Bon Jovi’s New Album Sets Unwanted Chart Record

Bon Jovi’s new album Forever certainly didn’t live up to its name on the charts.

As noted by Forbes, after debuting at No. 5 in its first week of release, the album fell all the way out of the Billboard 200 album sales chart the following week. Unless it returns in the future, Forever will be the first Bon Jovi studio album to only last one week in the Top 200.

The band’s previous album, 2020’s pandemic-delayed 2020, only notched two weeks on the chart. It debuted at No. 19, then fell 126 spots the following week before departing for good.

With their touring future in doubt due to singer Jon Bon Jovi’s medical issues, the band promoted Forever with a multi-pronged media campaign that included the release of the documentary series Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. The series showed Bon Jovi being diagnosed with loose vocal cords after he was unable to perform up to his usual standards on the band’s most recent tour, then undergoing surgery and a rigorous recovery program.

Last month, Bon Jovi confirmed that he was still unable to mount a full-scale tour in support of Forever. “It’s a work in progress,” he told The Guardian. “There’s no miracle. I just wish there was a fucking light switch. I’m more than capable of singing again. The bar is now: can I do two and half hours a night, four nights a week? The answer is no.”

The band did play a surprise five-song set to celebrate the opening of their frontman’s new Nashville bar and restaurant JBJs on June 7, performing Forever‘s debut single “Legendary” in addition to classics such as “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Born to Be My Baby.”

Top 50 American Rock Albums

Even after you take out the Beatles, the Stones and other giants, there’s still a lot to love here.

Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci

50. Jane’s Addiction, ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ (1988)

Warner Bros.

50. Jane’s Addiction, ‘Nothing’s Shocking’ (1988)

Modern Rock radio had just been formed when Los Angeles’ Jane’s Addiction released their debut studio album in midsummer 1988. It immediately found an audience with its mix of alternative, metal and classic hard rock. Volume-powered tracks such as “Mountain Song” were at the base of Nothing’s Shocking, but the acoustic ballad “Jane Says” became the album’s big hit. A door-opening moment to a bold new era.

49. Kiss, ‘Destroyer’ (1976)

Casablanca

49. Kiss, ‘Destroyer’ (1976)

Steered away from the mostly unfiltered hard rock of their first three studio albums by producer Bob Ezrin, Kiss’ follow-up to the breakthrough success of 1975’s Alive! comes with a new energized glow. The result was the band’s first platinum album, their highest-charting studio LP at that point and home to their biggest single, the Top 10 ballad “Beth,” sung and co-written by drummer Peter Criss. The start of a new era.

48. Funkadelic, ‘Maggot Brain’ (1971)

Westbound

48. Funkadelic, ‘Maggot Brain’ (1971)

Funkadelic’s third album is the one where they started to form their identity; it’s also the final recording by the original lineup. They were still a few years away from the funk records that helped shape the P-Funk dynasty, relying instead on a heady mix of rock, soul and psychedelia. Maggot Brain represents the best of this amalgamation, especially the searing title track, 10 minutes of pure guitar ecstasy from Eddie Hazel.

47. The Allman Brothers Band, ‘Eat a Peach’ (1972)

Capricorn

47. The Allman Brothers Band, ‘Eat a Peach’ (1972)

The Allman Brothers’ 1971 live album At Fillmore East made them stars; a few months later guitarist Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. Eat a Peach is a tribute and a requiem to the group’s co-leader, collecting his final studio recordings with the band along with leftover tracks from the Fillmore gigs. The double LP became their first Top 10 hit and includes Allmans classics “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” and “Melissa.”

46. Nine Inch Nails, ‘The Downward Spiral’ (1994)

Nothing

46. Nine Inch Nails, ‘The Downward Spiral’ (1994)

Trent Reznor’s second Nine Inch Nails album is a sprawling concept LP about one man’s slip into darkness. Over 65 increasingly grueling minutes, The Downward Spiral blends industrial whirring, buzzsaw attacks and, the biggest surprise, a large number of sympathetic, and tuneful, songs into its story. Alternative Nation was growing in support in 1994, the year of the album’s release, sending the instant classic to No. 2.

45. Tom Petty, ‘Wildflowers’ (1994)

Warner Bros.

