Sweetwater recently created a poll on social media in which we asked our customers to cast a vote for the album they considered to be “a complete masterpiece from start to finish.” In this article, we dive into the top 10 albums — as selected by our social media followers!
Here’s a few interesting observations about the albums that received the most votes:
- These albums were released between 1967 and 1988.
- All were guitar-based rock.
- Many were prog-leaning or concept albums.
So, without further ado, here are your favorite albums.
#10 — Master of Puppets (1986)
Metallica
More than three decades before Eddie Munson brought its incendiary title track back into the public consciousness via the fourth season of the hit Netflix television series Stranger Things, Metallica’s Master of Puppets was already hailed as a masterpiece by heavy-metal fans and non-metal critics alike. In fact, many have deemed Master of Puppets the greatest heavy-metal album of all time. And they’re right to do so. From the delicate acoustic introduction to “Battery” through the frenetic assault of “Damage, Inc.,” this thrash-metal tour de force is a bona fide classic.
Master of Puppets contains eight slabs of prime, progressive thrash metal without a single weak track in the bunch. These songs still resonate, and many of them — such as “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and “Leper Messiah,” as well as the aforementioned “Master of Puppets” and “Battery” — remain fan favorites and concert set-list staples to this day.
Playlist Pick: “Master of Puppets”
Random Metallica/Master of Puppets Gear:
#9 — Van Halen (1978)
Van Halen
When Van Halen dropped in 1978, there was a monumental shift in the perception of what was possible with the electric guitar. Music fans were awed, and even seasoned guitarists were left scratching their heads, wondering, “How did he do that?” That said, there’s more to Van Halen than mere guitar pyrotechnics. Containing 11 stellar samplings of top-level hard-rock craftsmanship, it’s a rock-solid album from start to finish that also includes the first of many — and easily the most legendary — of Eddie Van Halen’s groundbreaking instrumentals.
When you drop the needle on Van Halen, you’re treated to a generous helping of the band’s best-known material, including “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.” While Van Halen enjoyed tremendous success throughout the following decades, the band never surpassed the seismic, epoch-making vigor of their stunning debut — no matter how many hit singles they racked up.
Playlist Pick: “Eruption”
Random Van Halen/Van Halen Gear:
#8 — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The Beatles
If any album should be considered the soundtrack to the Summer of Love, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band would be that album. This influential slice of aural psychedelia was largely responsible for heralding the album era. While it contains many of the Beatles’ best-known songs, such as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Lovely Rita,” and the immortal title track, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was intended to be a self-contained work. In fact, many radio stations interrupted their regular schedules to play the album from beginning to end without breaks, allowing listeners to experience it in its totality.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is also notable for its pioneering use of studio technology. The album is replete with experimental pitch manipulation, automatic double tracking, close-miking, direct injecting, and crossfading, along with innovative applications of rotary speakers, reverb, and compression.
Playlist Pick: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Random Beatles/Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Gear:
#7 — Moving Pictures (1981)
Rush
Back in 1981, while many of their peers were conforming to the current musical trends in an effort to remain relevant, Rush stayed true to form and released Moving Pictures, a hard-rock-tinged prog masterwork. While Moving Pictures — which boasts such classic rock staples as “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” and “Limelight — is undoubtedly more radio-friendly than Rush’s previous outings, the album remains firmly planted in the prog-rock category, a fact plainly demonstrated by “The Camera Eye.” This song in the album is a labyrinthine, 11-minute, 2-part opus that’s chock-full of innovative synth textures, epic instrumentation, and whimsical — yet cynical — lyrics.
Like all progressive-rock releases worth their salt, Moving Pictures is best experienced in its entirety; starting with the familiar opening strains of “Tom Sawyer” and concluding with the reggae-colored, electronic-streaked “Vital Signs” is infinitely rewarding. Moving Pictures made it clear that there was still plenty of uncharted musical territory left to explore and that Rush was brave enough to conquer it.
Playlist Pick: “Tom Sawyer”
Random Rush/Moving Pictures Gear:
#6 — Back in Black (1980)
AC/DC
Following the death of front man Bon Scott, fans heard whisperings that AC/DC would call it quits. However, Back in Black put that rumor to rest, launching with the ominous ringing of “Hells Bells” and sporting an equally ominous black cover. Reinvigorated by the menacing, high-pitched squall of new lead vocalist Brian Johnson, AC/DC paid a fitting homage to their fallen musical brother and indulged listeners with 10 red-hot helpings of thunderous, rafter-shaking hard rock.
Bolstered by the muscular production skills of Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Back in Black is a compelling listen from start to finish. Aside from obvious hits like “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution,” and the indelible title track, the album also includes such classics as “Shoot to Thrill” and the aforementioned “Hells Bells.” Honestly, it’s difficult to find fault with any of the songs on this 25-time multi-Platinum chef d’oeuvre of Aussie rock ‘n’ roll.
