Essential Classic Rock Albums of the '70s

The Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out
I'm probably going to get yelled at for not going with Exile on Main St. or Sticky Fingers here, but if you're not sick of seeing those albums top whatever rock list people throw at you, well you can go tell the KGB, comrade. Culled from the fateful 1969 U.S. tour that ended in chaos, tragedy and a sea of frightened hippies at Altamont, Ya-Ya's is just one of the best live albums ever. Starring new guitarist Mick Taylor and the ever-exciting Charlie Watts, the band churns through disgusting Chuck Berry covers, personal bests and odes to underage groupies that cannot be played loud enough. — Mike McGuirk

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James Gang, Rides Again
Combining hard biker boogie with country rock space-outs, Rides Again is an overlooked gem of early '70s hard rock. Although Joe Walsh would go on to greater recognition as both a solo artist and a member of the Eagles, he would never again reach the heights he attains here. Not only does he drop consistently hot licks, the dude doesn't act like a goofball the whole time. People bought the album for "Funk #49," but "The Bomber" rules. — M.M.

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Faces, A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse
Between "Last Orders Please," "Debris" and "You're So Rude," Ronnie Lane's pained voice and astonishing talent for detailing lost love stand among the finest moments that '70s music has to offer. Featuring the Faces' lone stateside hit ("Stay With Me") and several more songs where Rod Stewart practically sings his eyebrows off, A Nod Is As Good As a Wink is the place for any fan of rock 'n' roll music to get their ya-yas out. — M.M.

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Pink Floyd, Meddle
Released in 1971, Meddle stands as one of Floyd's most satisfying records, the first to combine truly spaced-out rock with strong commercial appeal. Highlights are the horror-comic opening cut; a 20-minute excursion into "Across the Universe" titled "Echoes"; and what is perhaps the band's finest moment, "Fearless." — M.M.

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ZZ Top, Tres Hombres
Don't stop at "La Grange" -- "Move Me On Down the Line" is one of the Stones-iest tunes ever, "Master of Sparks" is like Metallica with Tejano guitars that bubble up into your right ear, and "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers" is self-explanatory. Billy Gibbons plays like his beard's on fire throughout. — M.M.

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Neil Young, Tonight's The Night
Recorded when Young was in a very, very dark place -- touring in support of a successful album shortly after both bandmate Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry OD'd -- Tonight's the Night is one of the most emotionally ravaged records of all time. Even the title cut "single" is disturbing. Music this real just doesn't make it to the general public very often. — M.M.

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Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
Rumours catapulted Fleetwood Mac to the top of the charts throughout all of 1977, with songs such as "Go Your Own Way," "You Make Loving Fun," "Dreams" and "Don't Stop" comprising many of the band's stunning, career-defining moments. Without a doubt, Rumours is the must-have Fleetwood Mac album for fans and novices alike. — Linda Ryan

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The Flamin' Groovies, Teenage Head
Legendarily called a better record than Sticky Fingers by the Stones themselves, Teenage Head is one of the few moments when everything came together for this doomed band. They refrained from punching each other just long enough to get it recorded, and you can get through almost the entire album before the consistency goes out the window and they're tossing some crappy six-minute cover of a '50s song recorded at 5 A.M. in your face. "High Flyin' Baby" hits on Captain Beefheart, "Whiskey Woman" sounds fantastic coming out of a jukebox and "Yesterday's Numbers" is just brilliant. — M.M.

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Heart, Little Queen
The blueprint chug of the guitars along with Ann Wilson's Plant-ish vocal parrying mark "Barracuda" as one of the all-time great rock/early metal songs. The rest of Little Queen finds Heart cementing their rep as the most Zeppelin-y band of all time, effortlessly moving from rock to tree-worshipping folk-rock to FM balladry. "Say Hello" is as good as any Kenny Loggins song, but it's the Ren-faire joust-wench outfits Ann and Nancy Wilson are wearing on the cover that really push this one over the top. — M.M.