45. Tom Petty, ‘Wildflowers’ (1994)

Petty’s second solo album finds the Heartbreakers frontman working with Rick Rubin for the first time – a stark turnaround from the glossier production style of his most recent collaborator Jeff Lynne. As he did with Johnny Cash’s comeback record from earlier in 1994, Rubin steps aside for the most part and allows Petty and his band (including some Heartbreakers) to play through new songs without much fuss.

44. Bruce Springsteen, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ (1978)

Columbia

44. Bruce Springsteen, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ (1978)

Bruce Springsteen spent the three years leading to his fourth album mired in a lawsuit with his former manager that threatened to derail the career momentum spurred by the runaway success of Born to Run. But he persevered, recording enough material for several albums and doubling down on the working-class anthems that elevated him to the big leagues. Darkness on the Edge of Town remains one of his greatest triumphs.

43. Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (1970)

Columbia

43. Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ (1970)

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s last album as a duo finds its peace in their splintering relationship. Simon penned the lovely perennial title song for his singing partner, and the pinpoint production accentuates the beauty behind the sadness. Simon’s world-beat explorations begin here (“El Condor Pasa [If I Could],” “Cecilia”) as does his tentative steps toward going solo (“The Boxer”). A glorious finale to the 1960s icons.

42. Pearl Jam, ‘Ten’ (1991)

Epic

42. Pearl Jam, ‘Ten’ (1991)

Released a month before Nirvana’s Nevermind started a ’90s rock revolution, Pearl Jam’s debut stands as its equal. Combining classic rock riffs and arena-ready songs with a dose of grunge distortion and punk awareness, Ten launched the band into the stratosphere the following year once songs “Alive,” “Even Flow” and, especially, “Jeremy” made them MTV and radio stars. Few albums from the era sound this powerful.

41. R.E.M., ‘Automatic for the People’ (1992)

Warner Bros.

41. R.E.M., ‘Automatic for the People’ (1992)

With their eighth album, R.E.M. reached a new plateau. Leaving the ’80s as America’s greatest college rock band, the quartet started the new decade with a multimillion, major-label record deal that helped make them one of the world’s biggest acts. Automatic for the People may be their best work. It’s certainly their most reflective. With string arrangements by John Paul Jones, R.E.M. added stirring beauty to their repository.

40. The Byrds, ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ (1968)

Columbia

40. The Byrds, ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ (1968)

The Byrds’ sixth album is where they graduated from beacons of the folk-rock movement to country-rock pioneers. Gram Parsons makes his only appearance on a Byrds LP but was gone before the album was released (and had most of his vocals replaced). Sweetheart of the Rodeo turned on rock fans while alienating most of Nashville. This is ground zero for alt-country and Americana, too, a record that still resonates after decades.

39. Queens of the Stone Age, ‘Songs for the Deaf’ (2002)

Interscope

39. Queens of the Stone Age, ‘Songs for the Deaf’ (2002)

It’s fitting that various radio stations are sampled during the fictional road trip at the center of Queens of the Stone Age’s third album: Songs for the Deaf is the stoner rock band’s most melodic work, an exercise in song rather than aura. Dave Grohl adds muscular crunch as the band’s guest drummer, giving “No One Knows” and “First It Giveth” the musical heft previously passed over by bandleader Josh Homme’s distorted riffing.

38. Green Day, ‘Dookie’ (1994)

Reprise

38. Green Day, ‘Dookie’ (1994)

Dookie arrived in the middle of the ’90s’ alt-rock revolution, scoring a new victory for left-of-center rock bands. Pop-punk at its core with classic tunes edging for the spotlight, Green Day’s third album, and major-label debut, made immediate stars of its California-based twentysomething trio. Within a decade they’d resurrect the rock opera, but on Dookie Green Day delivered their masterpiece, a guide for punk bands going forward.

37. Elvis Presley, ‘Elvis Presley’ (1956)

RCA Victor

37. Elvis Presley, ‘Elvis Presley’ (1956)

Rock ‘n’ roll was still in its infancy when one of its first breakthrough stars released an early sample of the music on LP. RCA had made a huge investment in Presley when it rushed out his first post-Sun single “Heartbreak Hotel,” plus this self-titled debut, a dozen cover songs sparked by the newly crowned King and a team keyed into his blossoming gifts. Not the Big Bang but a significant explosion all the same.

