1975’s Best Classic Rock Albums

1975's Best Classic Rock Albums

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

1975’s Best Classic Rock Albums list was one of the most challenging to compose. So many landmark and career defining albums were released by some of the greatest legends of classic rock history such as 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 fifty because there were just to many fantastic and important records that needed to be showcased. 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 of the 1970s. 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 clearly evident among many bands and artists as rock music is about to break all previous sales record in the following year.

# 50 – FramptonPeter Frampton

Peter Frampton album

# 49 – Red OctopusJefferson Starship

Red Octopus - Jefferson Starship

# 48 – Hair of the Dog – Nazareth

Hair of the Dog - Nazareth

# 47 – Come Taste The Band – Deep Purple

Come Taste The Band - Deep Purple

# 46 – Four Wheel DriveBachman Turner Overdrive

Four Wheel Drive - Bachman Turner Overdrive

# 45 – Siren – Roxy Music

Siren - Roxy Music

# 44 – Rock ‘n’ RollJohn Lennon

Rock 'n' Roll - John Lennon

# 43 – The Last Record Album  – Little Feat

The Last Record Album  - Little Feat

# 42 – Nighthawks At The Diner – Tom Waits

Nighthawks At The Diner - Tom Waits

# 41 – For Earth Below – Robin Trower

For Earth Below - Robin Trower

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

There's One in Every Crowd - Eric Clapton

# 39 – Relayer – Yes

Relayer - Yes

# 38 – Ted NugentTed Nugent

Ted Nugent album

# 37 – Face the Music – Electric Light Orchestra

Face the Music - Electric Light Orchestra

# 36 – The Tubes – The Tubes

The Tubes album

# 35 – Extra Texture – George Harrison

Extra Texture - George Harrison

# 34 – The Original Soundtrack – 10cc

The Original Soundtrack - 10cc

# 33 – Bongo Fury – Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart

Bongo Fury - Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart

# 32 – Ritchie Blackmore’s RainbowRainbow

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

# 31 – Fly By Night – Rush

Fly By Night - Rush

# 30 – Fandango – ZZ Top

Fandango - ZZ Top

# 29 – One of These NightsThe Eagles

One of These Nights - The Eagles

# 28 – Horses – Patti Smith

Horses - Patti Smith

# 27 – Tonight’s The Night – Neil Young

Tonight's The Night - Neil Young

# 26 – Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck

Blow by Blow - Jeff Beck

# 25 – Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac 1975 Album

# 24 – Rock Of The Westies – Elton John

Rock Of The Westies - Elton John

# 23 – The Who By Numbers – The Who

The Who By Numbers - The Who

# 22 – Dreamboat Annie – Heart

Dreamboat Annie - Heart

# 21 – Stampede – The Doobie Brothers

Stampede - The Doobie Brothers

# 20 – Nuthin’ FancyLynyrd Skynyrd

Nuthin' Fancy - Lynyrd Skynyrd

# 19 – Welcome to My NightmareAlice Cooper

Welcome to My Nightmare - Alice Cooper

# 18 – Caress of Steel – Rush

Caress of Steel - Rush

# 17 – Straight Shooter – Bad Company

Straight Shooter - Bad Company

# 16 – Alive! – Kiss

Alive! - Kiss

# 15 – The Hissing of Summer Laws – Joni Mitchell

The Hissing of Summer Laws - Joni Mitchell

# 14 – Venus and Mars  – Paul McCartney & Wings

Venus and Mars  - Paul McCartney & Wings

# 13 – Sabotage  – Black Sabbath

Sabotage  - Black Sabbath

# 12 – Katy Lied – Steely Dan

Katy Lied - Steely Dan

# 11 – One Size Fits All – Frank Zappa

One Size Fits All - Frank Zappa

# 10 – Fool For The City – Foghat

Fool For The City - Foghat

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

Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon

#  8 – Blood On The Tracks – Bob Dylan

Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan

#  7 – Young Americans – David Bowie

Young Americans - David Bowie

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

Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy Elton John

#  5 – Toys In The Attic – Aerosmith

Toys In The Attic - Aerosmith

#  4 – A Night At The Opera – Queen

A Night At The Opera - Queen

#  3 – Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

#  2 – Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin

Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin

#  1 – Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen

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 CrownSteeleye Span

New Year, New Band, New Company – John Mayall

The First Minute of a New DayGil Scott-Heron

Modern Times – Al Stewart

Street Rats – Humble Pie

Best Rock Albums – February 1975

On the LevelStatus Quo

Ambrosia – Ambrosia

For Earth BelowRobin Trower

Mad DogJohn Entwistle

Song for America – Kansas

Best Rock Albums – March 1975

Blue Jays – Justin Hayward and John Lodge

That’s the Way of the WorldEarth, Wind & Fire

Dressed to KillKiss

HeartsAmerica

Rubycon – Tangerine Dream

Chicago VIIIChicago

Slow DazzleJohn Cale

I’ll Play for YouSeals & 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 TableRick Wakeman

Tomorrow Belongs to Me Sensational Alex Harvey Band

New City – Blood, Sweat & Tears

The Snow GooseCamel

Playing PossumCarly Simon

Best Rock Albums – May 1975

GorillaJames Taylor

Soap OperaThe Kinks

America’s ChoiceHot Tuna

Coming Down Your WayThree Dog Night

Spirit of ’76Spirit

Ian Hunter – Ian Hunter

Journey – Journey

Beautiful LoserBob Seger

Warrior on the Edge of TimeHawkwind

Best Rock Albums – June 1975

Metamorphosis (outakes album ) The Rolling Stones

InitiationTodd Rundgren

Why Can’t We Be Friends?War

It’s My PleasureBilly Preston

Dream Weaver – Gary Wright

The Basement Tapes – Bob Dylan and The Band

Stills – Stephen Stills

Cut the CakeAverage White Band

HQ – Roy Harper

E. C. Was HereEric Clapton

Best Rock Albums – July 1975

Ride a Rock HorseRoger Daltrey

Metal Machine MusicLou Reed

Outlaws – The Outlaws

Rhinestone CowboyGlen Campbell

Best Rock Albums – August 1975

Atlantic CrossingRod Stewart

Daryl Hall & John OatesHall & Oates

Caught in the ActGrand Funk Railroad

Searchin’ for a RainbowThe Marshall Tucker Band

So FineLoggins & Messina

Win, Lose or DrawThe Allman Brothers Band

Best Rock Albums – September 1975

Blues for AllahThe Grateful Dead

Minstrel in the GalleryJethro Tull

Fighting – Thin Lizzy

Crisis? What Crisis?Supertramp

In TranceThe Scorpions

Another Green World Brian Eno

Captured AngelDan Fogelberg

HotlineThe J. Geils Band

John Fogerty – John Fogerty

LandedCan

MasqueKansas

Prisoner in DisguiseLinda Ronstadt

Symphonion DreamNitty Gritty Dirt Band

Warner Bros. PresentsMontrose

Best Rock Albums – October 1975

Against the GrainRory Gallagher

GodbluffVan der Graaf Generator

Radio-ActivityKraftwerk

Come Taste The Band – Deep Purple

Best Rock Albums – November 1975

Northern Lights – Southern CrossThe Band

Fish Out of Water – Chris Squire

ZumaNeil Young & Crazy Horse

Schoolboys in DisgraceThe Kinks

Mustard – Roy Wood

NomadnessStrawbs

Pour Down Like SilverRichard and Linda Thompson

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – Rufus

Best Rock Albums – December 1975

EquinoxStyx

Mothership ConnectionParliament

Evening StarFripp & Eno

Head On – Bachman Turner Overdrive

All album Photos are Amazon Affiliate links and are not stored on the ClassicRockHistory.com server.

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)]

Updated May 8, 2023

1975’s Best Classic Rock Albums article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

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