1979’s Best Classic Rock Albums list wraps up our 1970’s yearly top albums articles series. The great classic rock and roll landscape changed dramatically over ten years. Political, economic, technological, and cultural changes throughout the seventies played an essential role in shaping the decade’s music. The chaos of the nineteen sixties bathed in protest, psychedelia, peace, love, and drugs spilled into the early years of the decade. Still, it was quickly filtered out with the end of the Vietnam War and the resignation of an American President. Awareness that record companies and their stable of rock stars could make fortunes if marketed correctly began to change the rock and roll being written and recorded by those very artists. It would be hard to argue that the majority of artists did not have their eyes focused on the prize of the big hit single.
Not all genres of music in the 1970s were focused on hit singles. The progressive rock format grew out of the psychedelic movement of the 1960s. It would be pretty tough to edit the eighteen-minute track “Close to The Edge” by Yes for hit single status. The popularity of Punk music was fueled by a need for rebellion similar to that of the 1960 protest music. The difference was it began in the U.K with the Sex Pistols in the late 1970s as opposed to the Dylan era of the 1960s. Many artists were inspired by punk, leading to the new wave genre that lasted only a few years.
The 1979 list reflects the punk and new wave movements of the late 1970s. Basic rock albums were still being released that trumped in sales most of the punk records, but there was definitely a unique sound to the last year of the decade of the 1970s.
This article is split into three sections. There is the top 50 in which we have listed albums in random order from 50 to 10. There is the top 10 in which we have listed what we believe were the most important and greatest records of the year. Finally, there is a supplemental section that list more of 1979’s best classic rock albums. It does not include all albums released in 1979, but rather just a list of some more favorites.
Here we go for one last round…………
1979’s Best Classic Rock Albums
# 50 – Flirtin’ with Disaster – Molly Hatchet
# 49 – Night in the Ruts – Aerosmith
# 48 – Discovery – Electric Light Orchestra
# 47 – Dynasty – Kiss
# 46 – Prince – Prince
# 45 – Wave – Patti Smith
# 44 – One Step Beyond… Madness
# 43 – Fear of Music – Talking Heads
# 42 – The Undertones – The Undertones
# 41 – Remote Control – The Tubes
# 40 – Into The Music – Van Morrison
# 39 – Black Rose: A Rock Legend – Thin Lizzy
# 38 – Street Machine – Sammy Hagar
# 37 – Get the Knack – The Knack
# 36 – It’s Alive – The Ramones
# 35 – Head Games – Foreigner
# 34 – Armed Forces – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
# 33 – Overkill – Motorhead
# 32 – Communiqué – Dire Straits
# 31 – Eat To The Beat – Blondie
# 30 – Danger Money – U.K.
# 29 – You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic – Ian Hunter
# 28 – Low Budget – The Kinks
# 27 –Tusk – Fleetwood Mac
# 26 – The Long Run – The Eagles
# 25 – Mingus – Joni Mitchell
# 24 – Enlightened Rogues – The Allman Brothers Band
# 23 – Cheap Trick at Budokan – Cheap Trick
# 22 – In The Heat Of The Night – Pat Benatar
# 21 – George Harrison – George Harrison
# 20 – Dream Police – Cheap Trick
# 19 – Evolution – Journey
# 18 – The B-52’s – The B-52’s
# 17 – Rust Never Sleeps – Neil Young
# 16 – Highway To Hell – AC/DC
# 15 – Lodger – David Bowie
# 14 – Sheik Yerbouti – Frank Zappa
# 13 – Candy-O – The Cars
# 12 – Desolation Angels – Bad Company
# 11 – Rickie Lee Jones – Rickie Lee Jones
# 10 – Look Sharp! – Joe Jackson
# 9 – In Through The Out Door – Led Zeppelin
# 8 – Reggatta de Blanc – The Police
# 7 – Breakfast in America – Supertramp
# 6 – Live Rust – Neil Young
# 5 – Damn the Torpedoes – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
# 4 – Van Halen II – Van Halen
# 3 – Joe’s Garage, Acts I, II & III – Frank Zappa
# 2 – The Wall – Pink Floyd
# 1 – London Calling – The Clash
Additional Selected Classic Rock Albums Released in 1979
These are listed in chronological order in which they came out throughout the year.