36. Motley Crue, ‘Shout at the Devil’ (1983)

Elektra

36. Motley Crue, ‘Shout at the Devil’ (1983)

With their second album, Motley Crue found their voice and an audience. Zeroing in on glam metal’s sharpest edges, the music on Shout at the Devil pretty much set the template for the decade to come. Much of the ’80s’ devil-may-care riffing and attitudes of the popular metal scene can be traced back to this album. The title track and “Looks That Kill,” both penned by bassist Nikki Sixx, were entryways into the band’s flashy style.

35. Bob Dylan, ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ (1965)

Columbia

35. Bob Dylan, ‘Bringing It All Back Home’ (1965)

Bob Dylan kicked off one of the most productive and greatest runs in rock history with his fifth album. Over the next 15 months he’d also release Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde; Bringing It All Back Home is where he silenced critics and shed his folkie skin once and for all. “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” sealed his legend for generations to come.

34. Motley Crue, ‘Too Fast for Love’ (1981)

Elektra

34. Motley Crue, ‘Too Fast for Love’ (1981)

Motley Crue’s debut album helped spawn the Los Angeles glam-metal scene of the ’80s, which in turn had an impact on popular hard-rock music for the next decade. Originally self-released, Too Fast for Love was later picked up by Elektra for wider distribution, rerecorded in parts and remixed. While not an immediate hit (it stalled at No. 77), the album did set up the band for its next album, the metal monolith Shout at the Devil.

33. Ramones, ‘Ramones’ (1976)

Sire

33. Ramones, ‘Ramones’ (1976)

At less than 30 minutes, the Ramones’ self-titled debut wastes little time on excess: Solos, intros and words are all kept to a minimum, leaving more room for the songs – an amplified version of ’60s girl groups and surf music, early ’70s bubblegum and proto-punk garage attitude – to flex. The band charges onward with little realization they are at the forefront of a movement that would grip the industry within a couple of years. Essential.

32. Jackson Browne, ‘Running on Empty’ (1977)

Asylum

32. Jackson Browne, ‘Running on Empty’ (1977)

How’s this for a big concept? An album about the road that was recorded on the road: in hotel rooms, on the tour bus, backstage, onstage and at sound checks. Running on Empty captures both the exhilaration and weariness of being a touring artist; as the cover art depicts, the road can go on forever. Jackson Browne was coming off his most personal LP The Pretender when he lightened the load with this understated set.

31. Patti Smith, ‘Horses’ (1975)

Arista

31. Patti Smith, ‘Horses’ (1975)

The labels – punk, art, garage – used to describe Patti Smith’s debut album don’t begin to explain the importance of Horses. Made by poet/singer/songwriter Smith and her crack band (including lead guitarist Lenny Kaye, architect of the influential Nuggets compilation a few years earlier) rework “Gloria” and “Land of a Thousand Dance” to her mold, strengthening her originals in the process. A defined masterwork.

30. Metallica, ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)

Elektra

30. Metallica, ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)

Thrash still hadn’t entered the public lexicon when Metallica released the cornerstone record of the metal subgenre. Political, uncompromising and a push against hard-rock’s increasing commercial aspirations in the mid-’80s, Master of Puppets has lost none of its force since its release. Six months after the album’s debut, bassist Cliff Burton died in a bus accident while promoting the record. Then Metallica widened its scope.

29. The Allman Brothers Band, ‘At Fillmore East’ (1971)

Capricorn

29. The Allman Brothers Band, ‘At Fillmore East’ (1971)

Two studio albums into their career, the Allman Brothers decided to release a double concert record from their two-night stand at New York City’s Fillmore East. The result is one of the greatest live albums ever made. Covers of Blind Willie McTell and T-Bone Walker songs show their dexterity, but it’s their self-composed songs that are given space to breathe onstage (see: “Whipping Post,” expanded to 23 epic minutes).

28. Lynyrd Skynyrd, ‘(Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd)’ (1973)

MCA

28. Lynyrd Skynyrd, ‘(Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd)’ (1973)

One of the great Southern rock albums benefits from a well-oiled band holding little back on its debut. Live versions of songs later drew out their full potential but these intimate studio takes uncover the heart behind the bluser. “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Simple Man” and, of course, “Free Bird” would go on to form the bedrock of Lynyrd Skynyrd for the next half-century. This is where it all starts; they were never better.

