Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life won 1976. Let's see who wins 1977. An absolutely insane year with two of the best albums from two of my favorite musicians ever. Billboard chart-topping albums of 1977: Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life (cont. from '76) Eagles - Hotel California (cont. from '76) Wings - Over America (cont. from '76) Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson - A Star is Born Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Barry Manilow - Live Linda Rondstadt - Simple Dreams Billboard chart-topping singles of 1977: Rod Stewart - Tonight's the Night (cont. from '76) Marilyn McCoo - You Don't Have to Be a Star Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing Stevie Wonder - I Wish Rose Royce - Car Wash Mary MacGregor - Torn Between Two Lovers Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By the Light Eagles - New Kid in Town Barbara Streisand - Evergreen Hall and Oates - Rich Girl ABBA - Dancing Queen David Soul - Don't Give Up on Us Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way Glen Campbell - Southern Nights Eagles - Hotel California Leo Sayer - When I Need You Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke KC and the Sunshine Band - I'm Your Boogie Man Fleetwood Mac - Dreams Marvin Gaye - Got to Give It Up Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now Alan O'Day - Undercover Angel Shaun Cassidy - Da Doo Ron Ron Barry Manilow - Looks Like We Made It Andy Gibb - I Just Want to Be Your Everything The Emotions - Best of My Love Meco - Star Wars Cantina Theme Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love What are your top three albums for 1977? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be: 1. David Bowie - Low 2. Television - Marquee Moon 3. Iggy Pop - Lust for Life What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later? YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm
1. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours 2. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue 3. Television - Marquee Moon
expanding this one out to a top 20 bc it was just too difficult for me to stop at 10. there's one album that would have made this but the persona of the dude the last decade+ honestly ruined the album for me: 4. Iggy Pop - The Idiot 5. David Bowie - "Heroes" 6. Pink Floyd - Animals 7. Wire - Pink Flag 8. Ramones - Rocket to Russia 9. Steely Dan - Aja 10. Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell 11. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors 12. AC/DC - Let There Be Rock 13. The Clash - The Clash 14. Iggy Pop and James Williamson - Kill City 15. Richard Hell - Blank Generation 16. Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks 17. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue 18. Rush - A Farewell to Kings 19. Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue 20. The Damned - Damned Damned Damned other honorable mentions: Cheap Trick - In Color Crosby, Stills and Nash - CSN Eric Clapton - Slowhand Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station Jackson Browne - Running on Empty The Jam - In the City Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers - LAMF Judas Priest - Sin After Sin Motorhead - Motorhead Neil Young - American Stars and Bars Queen - News of the World Ramones - Leave Home Randy Newman - Little Criminals T. Rex - Dandy in the Underworld Talking Heads - 77 Waylon Jennings - Ol’ Waylon Willie Nelson - To Willie from Lefty stuff to check out: Air - Air Time Billy Joel - The Stranger Bob Marley - Exodus Brian Eno - Before and After Science Dead Boys - Young, Loud and Snotty Elvis Costello - My Aim is True Hawkwind - Quark, Strangeness and Charm Heart - Little Queen The Jam - This is the Modern World Kris Kristofferson - Songs in the Key of Kristofferson Leonard Cohen - Death of a Ladies Man The Saints - I’m Stranded Supertramp - Even in the Quietest Moments Tom Waits - Foreign Affairs
I share two of those with you, and you've been promising to listen to my third for a bit. Jussayin'. Haha (I can say this now that I've finally gotten to that last Butch Walker album you recommended 1000 times. Haha)
Well this is embarrassing for me. Also you would probably like Emmylou Harris's Luxury Liner and Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation a lot, given your tastes.
I haven't participated in these threads bc I'm not familiar with enough albums here beyond the singles to warrant picking them but this one is Aja for me by some distance
1. The Clash - The Clash 2. David Bowie - Heroes 3. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours The Clash's debut is a first-wave punk masterpiece, that from a songwriting perspective, absolutely blows everyone else from this time period out of the water. Incredible hooks, great garage rock riffs, and huge amounts of attitude. Perfect. I could easily have listed Bowie's Low here, but just about give the edge to Heroes, maybe based on how much I love the title track. Both it and Low are absolute masterpieces, pushing "rock" music into new and experimental directions. Rumours is well beloved for a reason, and it's just a phenomenal pop album. There's not much more to say about this that hasn't already been said 1001 times, but it's so stylistically varied, and yet no matter what directions they go in, every song becomes a little pop masterpiece. Honourable mentions; David Bowie - Low: As mentioned above, while I gave the edge to Heroes, just about, the second side of Low is some of the most fascinating music released. Blondie - Plastic Letters: Like their debut last year, Blondie would do better in the next couple of years, but Plastic Letters is a good album, showing off their ability to blend that spiky punk attitude with 60s pop songwriting. Iggy Pop - Lust for Life: Impossible to not listen to the title track and think instantly of Trainspotting. Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77: Talking Heads debut, and showing off their odd blend of angular post-punky stuff (can you be post punk in 1977...?) and David Byrne's distinctive vocals and lyrical style. The Damned - Damned Damned Damned: The first album released by a UK punk band, beating The Clash by a couple of months and Sex Pistols by 6. Pretty standard UK punk, but it's got quite a charm to it. Television - Marquee Moon: Fantastic guitar tone, and a record that straddles the lines between punk and garage rock really well, but never feeling constrained by genres, happy to put in a 10 minute track with guitar solos. Wire - Pink Flag: Another really influential record, particularly on American hardcore music, with 21 tracks and coming in at just 35 minutes. The songs are often just sketches, fantastic ideas or moments, that they don't feel the need to extend out into traditional 3 minute tracks. A really interesting listen. Bjork - Bjork: Bjork appearing earlier than you might think! This is an album released when she was like 11 in Iceland, and it's only interesting as a curiosity really.
