Last Updated on December 30, 2025 by Christian Adams
Comparatively speaking, 1975–1976 is a dead zone for Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. There are almost as many Suggested Alternatives as legitimate selections. Overall, ’75 has more good stuff happening—not by a wide margin—but it’s a shady part of town, and we’re going to roll through most of the stop signs in the neighborhood.
Do the names Robin Trower, Camel, Armageddon, Black Oak Arkansas, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Rick Derringer, Elf, Trooper, Skyhooks, Man, Angel, Dr. Hook, Tavares, Pablo Cruise, or the Strawbs mean anything to you? No? Excellent. Let’s keep it that way. You’re much, much better off.
Moreover, 1975 welcomed the emergence and ultimate triumph of adult contemporary, i.e., soft rock, which was the worst thing to happen in music since Frank Sinatra picked up a microphone. All kidding aside. The most toxic, insidious element of soft rock is its purest strength: a melody so catchy it can’t be denied, and it shows up at the most inopportune time. Today, we call them “earworms.” I don’t remember what they were called in 1975 except “Top 10 hits.”
Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 Singles of 1975
- “Love Will Keep Us Together” – The Captain and Tennille
- “Rhinestone Cowboy” – Glen Campbell
- “Philadelphia Freedom” – Elton John
- “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” – Freddy Fender
- “My Eyes Adored You” – Frankie Valli
- “Shining Star” – Earth, Wind & Fire
- “Fame” – David Bowie
- “Laughter In The Rain” – Neil Sedaka
- “One Of These Nights” – Eagles
- “Thank God I’m A Country Boy”- John Denver
The top 5 songs are bona fide soft rock, no question, with “Cowboy” and “Teardrop” being on the mellow country tip. “Shining Star” is straight-up disco. “Fame” is trippy, but still pretty spreadable and creamy. Neil Sedaka and John Denver meant well. “One of These Nights” is country disco. At any rate, all of the above tracks are soft rock champions.
Here’s what the rest of the world was listening to:
Top 5 International Singles of 1975 (includes U.K. and European charts)
- “I Can Help” – Billy Swan
- “I’m Not In Love” – 10cc
- “Fox on the Run” – Sweet
- “Rhinestone Cowboy”
- “Paloma Blanca” – George Baker Selection
First of all, George Baker?!? The Dutch guy with that “Little Green Bag” jam in Reservoir Dogs? Have you heard “Paloma Blanca”? Holy Christ, it’s fucking insanity.
1976 wasn’t much better:
Billboard’s Hot 100 Top 10 Singles of 1976
- “Silly Love Songs” – Paul McCartney and Wings
- “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John and Kiki Dee
- “Disco Lady” – Johnnie Taylor
- “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” – The Four Seasons
- “Play That Funky Music” – Wild Cherry
- “Kiss And Say Goodbye” – Manhattans
- “Love Machine (Part 1)” – The Miracles
- “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” – Paul Simon
- “Love Is Alive” – Gary Wright
- “A Fifth of Beethoven” – Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band
Ugh, that’s a lot of bullshit on the airwaves, people. But it was even worse in Europe.
Top 5 International Singles of 1976
- “Dancing Queen” – ABBA
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
- “If You Leave Me Now” – Chicago
- “Fernando” – ABBA
- “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John and Kiki Dee
It’s bad enough to look and recognize these songs as pure garbage. It’s worse when you lived through the time they permeated the airwaves. Nowadays, I’m sure there are covens of hipsters whose ironic worship of ABBA and Paul McCartney & Wings is somehow lost on me. I hear that shit and I’m like, “Cut it. Cut it. Cut it!”
The only good thing about the period is that punk is right at our doorstep.
1001 Albums Rating Key:
- Strikethrough indicates what you probably think it does
- Green indicates highly recommended listening
- Underlined indicates questionable but ultimately acceptable record
- Blue bold italic indicates ABSOLUTELY MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE
- Also, anything in red indicates hazardous material
Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1975)
Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as the contested entry unless otherwise indicated.
Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic (1975)
I’m generally a dick when it comes to cock rock, but Aerosmith is a greatest hits band. Most of their albums have one to three standout cuts, and the rest of it…exists. Toys in the Attic is missing some earlier and later hits, but this is all the Aerosmith you’ll ever need in album form that isn’t a greatest hits collection.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Natty Dread (1975)
Another misplaced album – it was released in October 1974 – but probably the most essential Bob Marley record you could own…that isn’t a greatest hits collection.