27. Kiss, ‘Alive!’ (1975)

Casablanca

27. Kiss, ‘Alive!’ (1975)

Kiss was getting plenty of buzz after three albums but they had cracked the Top 40 only once. All that changed with the release of Alive! in 1975. Recorded at live dates that year, and amended with studio overdubs to correct stage mistakes, the double album made them stars, reaching the Top 10. Kissmania soon found its way into ’70s popular culture via comics, trading cards and lunch boxes. Alive! is still a rite of passage.

26. Grateful Dead, ‘American Beauty’ (1970)

Warner Bros.

26. Grateful Dead, ‘American Beauty’ (1970)

Like Workingman’s Dead, released five months earlier, American Beauty continues Grateful Dead’s travels in country and folk music, a sharp contrast to the free-form and largely improvisational freakouts found on their first few records. The songs here rank among some of the most popular in the Dead catalog, including “Friend of the Devil,” “Ripple” and “Truckin’.” They’d soon move on from this phase into other, more exploratory territories soon enough, but they were never more tuneful.

25. Boston, ‘Boston’ (1976)

Epic

25. Boston, ‘Boston’ (1976)

Boston seemed to come out of nowhere in 1976 when their self-titled debut album was released. And in a way, they did. Tracked by multi-instrumentalist mastermind Tom Scholz, with help from singer Brad Delp and a few others, in his Massachusetts home, Boston became the bestselling debut LP ever and for years held that record. The band has released only five albums since then, its legacy firmly set with its first.

24. Prince, ‘Sign ‘O’ the Times’ (1987)

Paisley Park

24. Prince, ‘Sign ‘O’ the Times’ (1987)

Prince’s ninth album started life from three other records that were eventually shelved or revised. Pared down to the best songs spread over two LPs, Sign ‘O’ the Times is the late artist’s magnum opus. Funk, pop, soul, gospel and rock music find their way into 80 sprawling minutes that forever elevated Prince’s history. It’s not a stretch to say he spent the rest of his career trying to top the record considered his most definitive work.

23. Van Halen, ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Warner Bros.

23. Van Halen, ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

The album that showed aspiring guitarists how to tap their way to shred heaven stands as one of the biggest success stories in late-’70s hard rock. With a rhythm section that hit like a truck and a flamboyant frontman whose high-kicking hamminess made them stand out, Van Halen wasn’t a one-trick guitar hero. Eddie Van Halen’s innovative playing set a standard, but Van Halen the album exists beyond that. A fully formed debut.

22. The Velvet Underground & Nico, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ (1967)

Verve

22. The Velvet Underground & Nico, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ (1967)

The Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut couldn’t be further from the Summer of Love shining down on them. Dark, mysterious and shrouded in a gloomy New York haze that peered into the underbelly of the times, The Velvet Underground & Nico sounded nothing like it at the time. It still casts a long shadow over everyone who’s heard it. German model and singer Nico brings Lou Reed’s despairing songs into stark relief.

21. Talking Heads, ‘Remain in Light’ (1980)

Sire

21. Talking Heads, ‘Remain in Light’ (1980)

Talking Heads had already ventured into world music on their previous album with the expanded band workout “I Zimbra,” a catalyst for Remain in Light, but with their fourth LP they, along with producer Brian Eno, took their New York arthouse punk to new places. They scored an MTV hit with the heavily rotated “Once in a Lifetime,” but all eight songs add up to a crowning achievement for one of the period’s best, most restless groups.

20. Carole King, ‘Tapestry’ (1971)

Ode

20. Carole King, ‘Tapestry’ (1971)

Carole King had spent a decade in the trenches penning hits for others. A divorce (from her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin) and a change of course (more focus on her solo career) led to Tapestry, a cornerstone record of the singer-songwriter movement and one of the bestselling albums of the ’70s. Along with Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Tapestry set the template for the decade’s focus on song. It’s lost none of its brilliance.

19. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ (1979)

Backstreet

19. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ (1979)

The third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is where it finally came together for the group, perched somewhere among ’60s revisionists, ’70s middle-of-the-road rock and up-to-date punk spirit. The songs still sound relevant: “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl,” “Even the Losers,” “Don’t Do Me Like That.” Petty entered into a record-pricing fight with his label, delaying his next LP. Damn the Torpedoes kept its word.

