My 15 Essential Rock Albums
Here are 15 rock albums, listed alphabetically, that deserve a place in any music lover's collection. This compilation isn't a ranking of the greatest albums ever nor a reflection of my favorites (each artist is intentionally featured only once). However, if you haven't experienced any of these albums yet, I highly suggest listening to them.
The list is organized alphabetically:
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995)
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966)
The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
Billy Joel: The Stranger (1977)
David Bowie: Hunky Dory (1971)
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors (1975)
Garbage: Garbage (1995)
Guns N’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Led Zeppelin: II (1969)
Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
Prince: Purple Rain (1999)
Run-DMC: Raising Hell (1986)
Rush: Permanent Waves (1980)
Soundgarden: Superunknown (1994)
Stevie Wonder: Inversions (1973)
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995)
Before Jagged Little Pill, songs and voices of angry women existed. Still, Alanis Morissette took it to another level of emotion and edge by sharing personal stories of breakups, frustration, mental wellness, sexual harassment in the record industry, and the guilt she felt growing up Catholic, as in the song “Forgiven.”
Her anger comes out most in “You Oughta Know,” but other more peppy songs are equally rooted in frustration and anxiety.
This album, which reached number one on the US Billboard for 12 weeks, produced six singles, was the year’s top-selling album and won several Grammy awards. Alanis inspired the next wave of female vocalists.
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966)
Pet Sounds is recognized as the first rock album to unite coherent narratives and themes rather than randomly combining songs. It changed the game and the pressure and stress of equaling its greatness again almost destroyed founder Brian Wilson’s health.
Ironically, when it was released, it received mixed reviews and barely broke the top 10 in sales for the year. Now, it is ranked in the top three of almost every rock all-time list.
The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
Some argue that Revolver or Sg. Pepper is better, but not for me. This was the last album the group recorded (although Let It Be was released afterward).
The sessions were fraught with conflict and bickering, but somehow, they brought out the best. It contains “Come Together,” possibly the first heavy metal song in “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” the cheerful George Harrison hit “Here Comes the Sun,” and the trio of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” that summed up the group’s breakup.
Many critics initially considered it a gimmick album due to the added production sounds and not a worthy Beatles entry. Now, they can’t rave enough. Critics.
Billy Joel: The Stranger (1977)
Despite being one of the top-selling music artists of all time, with over 91M in album sales (more than The Beach Boys), Joel continues to be hit or miss with critics. Regardless, marginalizing him is a mistake, and The Stranger was his transformation into a superstar.
It reached #2 on US Billboard, won Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year, and contains the classic “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” which is three songs transformed into one eight-minute masterpiece about two people who were the rage in high school but ended up getting divorced as life happened.
David Bowie: Hunky Dory (1971)
Despite being recognized as a musical genius and the most talented rock artist of the 1970s, it seems few know anything about him. If they want to learn, Hunky Dory is where to start.
Bowie’s fourth album was composed on piano rather than guitar, leading to a more melodic and softer sound than previous albums, and it resonated with listeners.
The lyrics are, well, classic Bowie, with a plethora of cultural and literary references. The album opens with “Changes,” a song that perhaps defined Bowie. “Life On Mars” was also released. It never reached higher than 57 on the US Billboard.
Fleetwood Mac: Rumors (1975)
Rumors had four hits, and the album went to #1 and sold 40 million units (it is in the top 10 all-time).
What made Rumors different from other albums with huge pop success (Def Leppard's Hysteria, AC/DC’s Back in Black, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, etc.) was the knowledge to the listener that the drama and pain described in the songs were the band members talking about each other, as two were married, two were dating, and all of them were doing things they shouldn’t be. The decision to remove Stevie Nicks’ “Silent Springs” from the album at the last minute led to her leaving the group.
It includes “Go Your Own Way,” “Dreams,” “Don’t Stop,” and the group-composed anthem to betrayal, “The Chain.”
Garbage: Garbage (1995)
What happens when you take three guys from Wisconsin and front them with a red-headed Scottish woman with an attitude? You get Garbage, an alt-rock group that gave music fans an alternative to e pop and grunge that dominated the radio in the 1990s.
Five songs from the album were released, including Only Happy When It Rains, but the others are just as good.
The album reached #20 on the US Billboard 200 and #1 on the US Rock & Metal Albums chart.
Guns N’ Roses: Appetite for Destruction (1987)
Appetite for Destruction was initially not well-received. Radio stations did not want to play "Welcome to the Jungle," and MTV did not want to air the music video. The album sold only 200k copies in the first seven months.