Brian Eno – Another Green World (1975)
Another Green World is the creeper weed of Eno albums. “Nah, I’m not feeling it” and all of a sudden, you’re like, “Damn! Was that shit laced with PCP?” Welcome to art rock.
Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (1975)
Born To Run is basically the Sgt. Pepper of the singer-songwriter genre. Nobody will ever make this record again. Whether you like it or not, this album sounds like it matters from start to finish. It reminds me of a classic novel on par with Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You pick it up and you can’t put it down. If today I heard this for the first time, I’d be like, “When did Fonzie form a fuckin’ rock band?”
Curtis Mayfield – There’s No Place Like America Today (1975)
Curtis Mayfield is awesome, but Superfly (1972) is all you need, unless you’re an aficionado. Let the blasphemy continue.
David Bowie – Young Americans (1975)
Stalwart Bowie fans may spit and want to slap me, but Young Americans is not an album you must hear before you die. It just isn’t. “Fame” is the only gem, and the title track is embarrassing. The Whitest Dude on Earth has no business messing with plastic soul and paper-thin funk rock. Young Americans is second only to Black Sabbath’s Vol. 4 (1972) for how well you can hear the cocaine.
Suggested Alternative:
Leslie West – The Great Fatsby (1975)
Honestly, I’ve never made it through this album, but it always makes me smile. Fatsby is one of five contenders for Greatest Album Title and Cover of All-Time. Leslie West, formerly of Mountain, may have been a marginalized guitar player. But give Fatsby a chance! Or 15 minutes.
Dion – Born To Be With You (1975)
Produced by Phil Spector, and this time he was involved. Involved to the point where he was waving guns around and taking hostages. No, I’m just kidding. Or am I?
For the record, Dion DiMucci has repeatedly disowned, disavowed, and discredited this album; he’s called everything from “unfinished” to “unlistenable.” At the same time, this record has only ever seen the light of day because Pete Townshend and a couple of other cats raved about it. Those dudes can be wrong, too.
Suggested Alternative:
Keith Moon – Two Sides of the Moon (1975)
A very difficult album to find anymore.
Two Sides of the Moon features contributions from Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, David Bowie, Joe Walsh of The Eagles, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, Klaus Voorman, John Sebastian, Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles), Spencer Davis, Dick Dale, Suzi Quatro’s sister Patti Quatro and future actor Miguel Ferrer. It should be on your turntable. You should hear it just for the lone original song credited to Moon, Harry Nilsson, and Richard Starkey, “Together”.
Earth, Wind & Fire – That’s The Way Of The World (1975)
“Shining Star” and that’s it.
Suggested Alternative:
Thin Lizzy – Fighting (1975)
Many of my suggested alternatives (like this one) may seem counterintuitive. However, there’s a method to my reasoning. For every Earth, Wind & FIre record clogging up the 1001 Albums list, there are four or five records that could easily take its place. So, it’s not a matter of finding a “suitable replacement” for EW&F, it’s a matter of exposure for the overlooked albums. In this way, I’m saying, “The fuck are you gonna do with EW&F? Thin Lizzy is what you should be listening to.”
Emmylou Harris – Pieces of the Sky (1975)
She sings real pretty.
Joni Mitchell – The Hissing Of Summer Lawns (1975)
Maybe the first song?
Suggested Alternative:
10cc – The Original Soundtrack (1975)
Keith Jarrett – The Koln Concert (1975)
Jarrett = As much as you can stomach. It is the best-selling piano album of all-time. I have absolutely nothing to gain by being disingenuous. The only reason I bothered to listen to this record is because of a David Foster Wallace story, “Girl With Curious Hair“, which takes place almost entirely at a Keith Jarrett concert, and all of the main characters except the protagonist are on LSD.
Suggested Alternative:
Art Garfunkel – Breakaway
Nobody took the break-up of Simon & Garfunkel harder than this cat. Let’s cut the shit. Artie is my favorite vocalist of the folk rock genre, and my second favorite singer of all time. Paul Simon wrote some great songs and played a mean guitar, but he suffered when left to his own devices. Paul could sing OK, but Artie elevated “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from a folky-gospel dirge into a choir of angels descending from heaven unto earth.