Playlist Pick: “Back in Black”
Random AC/DC/Back in Black Gear:
#5 — Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
Queensrÿche
In 1988, mainstream music pundits were certain that listeners wanted nothing but party anthems and power ballads. The idea that anyone would release a prog-metal rock opera about societal disillusionment seemed preposterous. But that’s exactly what Queensrÿche did with Operation: Mindcrime. Built around a complex story involving personality cults, drug addiction, corrupt religious leaders, revolutionary groups, and political assassinations, Operation: Mindcrime was met with widespread acclaim upon its release, garnering well-deserved comparisons to such celebrated concept albums as the Who’s Quadrophenia and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. Operation: Mindcrime also earned Queensrÿche its first charting singles in the US (“Eyes of a Stranger” and “I Don’t Believe in Love”), along with a Grammy nod for Best Metal Performance.
Needless to say, you need to consume Operation: Mindcrime in a single sitting, from front to back, to truly appreciate its conceptual brilliance. Its epic scope and well-crafted storyline are guaranteed to capture your imagination. What’s more, lead vocalist Geoff Tate delivers a career-defining performance, and the entire band rocks with metal-fueled vitality.
Playlist Pick: “Eyes of a Stranger”
Random Queensrÿche/Operation: Mindcrime Gear:
#4 — Boston (1976)
Boston
Boston’s self-titled debut is one of the best-selling rock albums in history — and with good reason. The earworm-heavy melodies on Boston are among the most enduring of all time. The album’s intricate production, awash with stratospheric vocals and multilayered guitars, set a new bar for all guitar-based rock that superseded it. And the entire album is a veritable greatest-hits package, containing eight specimens of first-rate, arena-ready hard rock, most of which are still in constant rotation nearly 50 years after the album’s release. Indeed, you can’t listen to classic-rock radio without such gems as “More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” or “Foreplay/Long Time” popping up at least once every hour.
You’d think that an album with such high production values as Boston would have been crafted by a team of seasoned producers in a state-of-the-art recording studio; that wasn’t the case, however. It was recorded in guitarist and bandleader Tom Scholz’s basement, largely with equipment designed and cobbled together by Scholz himself. Thus, given Boston‘s 17-time multi-Platinum status, it’s without a doubt one of the most successful DIY’d albums ever committed to tape.
Playlist Pick: “More Than a Feeling”
Random Boston/Boston Gear:
#3 — Aja (1977)
Steely Dan
Steely Dan has always been renowned for its complex jazz arrangements and meticulous production. The group’s 1977 masterpiece, Aja (pronounced “Asia”), took bandleaders Walter Becker’s and Donald Fagen’s obsessive craftsmanship to startling new heights. Aja is rumored to have included as many as 40 individual musicians, and its sophisticated jazz-rock compositions rank among the most musically rich ever recorded. Aja won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording — Non-Classical, and many recording professionals and audiophiles rate it as one of the best-sounding albums of all time.
From the winding funk groove of “Black Cow” to the ear-grabbing stillness of “Deacon Blues” to the sunny jazz harmonies of “Peg,” every track on Aja is an out-and-out work of genius. You even get a mind-blowing solo from legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter about four-and-a-half minutes into the 8-minute title track. Aja contains a seductive blend of jazz and rock that, like a fine wine, only gets better with age.
Playlist Pick: “Peg”
Random Steely Dan/Aja Gear:
#2 — Abbey Road (1969)
The Beatles
Abbey Road was the final studio album recorded by the Beatles (Let It Be was recorded earlier but released later). Packed to the gills with 17 of the quartet’s finest songs (and featuring what’s arguably the most iconic cover art ever), Abbey Road possesses a luxuriant, enveloping production that elevates the studio experimentation of albums Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles (“the White Album”) to an entirely new plateau. Abbey Road is also one of the first recordings to make prominent use of the synthesizer — in this case, the brand-new Moog, which was piped through a Leslie speaker.
Listening to Abbey Road in its entirety is a masterclass in songwriting and production. After the album kicks off with the provocative “Come Together,” it winds through a maze of genres, encompassing pop, rock, blues, folk rock, and even prog and proto-metal. It’s not difficult to hear how Abbey Road, released on the cusp of a new decade, influenced the music of the 1970s. Shockingly, critics gave Abbey Road mixed reviews when it was originally released, as they found the album’s experimental studio effects “inauthentic” and “artificial.” Contemporary critics, however, regard it as one of the band’s best releases, and many place it among the greatest albums of all time.
Playlist Pick: “Come Together”
Random Beatles/Abbey Road Gear:
#1 — The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Pink Floyd
Partly inspired by founding band member Syd Barrett’s descent into mental illness, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is a concept album containing a disturbing — yet eminently fascinating — and thematic narrative focused on conflict, consumerism, the passage of time, death, and insanity. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios by celebrated engineer Alan Parsons, The Dark Side of the Moon employed a then-cutting-edge 16-track mix and unconventional recording techniques involving erratic panning, sound effects, tape loops, reverse playback, flanging and phasing, and tape splicing. This album also made extensive use of the built-in sequencer on the EMS Synthi AKS, which was used to create wild arpeggiated textures, such as the chaotic filtered sequence heard during “On the Run.”
Thanks to its captivating lyrics and lush, immaculate production, The Dark Side of the Moon is an enthralling listen from start to finish. Every song is a classic, and every song is an essential component of the album’s overarching narrative. The Dark Side of the Moon holds a remarkable legacy as one of the most exciting examples of sonic exploration ever created.
Playlist Pick: “Money”
Random Pink Floyd/The Dark Side of the Moon Gear:
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