1978’s Best Classic Rock Albums

1978’s Best Classic Rock albums list defines a year in which The Rolling Stones and The Who released two spectacular albums that stood as some of their best work. In a year in which old school meets new school, debut albums by The Police and The Cars set the stage for a change in musical direction that would last into the mid 1980s. However, Van Halen’s debut album seemed to argue that pure rock and roll amped up to eleven and defined by the incredible talents of Eddie Van Halen would inspire musicians to practice,practice, practice.

The band Blondie released the album of their career while Elvis Costello’s follow up album entitled This Years Girl proved he was a talent to be reckoned with. Boston finally released their follow up album to their stunning debut in 1976 and Bruce Springsteen settled his legal troubles to allow him to release the highly anticipated follow up to Born To Run. A powerful new progressive rock band called U.K. released an incredible album showcasing the guitar genius of the late Alan Holdsworth that only lasted for one studio album.

The landscape of late 1970s rock and roll was far different than the earlier part of the decade. So many genres of musical styles continued to resonate and attract new fans. Mass communication and the spread of cable networks helped showcase many new artists. We were still a couple of years away from the birth of MTV, but there’s no denying that the success of albums like Frampton Comes Alive and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours the previous two years had convinced record companies that mass marketing of artists could prove to be highly profitable.

1978’s Best Classic Rock albums list may prove to be the most diverse yet. There are some great ones here. Numbers 50 through 10 are in random order. The top 10 is based on the order in which we think were the best and most influential albums released in 1978. We have also included a supplemental list of so many other great 1978 rock albums.

