1975's Best Classic Rock Albums

All photo credits in the feature photo collage are listed at the end of the article

The 1975 Best Classic Rock Albums list was one of the most challenging to compile. So many landmark and career-defining albums were released by some of the greatest legends of classic rock, including Led Zeppelin, Queen, David Bowie, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, and many more. We faced a similar challenge in our 1973 article. Because of the difficulty of choosing only ten, we argued that we would make an exception for that year and compose a top twenty-five. For this article, we will once again make an exception. However, this time we were forced to write a top 50 because there were just too many fantastic and important records to showcase. Even just choosing fifty was tough. And of course, we also included a chronological supplemental list of all the other great 1975 classic rock albums.

While 1974 was a transitional year, 1975 set the tone for the second half of the classic rock era. Rock music changed from 1973 to 1975. There was less jamming and more focus on song structure and production. It wasn’t that way all across the board, as many bands, especially those labeled progressive or southern, continued to explore in many musical directions. However, the focus on hit singles is evident among many bands and artists, as rock music is about to break all previous sales records the following year.

I was 14 in 1975, and it feels just like yesterday that I purchased so many of these albums the week they were released. It really does not feel like fifty years ago. Isn’t it amazing how we have never gotten tired of listening to all of these albums?

# 50 – Frampton – Peter Frampton

# 49 – Red Octopus – Jefferson Starship

# 48 – Hair of the Dog – Nazareth

# 47 – Come Taste The Band – Deep Purple

# 46 – Four Wheel Drive – Bachman Turner Overdrive

# 45 – Siren – Roxy Music

# 44 – Rock ‘n’ Roll – John Lennon

# 43 – The Last Record Album – Little Feat

# 42 – Nighthawks At The Diner – Tom Waits

# 41 – For Earth Below – Robin Trower

# 40 – There’s One in Every Crowd – Eric Clapton

# 39 – Relayer – Yes

# 38 – Ted Nugent – Ted Nugent

# 37 – Face the Music – Electric Light Orchestra

# 36 – The Tubes – The Tubes

# 35 – Extra Texture – George Harrison

# 34 – The Original Soundtrack – 10cc

# 33 – Bongo Fury – Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart

# 32 – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow – Rainbow

# 31 – Fly By Night – Rush

# 30 – Fandango – ZZ Top

# 29 – One of These Nights – The Eagles

# 28 – Horses – Patti Smith

# 27 – Tonight’s The Night – Neil Young

# 26 – Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck

# 25 – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

# 24 – Rock Of The Westies – Elton John

# 23 – The Who By Numbers – The Who

# 22 – Dreamboat Annie – Heart

# 21 – Stampede – The Doobie Brothers

# 20 – Nuthin’ Fancy – Lynyrd Skynyrd

# 19 – Welcome to My Nightmare – Alice Cooper

# 18 – Caress of Steel – Rush

# 17 – Straight Shooter – Bad Company

# 16 – Alive! – Kiss

# 15 – The Hissing of Summer Laws – Joni Mitchell

# 14 – Venus and Mars – Paul McCartney & Wings

# 13 – Sabotage – Black Sabbath

# 12 – Katy Lied – Steely Dan

# 11 – One Size Fits All – Frank Zappa

# 10 – Fool For The City – Foghat

# 9 – Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon

# 8 – Blood On The Tracks – Bob Dylan

# 7 – Young Americans – David Bowie

# 6 – Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy Elton John

It’s difficult to put this album at only six. It’s Elton John’s greatest album of his career. But that is just how special the year 1975 was.

# 5 – Toys In The Attic – Aerosmith

No matter how fantastic this record was, I still liked the follow-up album Rocks better. But there’s no denying just how great of a rock and roll album this is.

# 4 – A Night At The Opera – Queen

The album that turned Queen into a household name.

# 3 – Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

Behind Animals, this is my favorite Pink Floyd album.

# 2 – Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

It’s sad how politics have caused Bruce to lose half his audience. There was a time when everyone loved Bruce. This will forever be my favorite album of all time.

# 1 – Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin

Hands down, I believe this is the best album Led Zeppelin ever released. This was their Peak. Some woudl argue it was their fourth, but no, I think this was the one.