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Derek And The Dominoes, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
The guitar riff from "Layla" is arguably Clapton's most famous, but it's the shuffling country rock of "I Looked Away," Clapton's psychic pain (you can hear it), "Bell Bottom Blues," and Duane Allman that make this record the touchstone that it is. Just stay away from the blues standards and be careful not to overlook "I Am Yours." — M.M.

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The Pretty Things, Parachute
It is almost impossible to listen to Parachute and not draw comparisons to The White Album and Abbey Road, as it came on the heels of those albums and exhibits similar vocal harmonies and connected songlets. The main difference is that the way "She Was Tall, She Was High" explodes in your ears and the phenomenon of "Sickle Clowns," "She's a Lover" and "What's the Use" forming 11 minutes of total sonic nirvana are not things everyone has heard a million times over. For newcomers, this 1970 masterpiece will be nothing short of a revelation. — M.M.

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Van Halen, Van Halen
Van Halen delivered one hell of a debut in 1978. The album not only put the band on the map, but it also raised the bar for rock groups in general. Most of the songs on Van Halen are still staples of FM radio, including "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Jamie's Cryin'," and "Runnin' with the Devil." A true rock classic. — L.R.

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Queen, A Night At The Opera
Generally considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time, A Night at the Opera features an overlaying of heavy metal, genius stereo gimmickry, Broadway swish and British pomp that's as vital and riveting to listen to today as when the album was released in 1975 (and went triple platinum). "Bohemian Rhapsody" is beyond unique, but so is the zillion-angel chorus that provides Freddie Mercury's backing vocals and the instantly identifiable warble of Brian May's guitar. "Sweet Lady," "Death on Two Legs," "I'm in Love with My Car" -- these are some of Queen's absolute best songs. — M.M.

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Alice Cooper, Love It To Death
The fact that "I'm Eighteen" is on here makes it one of the landmark records of the 1970s, but toss in "Hallowed Be My Name," the admittedly cartoonish but still awesome "Ballad of Dwight Fry" and "Is It My Body" and it only gets better. Most importantly, "Caught in a Dream" shows how much smarter Vincent Damon Furnier was than anyone gave him credit for at the time. — M.M.

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The Kinks, Muswell Hillbillies
The finest Kinks album of the 1970s offers alternately wistful, humorous and melancholic views on modern life. The album's title describes its English-pub-rock-played-by-folks-from-West-Virginia sound -- which might have been the birth of alt country, but the Kinks were always too smart to be pigeonholed. — M.M.

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The Grateful Dead, Workingman's Dead
After almost falling off the edge of their own psychedelic planet, the Grateful Dead rode off into the sunset, venturing into the high lonesome sound of country rock. More high than lonesome, Workingman's garnered two radio hits with the bouncy, folkie "Uncle John's Band" and the country-funk strut of "Casey Jones." — Eric Shea

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Cheap Trick, Live At Budokan
The 1979 album Live at Budokan broke Cheap Trick in the U.S., crashing the charts with all the muscle-bound heaviness and pure exuberance that had been missing from their studio efforts. The first two cuts exhibit some of the greatest fist-in-the-air rock moments ever captured on tape. And that's before "Surrender." — M.M.

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Bob Dylan, Desire
This was recorded before Dylan embarked on the crazed, legendary Rolling Thunder Revue, a tour in which he took about 20 musicians all over the U.S. "Hurricane," the story of framed prizefighter Rubin Carter, is one of Dylan's biggest hits, but "Isis" is the one on this album you need to listen to until your ears fall off. — M.M.

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Bruce Springsteen, Born To Run
Born to Run was very much a do-or-die effort for Springsteen, and perhaps that's why it has such a bitter quality to it. This time out, the Boss succeeded in capturing a sound big enough to match the epic, cinematic quality of his lyrics. Springsteen has such a rich and varied career; songs such as "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" are some of his finest moments. — L.R.

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David Bowie, Low
Bowie fled from fame, cocaine-induced madness and America to make the first of his celebrated Berlin albums. The fragmented lyrics, detached vocals and big, spare drum sounds first heard here later became the signature style of the 1980s. The album's highlight is the half-instrumental "Sound and Vision," which luxuriates in the heavenly sphere inhabited by music, not man. — Nick Dedina