1. Dan Fogelberg - Nether Lands 2. Billy Joel - The Stranger 3. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours Others I love: Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue ABBA - ABBA: The Album Leonard Cohen - Death of a Ladies Man Steely Dan - Aja Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell Earth, Wind, and Fire - All 'N' All Various Artists - Saturday Night Fever Original Soundtrack Elton John - The Thom Bell Sessions Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue Rufus (featuring Chaka Khan) - Ask Rufus Pousette-Dart Band - Amnesia Eric Clapton - Slowhand Thin Lizzy - Bad Reputation Linda Ronstadt - Simple Dreams David Bowie - Low Good ones: The Beach Boys - Love You Al Green - The Belle Album Heart - Little Queen Rush - A Farewell to Kings Mink DeVille - Cabretta AC/DC - Let There Be Rock George Benson - In Flight Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner Television - Marquee Moon The Emotions - Rejoice Ramones - Rocket to Russia Styx - The Grand Illusion Mongo Santamaria - Amanecer (Dawn) Weather Report - Heavy Weather Dwight Twilley - Twilley Don't Mind Richard Hell and The Voidoids - Blank Generation Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel [1] Cheap Trick - In Color...and Black and White Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True Boz Scaggs - Two Down Then Left The Clash - The Clash Iggy Pop - Lust for Life Parliament - Funkentelchy vs. the Placebo Syndrome Kansas - Point of Know Return Jackson Browne - Running on Empty Randy Newman - Little Criminals Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77 England Dan and John Ford Coley - Dowdy Ferry Road Shoes - Black Vinyl Shoes Justin Hayward - Songwriter Herbie Hancock - Sunlight James Taylor - JT Bob Marley and The Wailers - Exodus Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express Crosby, Stills and Nash - CSN The Congos - Heart of the Congos Kiss - Love Gun Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again Renaissance - Novella Aerosmith - Draw the Line Jethro Tull - Songs from the Wood Dave Mason - Let It Flow Bonnie Raitt - Sweet Forgiveness Sandy Denny - Rendezvouz Jay Ferguson - Thunder Island Bob Welch - French Kiss Not a fan: The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols Suicide - Suicide Targets for Listening: David Bowie - Heroes Tom Waits - Foreign Affairs Steve Winwood - Steve Winwood Ian Drury - New Boots and Panties Brian Eno - Before and After Science Iggy Pop - The Idiot John Martyn - One World Muddy Waters - Hard Again Wire - Pink Flag The Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus Jimmy Buffett - Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors Eddie Money - Eddie Money Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever Queen - News of the World Santana - Moonflower The Steve Miller Band - Book of Dreams Supertramp - Even in the Quietest Moments George Thorogood and the Destroyers - George Thorogood and The Destroyers Neil Young - American Stars and Bars John Williams - Star Wars Original Soundtrack Garland Jeffries - Ghost Writer Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane - Rough Mix Kate and Anna McGarrigle - Dancer with Bruised Knees Ornette Coleman - Dancing in Your Head The Persuasions - Chirpin' Ramones - Leave Home Jerry Reed - East Bound and Down Art Garfunkel - Watermark Outlaws - Hurry Sundown UFO - Lights Out Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F. Donna Summer - Once Upon a Time... Peter Tosh - Equal Rights Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves The Damned - Damned Damned Damned
the first half of that sentence goes for the album that will almost certainly run away with this year too
That album starts hot and has an amazing guitar tone and then you realize it's just going to keep doing exactly the same thing over and over and it gets exhausting.
I haven’t listened to it in maybe 15 years, I was beyond underwhelmed by it when I first started listening to “classic” punk. John Lydon’s persona has also been very off putting too. Maybe I’m due a revisit, but not an album I’ve ever enjoyed.
In the same boat as @Craig Manning and have my top 2 but need a third. Not sure how much listening I’ll be able to get in but I’ll drop my top 2 at the deadline worst comes to worst