Granted, Breakaway is about as soft as soft rock gets. But it’s Artie. I love him unconditionally. He is the voice of my childhood, and he’ll always get a free pass.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (1975)
According to a Rolling Stone reader’s poll, Physical Graffiti is the second most popular album among Led Zeppelin fans. Led Zeppelin IV (1971) was the clear winner. Unfortunately, Physical Graffiti is a bloated double album that would have made a killer album, singular, and they would have material leftover for their next album.
Hear me out. The album’s running time is almost 83 minutes. We need to get it down around the 45-minute mark.
Cut: “The Rover” (5:39), “In My Time of Dying” (11:08), “In the Light” (8:47), “Bron-Yr-Aur” (2:04), “Ten Years Gone” (6:34), “Night Flight” (3:38), and “Boogie with Stu” (3:52) for a reduction of roughly 42 minutes. Perfect album length!
After some crafty sequencing, you’re left with:
| Side 1 “Custard Pie” “Houses of the Holy” “Trampled Underfoot” “Down by the Seaside” Side 2 “The Wanton Song” “Black Country Woman” “Sick Again” “Kashmir” |
It’s just a thought.
Neil Young – Tonight’s The Night (1975)
On a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 = “mortal enemy” and 10 = “obsessed fanatic who’s entire identity revolves around the artist,” I’d rate myself a solid 5 on the Neil Young spectrum. I genuinely enjoy much of his work, and I’ve been in bands that played Neil Young covers. My old vinyl collection featured most of his catalog from the ’60s and ’70s, including Tonight’s the Night, which I rarely if ever played start-to-finish. Why?
Do you listen to sad music when you’re sad? I’ve never been able to ride that pony. Like, when I’m depressed, I typically reach for the first Van Halen album to shake the mood (it doesn’t always work, by the way). Tonight’s the Night is probably the most unrelenting, grief-stricken, out-of-tune, harrowing, and spooky serving of sloppy rock music ever committed to tape. I have a hard time finding a place in my life for it.
Neu! – Neu! 75 (1975)
I went through a phase in the mid-2000s when I listened to a lot of ranchero and mariachi music. Burned out from two decades of listening to nothing but rock music, I tuned all the presets on my car stereo to Spanish-language stations. Eventually, I only listened to KXZM 93.7 FM (La Kaliente), a station dedicated to regional Mexican music. Their playlist was heavy on the traditional “campesino” sounds, including plenty of norteño and ranchero classics.
At some point, I thought, “Am I listening to this because I genuinely like it or because it’s something different?” And I had to admit, it was mostly the latter. I got a real kick out of certain songs. The more “Mexican” they sounded, the more I liked ’em. But the irony started to fade, you know. Like it wasn’t funny anymore. Or not as funny as it used to be. I dunno. One day, I wiped the presets on the car stereo and went back to listening to early Rod Stewart albums at 4:00 a.m.
If you ever find yourself going through a krautrock phase, I want you to drop the needle on Neu! 75 and ask yourself the same question. Do you really like this music or is it just something different? If you like it, great! You’re gonna love Neu! 75.
Patti Smith – Horses (1975)
Holy shit, I’ve done a 180 on this album. For many years, I thought Horses was an exceedingly overrated mulch of pretentious posturing and pedestrian music. I said, “Patti Smith’s career is what happens when a coven of music critics choose to embrace some vaguely interesting bullshit just because ‘they’re from New York!'”
Time hasn’t softened me. If anything, I’ve only grown more dismissive and impatient, especially with music. I listen to Horses today, 50 years after the fact, and I think, “OK, alright… Wow. Nobody was doing this kind of shit in 1975. I guess that means I get it now.” But that doesn’t mean I like it.
Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive (1975)
This album represents the precursor to a torrent of double live LPs heading our way.
Frampton Comes Alive! is a must-hear album because it sold a shit load of copies, and hence, made an indelible impression on the music industry. It’s because of this album’s success that many more double live albums were recorded and released. But. Are there any jams on it? Maybe. Kind of. That depends primarily on your definition of jams.