1978’s Best Classic Rock Albums

# 50 – Lionheart – Kate Bush

# 49 – Return to Magenta – Mink DeVille 

# 48 – Brother to Brother – Gino Vannelli

# 47 – Backless – Eric Clapton

# 46 – Pyramid – The Alan Parsons Project

# 45 – City to City – Gerry Rafferty

# 44 – Alive on Arrival – Steve Forbert

# 43 – Shakedown Street – Grateful Dead

# 42 – Stage – David Bowie

# 41 – Heaven Tonight – Cheap Trick

# 40 – Caravan to Midnight – Robin Trower

# 39 – Infinity – Journey

# 38 – London Town – Paul McCartney and Wings

# 37 – A Tonic for the Troops – The Boomtown Rats

# 36 – Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – Rainbow

# 35 – Heavy Horses – Jethro Tull

# 34 – Toto – Toto

# 33 – Living in the U.S.A – Linda Ronstadt

# 32 – Comes a Time – Neil Young

# 31 – Don’t Look Back – Boston

# 30 – Stone Blue – Foghat

# 29 – Misfits – The Kinks

# 28 – Life Beyond L.A. – Ambrosia

# 27 – This Year’s Model – Elvis Costello

# 26 – Zappa in New York – Frank Zappa

# 25 – Minute by Minute – The Doobie Brothers

# 24 – From Rats to Riches – Good Rats

# 23 – Jazz – Queen

# 22 – Hermit of Mink Hollow – Todd Rundgren

# 21 – Hearts Of Stone  Southside Johnny & Asbury Jukes

# 20 – 52nd Street – Billy Joel

# 19 – Road To Ruin – The Ramones

# 18 – Blue Valentine – Tom Waits

# 17 – Wavelength – Van Morrison

# 16 – Stained Class – Judas Priest

# 15 – Powerage – AC/DC 

# 14 – You’re Gonna Get It! – Tom Petty and Heartbreakers

# 13 – Stranger in Town – Bob Seger

# 12 – Dire Straits – Dire Straits

# 11 – Hemispheres – Rush

# 10 – Outlandos d’Amour – The Police

#  9 – U.K. – U.K.

#  8 – But Seriously, Folks… – Joe Walsh

#  7 – The Cars – The Cars

#  6 – Double Vision – Foreigner

#  5 – Parallel Lines – Blondie

#  4 – Who Are You – The Who

#  3 – Darkness on the Edge of Town – Bruce Springsteen

#  2 – Some Girls – The Rolling Stones

#  1 – Van Halen – Van Halen

More Fantastic Classic Rock Albums Released in 1978

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

Best Rock Albums – January 1978

Excitable Boy – Warren Zevon

White Music – XTC

Attention Shoppers! – STARZ

Double Live Gonzo! – Ted Nugent

I’m Ready – Muddy Waters

Best Rock Albums – February 1978

Earth – Jefferson Starship

All This and Heaven Too – Andrew Gold

Bring It Back Alive – The Outlaws

Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush – Live – Mahogany Rush

Street Action – Bachman–Turner Overdrive

Street Hassle – Lou Reed

What Do You Want from Live – The Tubes

Best Rock Albums – March 1978

…And Then There Were Three… – Genesis

Easter – Patti Smith Group

Southern Winds – Maria Muldaur 

Another Music in a Different Kitchen – Buzzcocks

You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish – REO Speedwagon

Generation X – Generation X

Champagne Jam – Atlanta Rhythm Section

Jesus of Cool – Nick Lowe

A Song for All Seasons – Renaissance

Son of a Son of a Sailor – Jimmy Buffett

Squeeze – Squeeze

Waiting for Columbus – Little Feat

What If – Dixie Dregs

Best Rock Albums – April 1978

For You – Prince

The Last Waltz – The Band

Saga – Saga

Magazine – Heart

Heat in the Street – Pat Travers

Adventure – Television

Boys in the Trees – Carly Simon

Please Don’t Touch – Steve Hackett

Best Rock Albums – May 1978

Black and White – The Stranglers

The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk

David Gilmour – David Gilmour

Best Rock Albums – June 1978

Live and Dangerous – Thin Lizzy

Octave – The Moody Blues

Street-Legal – Bob Dylan

Nested – Laura Nyro

Best Rock Albums – July 1978

More Songs About Buildings and Food – Talking Heads

Americana – Leon Russell

Best Rock Albums – August 1978

Along the Red Ledge – Hall & Oates

Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! – Devo

All Night Long – Sammy Hagar

Twin Sons of Different Mothers – Dan Fogelberg and Tim Weisberg

Luxury You Can Afford – Joe Cocker

White, Hot and Blue – Johnny Winter

Best Rock Albums – September 1978

Bloody Tourists – 10cc

Pieces of Eight – Styx

Molly Hatchet – Molly Hatchet

Skynyrd’s First and… Last – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Studio Tan – Frank Zappa

The Kiss Solo Albums

Ace Frehley – Ace Frehley

Gene Simmons – Gene Simmons

Paul Stanley – Paul Stanley

Peter Criss – Peter Criss

Breathless – Camel

Never Say Die! – Black Sabbath

Nicolette – Nicolette Larson

Back on the Streets – Gary Moore

Flamin’ Groovies Now – Flamin’ Groovies

Some Enchanted Evening – Blue Öyster Cult

Weekend Warriors – Ted Nugent

Best Rock Albums – October 1978

Photo-Finish – Rory Gallagher

Hot Streets – Chicago

M.I.U. Album – The Beach Boys

Go 2 – XTC

So Alone – Johnny Thunders

Dog & Butterfly – Heart

Killing Machine – Judas Priest

If You Want Blood You’ve Got It – AC/DC

A Single Man – Elton John

Thoroughfare Gap – Stephen Stills

Inner Secrets – Santana

Live! Bootleg – Aerosmith

Pain Killer – Krokus

Playin’ to Win – Outlaws

Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) – Captain Beefheart

Trouble – Whitesnake

Two for the Show – Kansas

Best Rock Albums – November 1978

Midnight Oil – Midnight Oil

All Mod Cons – The Jam

Give ‘Em Enough Rope – The Clash

The Scream – Siouxsie and the Banshees

Blondes Have More Fun – Rod Stewart

From the Inside – Alice Cooper

Legend – Poco

Move It On Over – George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Best Rock Albums – December 1978

Quiet Riot II – Quiet Riot 

Return of the Wanderer – Dion DiMucci

Public Image: First Issue –  Public Image Ltd

American Dreams –  – Jesse Colin Young

Back to the Bars – Todd Rundgren

Feature Photo Credits:

Eddie Van Halen – Photo: Carl Lender [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Keith Richards – Photo: Gorup de Besanez [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Blondie – Jean-Luc [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

John Entwistle – Center of the Universe [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]

Sting – Helge Øverås [CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Ric Ocasek – Adanne Osefoh [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Joe Walsh – Jim Summaria [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Updated July 29, 2024

1978’s Best Classic Rock Albums article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

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