18. Billy Joel, ‘The Stranger’ (1977)

Columbia

18. Billy Joel, ‘The Stranger’ (1977)

Billy Joel was already four albums into a career that had yielded just one Top 25 hit. Album No. 5 changed all that. Buoyed by lead single “Just the Way You Are,” a soft-rock/smooth-jazz hybrid that encapsulates the era in three and a half minutes, The Stranger became the New Yorker’s calling card (“Piano Man” the song notwithstanding). With a pair of Grammy wins, Joel expanded on the LP’s sound and themes for the next 15 years.

17. Bob Dylan, ‘Blood on the Tracks’ (1975)

Columbia

17. Bob Dylan, ‘Blood on the Tracks’ (1975)

After several years of trying to reclaim his legend, along with a renewed sense of purpose, Dylan made what may be his most personal and focused work in Blood on the Tracks. Conceived as his marriage was falling apart, his 15th album is both a breakup record and a document of complicated relationships. He barely hides the hostility behind “Idiot Wind” or the heartbreak of “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.”

16. Bob Dylan, ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (1966)

Columbia

16. Bob Dylan, ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (1966)

Consider the 15 months leading to the release of Blonde on Blonde in June 1966: Bob Dylan had already put out two classic records, Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, both released in 1965. Shortly after the double LP Blonde came out, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident that forever changed his approach to music and fame. The culmination of this period, Blonde on Blonde stands as one of his definitive statements.

15. Steely Dan, ‘Aja’ (1977)

ABC

15. Steely Dan, ‘Aja’ (1977)

Exquisitely produced and meticulously played, Steely Dan’s sixth album is the pinnacle of a career based on those high standards. That Aja is also their best charting record is no accident: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s songs leap into more jazzy realms here, allowing the band and its hired players to explore the corners outside of the usual rock and pop constraints. The levels of sophistication are unprecedented in the genre.

14. The Doors, ‘L.A. Woman’ (1971)

Elektra

14. The Doors, ‘L.A. Woman’ (1971)

The Doors had bounced between highs and lows since their 1967 debut turned them into one of the peace-and-love generation’s biggest bands. A return to basics in 1970’s Morrison Hotel inspired the quartet to travel even further in that direction on their sixth and last LP with singer Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. With blues serving as a main foundation, and the renewed Doors uncovering new inspiration, it’s a fitting end to an era.

13. Paul Simon, ‘Graceland’ (1986)

Warner Bros.

13. Paul Simon, ‘Graceland’ (1986)

Paul Simon was coming off a string of commercially underperforming albums when he changed curse, went on a road trip and made the best record of his long career. Graceland is celebrated for its South African connection, but among its 11 songs are tracks recorded in London, Los Angeles, New York and Louisiana. The result is the start of world music’s move toward the mainstream and the centerpiece in Simon’s long catalog.

12. ZZ Top, ‘Eliminator’ (1983)

Warner Bros.

12. ZZ Top, ‘Eliminator’ (1983)

For their eighth album, Texas trio ZZ Top caught the MTV bug and attached their down-home boogie to a new wave current, a move tentatively approached on 1981’s El Loco. Eliminator discarded many of the backing tracks by bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, replacing them with drum machines and programmed synths. The music, plus in-demand videos, made them one of the biggest acts at the time.

11. Creedence Clearwater Revival, ‘Cosmo’s Factory’ (1970)

Fantasy

11. Creedence Clearwater Revival, ‘Cosmo’s Factory’ (1970)

CCR released four excellent albums within 18 months, capped by the heroical Cosmo’s Factory in July 1970. The 11-minute “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” cover may seem like filler for a band running low on original ideas until the track listing is scanned: “Travelin’ Band,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Run Through the Jungle,” “Up Around the Bend,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” Not a dead cut in its 42 minutes.

10. Aerosmith, ‘Toys in the Attic’ (1975)

Columbia

10. Aerosmith, ‘Toys in the Attic’ (1975)

Years on the road had sharpened Aerosmith to their finest points – with their third album Toys in the Attic, their Boston-bred blues rock coalesced with songs that fit their image: tough, suggestive and assertive. “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” became fixtures in their catalog, but the other tracks pack newfound confidence, too. The title song is almost punk in its fury, dynamic guitar riffing that rivals the best from the period.

9. Guns N’ Roses, ‘Appetite for Destruction’ (1987)

Geffen

9. Guns N’ Roses, ‘Appetite for Destruction’ (1987)

Hard rock wasn’t at the best place as the ’80s wound down – most genre veterans were replaced by Spandex-clad glam-metal acts more concerned with image than music. Guns N’ Roses brought back the danger and the sense that something was on the verge of real chaos on their charged debut, Appetite for Destruction. Even as they indulged in the genre’s vices, the album never forgets why it matters in the first place.