Aside from three classic rock radio cuts (“Do You Feel Like We Do?”, “Baby I Love Your Way” and “Show Me the Way”), this album is 90 minutes of embarrassing choogle, from “Something’s Happening” to “Doobie Wah” and a cover of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
Suggested Alternative:
Kiss – Alive!
There used to be an ongoing discussion as to how much of this record is actually “live.” In his autobiography Kiss and Make-Up, Gene Simmons stated that very little corrective work was done in the studio. Gene Simmons is full of shit.
Somewhere along the way, producer Eddie Kramer stated that the only original live recording on the album is Peter Criss’ drum tracks. Criss has also claimed, in his 2013 autobiography Makeup to Breakup, that the only original live recordings on the album were his drum tracks.
During the program Classic Albums, the band admitted that changes had been made; vocals overdubbed; guitar solos re-recorded, etc. Even the crowd sounds were manipulated. Of course, they considered the changes minor and presented various excuses for their production decisions. In particular, they had difficulties capturing vocals due to the natural jumps, dancing, and other stage activities.
In other words, Alive! is a live album in name only. Same with Frampton Comes Alive.
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)
If you were ever going to hear me say anything good about Pink Floyd (post-Syd Barrett), it would probably have something to do with this album (or The Wall (1979)).
Queen – A Night At The Opera (1975)
One of the 10 essential progressive rock albums ever made. And it still sounds amazing, thanks to Freddie Mercury.
Rahul Dev Burman – Shalimar/College Girl (Soundtrack) (1975)
R.D. Burman is an Indian film score composer, considered one of the seminal music directors of the Indian film industry, i.e., Bollywood. You might as well listen to Amit Kumar. Or Kumar Sanu and Anauradah Paduwal or Kishmore Kumar.
Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information (1975)
Shuggie? Otis? Best two names in combination ever.
The Dictators – Go Girl Crazy! (1975)
Handsome Dick Manitoba? I’d book myself on a three-week cruise if he were the director. The Dictators are the only reason I ever cared about professional wrestling. Their cover of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” is atrocious, but “Back to Africa” is fucking hilarious.
I mean, seriously, you don’t need to hear this album all the way through. It’s amateur shit. But you should hear it because it’s a precursor to what we call punk. Kind of. The Sex Pistols are the same band with Johnny Rotten on vocals and an inferior guitar player (Steve Jones).
Tim Buckley – Greetings From L.A. (1975)
Look, I hate to belabor the issue, but when I’m scratching these records, I’m not saying you don’t need to hear Tim Buckley. You need to hear some of anybody’s work to make your own judgment. All I’m saying is that 45 minutes spent sitting through Greetings From L.A. could be better spent listening to or doing something else.
Suggested Alternatives:
Lynryd Skynyrd – Nuthin’ Fancy
Tom Waits – Nighthawks At The Diner (1975)
Nighthawks At The Diner is probably the best live album of the period.
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger (1975)
Red Headed Stranger is the Willie album to hear before he went Stardust, which also might be a must-hear album. We’ll see.
Suggested Alternative:
The Tubes – The Tubes
“White Punks on Dope” has to be the best song of 1975, hands down.
Albums You Must Hear Before You Die…Or Not (1976)
Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as the contested entry unless otherwise indicated.
ABBA – Arrival (1976)
You should hear about 30 seconds of Arrival and then slap yourself in the face as hard as possible.
Aerosmith – Rocks (1976)
Look, I know that many, many cats think this is the best Aerosmith record, and maybe the best classic rock album of the year. I think you’ll be OK if you never hear “Nobody’s Fault”, which might be the heaviest thing the band ever did, because hair metal will start to make sense.
Suggested Alternative:
Led Zeppelin – Presence (1976)
For many years, Presence was the redheaded stepchild of Zeppelin albums. It’s the band’s worst-selling album (only 3 million copies in the U.S.) and consistently ranks last in best Zeppelin album polls and surveys. However, the record slowly developed an underground cult fanbase of guys like me who think it’s the best Zeppelin album, period.
Many listeners didn’t like Presence because it doesn’t follow the same dynamic formula of previous albums. They only heard the negative space of the straightforward, guitar-based approach. No keyboards, no acoustic ballads, no Lord of the Rings references. Instead, the band delivered an honest statement of hard rock urgency.
