and Eric Kretz at the height of their powers and I
never get tired of listening to them.
2. Van Halen (1978)
by Van Halen – Van Halen’s long career started with this disc of pure
hard-driving rock and roll. Featuring Eddie’s outstanding guitar work and
Diamond Dave’s lead singer swagger, it includes the classics “Runnin’ with the
Devil”, Jamie’s Cryin’”, “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”, their cover of “You Really
Got Me” and the blistering instrumental “Eruption”.
1. Appetite for
Destruction (1987) by Guns N Roses – And finally, the best rock album of
the past 40 years, Guns N Roses’ debut Appetite
for Destruction. “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, “Paradise
City”, and “Mr. Brownstone” are some of the standout tracks on this disc, but
every song on the album rocks. Guns N Roses flamed out way too soon, but in the
late 80s there was no one better
Since I know plenty of readers’ response will be “But what
about…” here, in no particular order, are ten other discs that just missed the
cut.
Ten
(1991) by Pearl Jam
Crimes of Passion
(1980) by Pat Benatar
Destroyer (1976)
by Kiss
Slippery When Wet
(1986) by Bon Jovi
The Ramones
(1976) by The Ramones
Don’t Say No (1981)
by Billy Squier
Whitesnake (1987)
by Whitesnake
5150 (1986) by
Van Halen
Vivid (1988) by
Living Colour
Eliminator (1983)
by ZZ Top