Other Great Classic Rock Albums Released in 1975

These are listed in chronological order in which they came out throughout the year

Best Rock Albums – January 1975

Promised Land – Elvis Presley

Commoners Crown – Steeleye Span

New Year, New Band, New Company – John Mayall

The First Minute of a New Day – Gil Scott-Heron

Modern Times – Al Stewart

Street Rats – Humble Pie

Best Rock Albums – February 1975

On the Level – Status Quo

Ambrosia – Ambrosia

For Earth Below – Robin Trower

Mad Dog – John Entwistle

Song for America – Kansas

Best Rock Albums – March 1975

Blue Jays – Justin Hayward and John Lodge

That’s the Way of the World – Earth, Wind & Fire

Dressed to Kill – Kiss

Hearts – America

Rubycon – Tangerine Dream

Chicago VIII – Chicago

Slow Dazzle – John Cale

I’ll Play for You – Seals & Crofts

Best Rock Albums – April 1975

Fish Rising – Steve Hillage

Ain’t Life Grand – Black Oak Arkansas

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table – Rick Wakeman

Tomorrow Belongs to Me – Sensational Alex Harvey Band

New City – Blood, Sweat & Tears

The Snow Goose – Camel

Playing Possum – Carly Simon

Best Rock Albums – May 1975

Gorilla – James Taylor

Soap Opera – The Kinks

America’s Choice – Hot Tuna

Coming Down Your Way – Three Dog Night

Spirit of ’76 – Spirit

Ian Hunter – Ian Hunter

Journey – Journey

Beautiful Loser – Bob Seger

Warrior on the Edge of Time – Hawkwind

Best Rock Albums – June 1975

Metamorphosis (outakes album ) The Rolling Stones

Initiation – Todd Rundgren

Why Can’t We Be Friends? – War

It’s My Pleasure – Billy Preston

Dream Weaver – Gary Wright

The Basement Tapes – Bob Dylan and The Band

Stills – Stephen Stills

Cut the Cake – Average White Band

HQ – Roy Harper

E. C. Was Here – Eric Clapton

Best Rock Albums – July 1975

Ride a Rock Horse – Roger Daltrey

Metal Machine Music – Lou Reed

Outlaws – The Outlaws

Rhinestone Cowboy – Glen Campbell

Best Rock Albums – August 1975

Atlantic Crossing – Rod Stewart

Daryl Hall & John Oates – Hall & Oates

Caught in the Act – Grand Funk Railroad

Searchin’ for a Rainbow – The Marshall Tucker Band

So Fine – Loggins & Messina

Win, Lose or Draw – The Allman Brothers Band

Best Rock Albums – September 1975

Blues for Allah – The Grateful Dead

Minstrel in the Gallery – Jethro Tull

Fighting – Thin Lizzy

Crisis? What Crisis? – Supertramp

In Trance – The Scorpions

Another Green World – Brian Eno

Captured Angel – Dan Fogelberg

Hotline – The J. Geils Band

John Fogerty – John Fogerty

Landed – Can

Masque – Kansas

Prisoner in Disguise – Linda Ronstadt

Symphonion Dream – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Warner Bros. Presents – Montrose

Best Rock Albums – October 1975

Against the Grain – Rory Gallagher

Godbluff – Van der Graaf Generator

Radio-Activity – Kraftwerk

Come Taste The Band – Deep Purple

Best Rock Albums – November 1975

Northern Lights – Southern Cross – The Band

Fish Out of Water – Chris Squire

Zuma – Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Schoolboys in Disgrace – The Kinks

Mustard – Roy Wood

Nomadness – Strawbs

Pour Down Like Silver – Richard and Linda Thompson

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – Rufus

Best Rock Albums – December 1975

Equinox – Styx

Mothership Connection – Parliament

Evening Star – Fripp & Eno

Head On – Bachman Turner Overdrive

Feature Photo Credits

Brice Springsteen Photo: Helge Øverås [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

Joni Mitchell – Capannelle [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

David Bowie – Kymi [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Freddie Mercury – Carl Lender [CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Elton John – Bert Verhoeff / Anefo [CC0]

Jimmy Page – Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com/ [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Robert Plant – Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com/ [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

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