3 Classic Rock Albums That Hit No. 1 in the Late 1970s

In the 1970s, rock music ruled the airwaves. Youngsters had posters of rock artists on their bedroom walls, and the albums those same artists produced were spinning in their record players. Everywhere you turned, there was a famous rock artist with a guitar or a microphone and a backing band. For classic rock fans today, the 1970s helped to create many of their favorite sounds.

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And that’s just what we wanted to dive into here today. We wanted to explore three albums from the latter half of the decade that not only topped the Billboard Top 200 charts but that helped to define the careers of three huge bands we still honor today. Indeed, these are three classic rock albums that hit No. 1 in the late 70s.

‘Rumours’ by Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Universally recognized as one of the greatest rock albums of its generation, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours was the band’s first No. 1 LP. All four of its singles hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the track “Dreams” hit No. 1. In total, Rumors stayed atop the Top 200 for a whopping 31 nonconsecutive weeks. That’s well more than half a year. If there was ever a single release that cemented a group of artists as legends, this was it.

‘In Through The Out Door’ by Led Zeppelin (1979)

While this record from perhaps the greatest pure rock band ever—Led Zeppelin—only took three weeks to complete, it was a smash success, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 in just its second week out. And it stayed there for seven weeks total. Today, the album’s most famous track is likely “All My Love”, which was written in honor of lead singer Robert Plant’s son Karac, who sadly passed away while the rockers were on tour in 1977. Turning tragedy into beauty—isn’t that what rock is all about?

‘Hotel California’ by Eagles (1976)

Perhaps the most famous hotel in the world, Hotel California is not an actual place. But it is an imaginary place you can go every time you put on the album of the same name by the Los Angeles-born rock band, Eagles. And it’s a place many have returned to over the years, which is why the LP has long been so commercially successful. Indeed, Hotel California spent eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 upon its release thanks to exquisite songwriting and musicianship by the famed rockers who gave it life.

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