The List

4 Classic Rock Albums From 1975 That Are Perfect From Start To Finish

Calling an album โ€œperfectโ€ is pretty subjective. If you donโ€™t consider the following albums to be flawless, thatโ€™s perfectly valid. However, I think each of the following classic rock albums from 1975 are perfect from start to finish, and at the very least have little in the way of skippable tracks. Letโ€™s take a look!

โ€˜Born To Runโ€™ by Bruce Springsteen

A pop rock classic, Bruce Springsteenโ€™s Born To Run boasts incredible hits like โ€œThunder Roadโ€ and the title track. Yet another excellent record with The E Street Band, Born To Run also features the contributions of other talented musicians, like Mike Appel, Randy Brecker, Wayne Andre, and more. And if you just listen to this album for the hits, I recommend giving the rest of the record a thorough listen. There are some modest gems on this album.

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โ€˜Tonightโ€™s The Nightโ€™ by Neil Young

Neil Young has quite a few top-notch releases from the 1970s, one of which is Tonightโ€™s The Night from 1975. This is quite an album, an it remains one of Youngโ€™s most admirable country rock works of his career. Following up the massive success of Harvest from 1972 was no easy feat, but Young made it look easy. โ€œCome On Baby Letโ€™s Go Downtownโ€ and โ€œTired Eyesโ€ are essential listening.

โ€˜Katy Liedโ€™ by Steely Dan

Steely Danโ€™s jazz rock released Katy Lied shortly after they quit touring for good and became a studio-only band. Itโ€™s also the first album to feature backing vocal tracks from Michael McDonald. This record is an incredible piece of work, and I can see why it peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. โ€œBlack Fridayโ€ and โ€œBad Sneakersโ€ are essential listening, but jazz rock fans could stand to listen to the whole record in its entirety.

โ€˜A Night At The Operaโ€™ by Queen

This entry on our list of perfect classic rock albums from 1975 could not have been skipped. And the album itself has no skips, either. Queenโ€™s A Night At The Opera is one of their finest records, and it was also the most expensive album ever recorded when it was released. A progressive rock masterpiece, A Night At The Opera received several Grammy nominations and, in retrospect, is considered Queenโ€™s best album. Youโ€™ll find legendary songs like โ€œBohemian Rhapsodyโ€ on this album, along with other gems like โ€œGod Save The Queenโ€ and โ€œYouโ€™re My Best Friendโ€.

Photo by Ian Dickson/Redferns