Boston – Boston (1976)
The only reason you shouldn’t listen to this album all the way through is if you were born before 1970, or you’re under the impression that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is an original song. That said, it contains virtually all of Boston’s best cuts and in some way could be considered a greatest hits collection.
If You’re Feeling Fruity Suggested Alternative:
Steve Miller Band – Fly Like an Eagle (1976)
Kinda surprised that Fry Rike Regal isn’t among the must-hear albums. But then, after sitting through it again, I’m not surprised.
David Bowie – Station To Station (1976)
This album doesn’t completely suck, proving that Young Americans was only an aberration in Bowie’s discography. But it’s also another cocaine record. The eight-ball is yours to take, or not.
Joan Armatrading – Joan Armatrading (1976)
During an early record-buying excursion in the vicinity of Wicker Park, I wound up in Reckless Records, where I scoured the cut-out bins for hidden gems. So I went up to the counter with this Joan Armatrading record and approached the clerk (or the owner, I dunno), this tall, long-haired, hefty cat who I’d seen working sound tech at Cabaret Metro, I can’t remember his name. I want to say Gus, but…anyway. Me and this cat had a vague acquaintance, and I had asked his opinion before.
“What do you know about this?” I asked, setting the LP on the counter.
Gus picked up the record, raised it to chin height, and let it fall flat back on to the counter. “What do I know about it? I know that you’re not buying it.”
“OK. But what? I was under the impression she was like the black Joni Mitchell.”
“Well, you were wrong. Are you familiar with Tracy Chapman?”
“Yes. ‘Fast Car’.”
“Hootie and the Blowfish?”
“…”
“I’m not selling you this record.”
“O…K…”
Back to the cut-out bins.
Suggested Alternative:
Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak (1976)
Joni Mitchell – Hejira (1976)
While almost everyone else was running headlong from anything remotely related to jazz or jazz fusion, Joni Mitchell slowly but surely found her inner sophisticated lounge singer. I don’t think it’s tragic or anything. “Coyote” gets me in the mood to make kitten paws. Then I hear the lyrics. Oh, the coyote is a married man, and she bangs him. Nice.
Mitchell has one must-hear album, and this ain’t it.
Suggested Alternative:
Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Everybody talks about Rumours (1977) being the great touchstone of the 1970s, but if I’m forced to listen to this band, I’m going with this one.
Jorge Ben – Africa Brasil (1976)
I’ve never heard of Jorge Ben, and I’ve never knowingly heard a note of his music. And as easy as it would have been to Google the fucker and sample a jam or two, I’m not going to do it.
Suggested Alternative:
Black Sabbath – Sabotage
A personal favorite.
Kiss – Destroyer (1976)
Destroyer contained a massive hit single named after a woman who happened to share the name of my adopted sister. If it had only contained “Rock n’ Roll All Nite”, Destroyer could have completely explained the Kiss phenomenon. It’s not their worst record by a time zone. Anyway, in 1976, they also put out Rock and Roll Over, which contains my favorite Kiss song, “Calling Dr. Love”—by far the Greatest Moment in Cowbell History—and would be my one Must Sit Through Kiss Studio Album.
Parliament – Mothership Connection (1976)
Can someone explain why it’s easy to find Parliament music online, but you gotta dig for Funkadelic?
Peter Tosh – Legalize It (1976)
Look, I’m about as pro-ganja as you can get, but I’m telling you the title song is the only jam on Legalize It. The rest is forgettable at best.
Suggested Alternative:
The Residents – Third Reich and Roll
I’m not going to spoil it for you. Just click your way to The Residents.
Ramones – Ramones (1976)
Come on. Ya gotta.
Rush – 2112 (1976)
The first handful of Rush records are pretty sketchy, but fun. 2112 is when they put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Side one is composed of the seven-part title track suite. Side two contains some of Rush’s best material to date, including “Twilight Zone” and “A Passage to Bangkok”, which was pretty smart on their behalf, because a continuation of the 2112 theme might have worn a little thin.
Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Deep breath. OK. I love Stevie Wonder. At several times in my life, the only thing I listened to was Stevie Wonder. I have listened to all four sides, plus the EP of Songs In the Key of Life, more times than anyone can count. You need to hear about half of this Double Album Syndrome, and the rest can he perused at another time.
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