Top 10 Important Albums in Hard Rock

Monumentally huge today, Kiss’s early days were more Detroit, slum city than Detroit Rock City. Despite a strong, loyal fan base and a hot as all hell live show the band weren’t exactly raking in the album sales. The problem? Fans felt the band didn’t sound the same on vinyl as they did on stage. That feedback led to the 16 track, four sided double album Alive! Containing all the band’s early hits, it’s up for debate how much of Alive! genuinely is “live.” Regardless of the possible tinkering on the album, it has still become an important piece of hard rock history!

Nothing but trouble awaited Deep Purple while they recorded this classic. The band booked the casino in Montreux, Switzerland as a recording venue, but it burned to the ground. The guys then took to the Pavilion Theatre, memorializing the burning of the casino with “Smoke on the Water.” Unfortunately, they were soon evicted due to noise complaints and had to set up in the Grand Hotel. The result was a British chart topper and a near global top 10 album, and bassist Roger Glover would make an equally influential album with Rainbow’s Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll half a decade later.

Four albums into their career, The Who found themselves without their core audience - the by now extinct mod-movement. Guitarist Pete Townshend attempted to best the landmark Tommy with an extravagant production called “Lifehouse.” However, after a near-nervous breakdown, the project was scrapped, and out of its ashes emerged Who’s Next. Armed with an awesome Gretsch guitar gifted to him by Joe Walsh, Townshend and company scrapped together what is widely considered their finest studio album.

This follow up to 1979’s “Highway to Hell” was a make or break moment for AC/DC. The recent death of vocalist Bon Scott was but one of the problems they faced. Tax issues influenced their decision to record in the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the band’s gear was held up in customs, storms caused power outages in the studio, and one session was even interrupted by a crab! Still the album, its 22x Platinum status, and it’s 131 week chart run proved you can’t kill AC/DC.

Gunter Glieben Glauchen Globen! While Pyromania’s impressive sales of 10 million albums would be dwarfed by the group’s next release Hysteria, this album paved the way for that monster. More importantly, it put Def Leppard and their brand of glam-metal on the map. Produced by 80s hard rock master Mutt Lange, the album marked the introduction of co-guitarist Phil Collen. The album is considered to be not only the best Def has to offer but is among the best in Mutt Lange’s vast production history and sparked a trend towards a more melodic take on hard rock and metal.

GN’R exploded on the scene with this masterpiece that was less hairspray and more heart than its hair metal peers. Loaded with staples like “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and considered to be the best selling debuts of all time, Appetite took nearly a full year to hit the top of the Billboard charts. But it made up for that slow burn with four weeks at number one and a quoted 30 million units sold. Now just imagine how well it would have done if “November Rain” had made the cut, as originally planned.

After being dismissed from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne had a thing or two to prove with his debut solo album. Ironically, the album wasn’t meant to be an Ozzy record at all. Instead, Blizzard of Ozz was meant to be the name of the band he assembled during the writing and rehearsal phases. One of only twoalbums recorded with the late, great Randy Rhoads on guitar, the album is home to classics such as “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley.” Decades later, it is still Ozzy’s best selling solo album.

This self-titled debut from Van Halen left a permanent mark on electric guitar playing. Eddie Van Halen wasn’t the first to use the two-hand tapping guitar style, but he was certainly the first to bank on it - literally. Backed by songs like “Runnin’ with the Devil” “Jamie’s Cryin’“ and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” the album has sold upwards of 10 million copies since its release. Changing the way musicians look at the electric guitar, Van Halen stunned audiences and critics by creating an energetic debut album that would stand the test of time.

Picking up where Cream left off, this may very well be the moment that hard rock became heavy metal. Recorded in just 12 hours, Black Sabbath - the song, the album, and the band - intrigued the masses who pushed sales up to land the album at #8 on the UK charts and 23 on Billboard. Due to an accident that cost him his fingertips Tony Iommi was forced to use lower guitar tunings and simpler chords creating a heavier sound than his peers. Released on Friday the 13th, the album is also notable for adding occult and fantasy elements to the metal lexicon.

Before we unveil our top pick here are a few honourable mentions.
- “Rocks” (1976)
Aerosmith

- “Shout at the Devil” (1983)
Mötley Crüe

- “Slippery When Wet” (1986)
Bon Jovi

- “World Wide Live” (1985)
The Scorpions

- “Slide It In” (1984)
Whitesnake

- “Operation: Mind Crime” (1988)
Queensrÿche

Selling 400k copies in advance sales, Led Zeppelin II topped both the American and British charts. Released just months after Led Zeppelin I, II was a monumental moment in hard rock. Recording wherever they could in whatever studio happened to be open, Led Zep maintained a sound that was brimming with raw energy. “Whole Lotta Love” gave fans Zeppelin’s signature overdriven blues, “Heartbreaker” set the basics of guitar-shredding, while songs like “Ramble On” saw “The Lord of the Rings” used as a lyrical source, a trend they would continue on Led Zeppelin IV.

Do you agree with our list? What’s the most important hard rock album to you? For more thunder-pounding Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.