8. Eagles, ‘Hotel California’ (1976)

Asylum

8. Eagles, ‘Hotel California’ (1976)

Eagles were one of the biggest groups in the world when their fifth album made them even bigger. Putting an end to their country-rock era with their first greatest hits set (released 10 months before Hotel California), the now mostly rock-focused band turned the mirror on themselves and their generation with songs that uncovered the dangers of success and excess. Their battered shells returned three years later more cynical.

7. Nirvana, ‘Nevermind’ (1991)

DGC

7. Nirvana, ‘Nevermind’ (1991)

Nirvana didn’t just change the course of popular music in the early ’90s with their second album; they also swung open the possibilities for artists playing outside the industry’s rules. Nevermind is the center point of a revolution, yes, but by driving the final nails into the coffins of the excess and superficiality in late-’80s music it unwittingly uncovered new voices ready to be heard. On top of all that, the music is uniformly excellent.

6. The Doors, ‘The Doors’ (1967)

Elektra

6. The Doors, ‘The Doors’ (1967)

Released during the first week of the pivotal year of 1967, the Doors’ self-titled debut served as an early warning that popular music needed a change. A magnetic, poetry-reciting frontman, a blues-inspired band that placed much of its emphasis on its jazz-inclined organist and a penchant for the dark and mysterious seemed out of step with the times, but within months of the LP’s release, the Doors were at the front of a revolution.

5. Bob Dylan, ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965)

Columbia

5. Bob Dylan, ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ (1965)

The middle album in Dylan’s holy trinity of records released during 15 months in 1965-66, Highway 61 Revisited is the toughest sounding of the trio, a rock ‘n’ roll album with more focus and determination than either its predecessor or successor. “Like a Rolling Stone,” released before the album, is the linchpin, but the eight remaining songs reflect an artist dialing into his blossoming strengths as a songwriter and performer.

4. Van Halen, ‘1984’ (1984)

Warner Bros.

4. Van Halen, ‘1984’ (1984)

The first sounds heard on Van Halen’s sixth album are calling from the future: whooshing synths that seem to beckon the Orwellian year that gives the LP its name. Unlike anything in Van Halen’s music to that point, 1984 was, in reality, preparing fans for changes. The next time they made an album, singer David Lee Roth was replaced and those synthesizers were a huge part of their music. A transitional and pivotal record.

3. Prince and the Revolution, ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)

Warner Bros.

3. Prince and the Revolution, ‘Purple Rain’ (1984)

Everything pointed to Prince’s sixth LP to be his breakthrough: the buildup from its predecessor 1999, the growing buzz, MTV’s breaking down of racial lines. That Purple Rain exceeded all expectations was realized once the de facto soundtrack was released at the start of the summer of 1984. The music was inescapable for a year: “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” the title song. It’s hard to find a more perfect album.

2. Bruce Springsteen, ‘Born to Run’ (1975)

Columbia

2. Bruce Springsteen, ‘Born to Run’ (1975)

Bruce Springsteen was still paying his dues and, for the most part, a cult artist playing to a small but growing devoted audience when his third album came out in the summer of 1975. Within months he had graduated from the underground to the A-list. Born to Run is a once-in-a-lifetime moment preserved on record: great songs, tuned-in performances, epic scope and the determination of an artist to get out while he’s still young.

1. The Beach Boys, ‘Pet Sounds’ (1966)

Capitol

1. The Beach Boys, ‘Pet Sounds’ (1966)

Brian Wilson’s path to Pet Sounds can be traced to a couple of years earlier when he wrestled control of the Beach Boys’ career from his manager dad, his record company and even, occasionally, his bandmates. Transforming the group’s initial sun-kissed pop music into something deeper and multilayered, his bedroom visions were expanded into the studio, where he channeled his hero Phil Spector to create some of the best American songs of the early ’60s. Post-Beatles, he was up for a new challenge, molding his masterpiece Pet Sounds into the centerpiece of his decades-long career. Its influence still reverberates and unveils new creative voices every year; the pop music contained within its iconic sleeve still sounds like it was summoned from someplace not born in this world. In essence, it’s everything popular music should be: timeless, spirit-lifting and inspiration for generations of artists and fans.

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