But GNR toured and built their audience, and a year later, it reached the charts and became the most successful debut album of the 1990s, with five singles and reaching #1. It is now the 7th highest-selling album of all time in the US.
Ironically, the reasons it took forever to stick are the reasons it is considered essential today: unrefined song production, Axel Rose’s raspy voice, 70s-style rebellion with bluesy guitar riffs, and unapologetic references to sex and drugs that marked a shift away from the hair metal bands commercialized by MTV.
Led Zeppelin: II (1969)
Led Zeppelin II was not well-received by critics but has since been regarded as essentially inventing metal.
With songs like "Whole Lotta Love,” Zeppelin created the concept of a song having a guitar-based riff and hook (rather than the vocal chorus or verses being the focus). Jimmy Page's guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" influenced every rock guitarist that followed.
Robert Plant is one of the best vocalists of all time. Page is one of the greatest guitarists, ranking in the top three. John Bonham is often considered the greatest drummer and John Paul Jones ranks high on the list of all-time best rock bassists.
What does it all mean? Greatest rock group? Biggest rock influence? Greatest album? Many say yes to all three.
Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
Critics largely ignored them, and many gave meh reviews, but to Gen X, they represent a changing of the guard and a new voice previously ignored, and their fans propped the album to #1 on the US Billboard.
Though some might argue whether a band that released only three studio albums and was only active for three years deserves all the legacy accolades Nirvana receives over acts that did far more for much longer, the fact remains that Nevermind has secured its place in history.
Prince: Purple Rain (1984)
Released in tandem with the film of the same name (that starred Prince), Purple Rain was initially just a soundtrack, but now it stands as Prince’s most cohesive and accessible album.
Purple Rain contained five hit singles, including two singles that reached #1 (“When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”) and “Purple Rain,” which reached #2. The album was #1, winning multiple Grammy Awards and an Oscar for Best Original Song Score.
The album is known for its innovative and experimental aspects. Its best song, “When Doves Cry,” doesn’t have a bass line (Prince removed it after hearing the original sessions). Purple Rain combines rock and R&B to create a unique sound that is still mainstream pop but different from the other albums of the '80s.
Run-DMC: Raising Hell (1986)
Raising Hell is considered one of the most critical moments in the history of hip-hop music.
Before this album, rap was primarily limited in its reach and was ignored by mainstream critics and producers (for example, Run-DMC was the only rap act on Live Aid, a major benefits concert in 1985 with over 70 acts). Raising Hell made rap cool and mainstream, and “Walk this Way” was the first hip-hop song to reach the top 5 of the US Billboard 100.
Four singles were released from the album, which made it to #3 on the US Billboard 200.
It was a tipping point for hip hop, starting in the late 1980s and continuing through the late 1990s, when the genre grew in visibility and dominated much of popular culture.
Rush: Permanent Waves (1980)
Never liked by critics or played much on the radio, Rush managed to last 40 years anyway and have 19 studio albums due to a crazy amount of touring and building a fan base that stayed with them until the end. Rush is one of the 100 top-selling musical acts of all time.
Not everyone agrees on their best work, but Permanent Waves has songs like “Jacob’s Ladder,” with its multiple time signatures and ominous tone, as well as consumer-friendly hits like “Spirit of Radio” and “Freewill.”
It reached #4 on the US Billboard 200.
Soundgarden: Superunknown (1994)
Called the "Led Zeppelin of the Nineties,” Soundgarden was a heavy-metal band initially. It took its unorthodox guitar tuning and time signature changes to create a sound unique from other grunge acts that were more punk and mainstream.
Superunknown released five singles that made the top 15 (three reached the top 5, and “Black Hole Sun” was #1 for seven weeks). The album reached #1 on the US Billboard 200 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Album.
Kurt Cobain said Soundgarden influenced him and Nirvana. If you are tremendous AND influence greatness, you get on the list of essential albums.
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (1973)
Many people, including Wonder himself, feel Songs in the Key of Life from 1976 is his signature album, and I wouldn’t argue against that. Still, Songs was a double-album LP with a four-song bonus EP totaling 104 minutes vs. 43 minutes, so it feels like apples and oranges. Regardless, I (and a few others) think Innervisions is better from top to bottom.
With Innervisions, Wonder offered a landmark fusion of social and spiritual commentary, from racism to Nixon, bringing gospel, rock, soul, jazz and funk to his synth-based keyboards.
“Innervisions gives my own perspective on what’s happening in my world,” Wonder said. “I think it is my most personal album. I don’t care if it sells only five copies.”
It sold more than five. Four singles were released, with “Higher Ground” reaching #4.