This is not a complete list of albums released in 1979. It’s a selected list of great albums that should be in any rock fans classic rock collection
Best Rock Albums – January 1979
Lovedrive – The Scorpions
Accept – Accept
Sleep Dirt – Frank Zappa
Valley of the Dolls – Generation X
Head First – The Babys
Life for the Taking – Eddie Money
No Mean City – Nazareth
Best Rock Albums – February 1979
Inflammable Material – Stiff Little Fingers
Frenzy – Split Enz
Scared to Dance – The Skids
Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here – Lowell George
Manifesto – Roxy Music
American Boy & Girl – Garland Jeffreys
Best Rock Albums – March 1979
Just a Game – Triumph
Rock n’ Roll Nights – Bachman Turner Overdrive
No. 1 in Heaven – Sparks
Squeezing Out Sparks – Graham Parker and The Rumour
Gimme Some Neck – Ron Wood
Million Mile Reflections – The Charlie Daniels Band
Best Rock Albums – April 1979
More Miles Per Hour – John Miles
The Bells – Lou Reed
Cool for Cats – Squeeze
New Values – Iggy Pop
Strikes – Blackfoot
Best Rock Albums – May 1979
Orchestral Favorites – Frank Zappa
Three Imaginary Boys – The Cure (U.K. only)
Shades in Bed – The Records
Do It Yourself – Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Where I Should Be – Peter Frampton
Flag – James Taylor
In The Skies – Peter Green
Monolith – Kansas
Rhapsodies – Rick Wakeman
Spectral Mornings – Steve Hackett
State of Shock – Ted Nugent
Best Rock Albums – June 1979
Labour of Lust – Nick Lowe
Repeat When Necessary – Dave Edmunds
Silent Letter – America
Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division
Mirrors – Blue Öyster Cult
Live Killers – Queen
Best Rock Albums – July 1979
Nine Lives – REO Speedwagon
John Cougar – John Cougar
Down to Earth – Rainbow
Airwaves – Badfinger
Best Rock Albums – August 1979
Ghostown – The Radiators
Chicago 13 – Chicago
Drums and Wires – XTC
Slow Train Coming – Bob Dylan
Eve – The Alan Parsons Project
5 – J.J. Cale
Born Again –Randy Newman
Volcano – Jimmy Buffett
Best Rock Albums – September 1979
Join Hands – Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Pleasure Principle – Gary Numan
Stormwatch – Jethro Tull
Top Priority – Rory Gallagher
Boogie Motel – Foghat
The Raven – The Stranglers
Entertainment! – Gang Of Four
London Town – Paul McCartney
Recent Songs – Leonard Cohen
Legends of the Lost and Found – Harry Chapin
A Different Kind of Tension – Buzzcocks
Marathon – Santana
Best Rock Albums – October 1979
Survival – Bob Marley & The Wailers
I’m the Man – Joe Jackson
Partners in Crime – Rupert Holmes
The Fine Art of Surfacing – The Boomtown Rats
Victim of Love – Elton John
Cornerstone – Styx
Bomber – Motorhead
Hydra – Toto
Keep The Fire – Kenny Loggins
Lovehunter – Whitesnake
Best Rock Albums – November 1979
Freedom at Point Zero – Jefferson Starship
Down on the Farm – Little Feat
Phoenix – Dan Fogelberg
Degüello – ZZ Top
Best Rock Albums – December 1979
Adventures in Utopia – Utopia
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Feature Photo Credits
Jimmy Page – Heinrich Klaffs [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
David Gilmour – Capitol Records [Public domain] Via Creative Commons
David Lee Roth – Photo: Carl Lender [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
Frank Zappa = Photo: Helge Øverås [CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
Pat Benatar – Photo: Heidy Escobar from VALPARAISO; LAGUNA VERDE, CHILE [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
Supertramp – Photo: Ueli Frey [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
Joe Jackson – Photo: Jean-Luc [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]
Updated July 26, 2024
1979’s Best Rock Albums article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024
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I thought you 1970s vest albums was a fantastic step back in history. I grew up in that era, great to see people are still interested.
Gee, I’d have thought Midnight Oil’s Head Injuries would surely feature in any top 50. I almost wish I was 21 again 😉