Top 12 Classic Rock Album To Have In Your Record Collection | TRC Listening Guide
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The history of rock is anything but straight and simple. And with everyone being entitled to their own favourites, and some objectively great music, a top 11 classic rock list seems to be an impossibility. When you combine the two however, the result is full of surprises. Read on to find our recommendations!
1) The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
Is it a concept, a timeless classic or one of the singular most impactful rock albums to have been recorded? Pink Floyd’s influence in defining rock culture as we know it today cannot be understated. TDSOTM combines lyrics that outline the realities of modern life with a dynamic sound; often adding linking sound effects (cacophony of clocks in ‘Time’, coin-dropping in opening of ‘Money’). Simply, passionately, thrilling!
Notable Track: Time
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2) The Wall by Pink Floyd
It’s safe to say that members and collaborators of Pink Floyd had a certain world view and they did not shy from speaking their minds in their music. The anti-hero- Pink journeys through a miserable childhood, hollow education all the way to meaningless stardom. Littered with metaphors and flashbacks, the album is a celebration of storytelling, dynamism in sound and of course, some really great lyrics! (‘Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb/ Mother, do you think they’ll like this song?’).
Notable Track: Another Brick in the Wall
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3) IV by Led Zeppelin
Still fresh in many ways, IV is a collection of impactful, concise, and enduring sound tracks that are raw yet crafted, tight yet loose and every bit influential. On brand with the band’s aesthetic, IV will leave you wanting for more from just side one. One can expect to enjoy Page’s riffs, Bonham’s who cares? drum sound, Jones’ musicality and Plant’s crispy vocals. Await the world’s greatest guitar solo climaxing on a song that is the epitome of tease- and also our notable track!
Notable Track: Stairway to Heaven
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4) Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits
This album brings about rocking tunes, that are crafted with thought and beautifully produced. The album explores orchestral textures, with Knopfler’s guitar work being the spotlight of this solid EP. Just on side A, one will find songs like the bouncy ‘Walk of Life’ all the way to ‘Why Worry’- a song on which guitars assume the softness of a sigh. And on side B, stories about men and war primarily in a soft-toned background, undercut by electric guitars.
Notable Track: Why Worry
You can purchase this album here
5) Rumors by Fleetwood Mac
For the eerie calm it brings along with it, if Covid-19 could have background music, I’d nominate the album to be it. The band’s 11th studio album is often compared to an old friend, wherein, no matter how many times you listen to it, you will always find a new worthy discovery. The album boasts of musical chemistry and groove, with more or less, an optimistic tone to the album. A better, new world being created on the ashes of an old one.
Notable Track: The Chain
You can purchase this album here
6) Hotel California by The Eagles
If the album made you wonder if it’s by a whole new band compared to their old music, you are not alone. Gravitating more towards mainstream rock, the album was promising in terms of finally delivering on the bands existing potential: with a change in producer and personnel. The songs will take you through various themes, including the titular- with California as a metaphor for a dark world, the fleeting nature of success and human greed, all the way to even touching romantic disappointment.
Notable Track: Hotel California
You can purchase this album here
7) Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
A refreshing reimagination of what constituted recorded sound, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is an experimental, extraordinary and introduced a different understanding of rock. Orchestral climaxes and Indian musicians aside, the album is rife with brilliance: Intro to ‘Lovely Rita’, the fuzzy warm feeling of ‘With a Little Help’ and the rested playfulness of rhymes in ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’.
Notable Track: When I’m Sixty Four
You can purchase this album here
8) Private Investigations: The Best of by Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler
The best ofs-, in a way, are nothing but portraits of artists and bands, and if so- this is one of the best introductions for Mark and the band! The album boasts of inspired storytelling as was signature of Mark, with ‘Sultans’, ‘Romeo & Juliet’, ‘Walk of Life’ and of course, ‘Brothers in Arms’. That’s not all though- with ‘Calling Elvis’, ‘Sailing to Philadelphia’ make it well rounded with (sonic) soul and memory.
Notable Track: Brothers in Arms
You can purchase this album here
9) The Velvet Underground and Nico
Gestalt rock and roll, this album, because it brings with itself a range of tunes. Its an album as influential as any to glam, punk, new wave music…you name it. Dreamy pop ‘Sunday Morning’ to the under stated love song ‘I’ll be your mirror’, one may wonder if it was Andy Warhol’s production that fostered the creativity of this album.
Notable Track: There She Goes Again
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10) The Doors by The Doors
Don’t buy this just for ‘Light my Fire’ because it comes packed with some of the band’s best songs like ‘End of the Night’ and ‘The Crystal Ship’ too. This album is a compilation of the best by an impressive band that fused rock, blues, classical, jazz and poetry with a knockout punch! The music provides an apt backdrop to Jim Morrison’s vocals, melodic and dynamic throughout.
Notable Track: Light My Fire
You can purchase this album here
11) Abbey Road by The Beatles (Anniversary)
"And in the end/the love you take/is equal to the love you make" felt like goodbye but thankfully it was not! Abbey Road is distinct from their other work- it is emotionally mature, the joy in “Here Comes the Sun”, the never seen before sensuality in “Because”, make this another album that is far more colourful when its altogether than it’s individual parts.
Notable Track: Come Together
You can purchase this album here
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