3 Classic No. 1 Rock Albums From 1972 That We Still Stan

When does one decade start and another begin? Of course, the easy and obvious answer is at the stroke of midnight New Year’s Eve on, say, 1979 going into 1980. But from a cultural perspective, it’s not always so easy to track the transition.

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For example, let’s look at 1972. While it is clearly two calendar years into the 1970s, the year also has some cultural fumes remaining from the 1960s. Below, we wanted to explore three great classic rock albums from 1972 that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 that we still stan. They’re also LPs that boast some of the folk-rock prowess of the 1960s!

‘Harvest’ by Neil Young (1972)

Neil Young brought his own brand of music to the (classic) rock genre, and it often included an acoustic guitar he played as if he were trying to beat the dust out of an old rug. But the result was something special. Forceful, melodic, rhythmic, and classic. For evidence of this, just look to Young’s No. 1 LP Harvest, which he released in 1972. On it, he moans, howls, and plays that forgiving acoustic six-string.

‘America’ by America (1972)

Neil Young’s style was so effective that it started to perhaps infiltrate other bands. That may just be the case with America, which enjoyed a No. 1 album on the Top 200 thanks to their 1972 self-titled release. That album includes the eternal tune, “Horse With No Name”, a track that some music fans may even mistake for Young. But no matter, America wrote it, released it, and got their No. 1 LP.

‘Honky Château’ by Elton John (1972)

Elton John was a dynamo in the 1970s. But the funny thing about his comet-like rise in the rock world—it never burnt out. It never faded. John is still making headlines today, some 50 years later, collaborating with the likes of Americana star Brandi Carlile. But in 1972, John was releasing his classic LP, Honky Château, which hit No. 1 that year and included perhaps his best-known tune, “Rocket Man”.

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