Is 1976 the best year ever for great albums? Our readers weigh in with their choices.
How many outstanding albums were released in 1976, and how many of them have stood the test of time and still sound great 50 years later?
Those were the key questions I posed in my April 5 article: “Was 1976 the best year ever for great albums? The fifth best? Or neither? Cast your votes!”
Was 1976 the best year ever for great albums? The fifth best? Or neither? Cast your votes!
We invited readers to share their favorites from 1976 - the year of our nation’s Bicentennial - and a good number did. This is the first batch. The letters have been edited for length and clarity.
Bob Marley
This was an amazing job you did! I am particularly gratified that Joan Armatrading’s “Joan Armatrading” and Joni Mitchell’s amazing “Hejira” album made your short list. “Rastaman Vibration” is one of my very favorite Bob Marley albums as well.
But if we are going to delve into reggae, how about the seminal dub record “King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown” (Augustus Pablo)? Or if we are talking punk, how about the first Blondie LP?
Thanks also for the link to your 1972 best albums list. How about links to your lists for 1973, 1974 and 1975?
Dean Kirby, University City
Rory Gallagher, take one
I agree with your choice of Rory Gallagher’s “Calling Card” being one of the best albums of 1976! Definitely my favorite. I was a junior in high school when it was released and our graphic arts teacher allowed me to play it in class. As a longtime San Diego resident, I’ve loved reading your music reviews over the years!
Steve Minerva, Escondido
Rory Gallagher, take two
Thank you for highlighting Rory Gallagher’s “Calling Card” album. I’m a huge, longtime Rory fan and “Calling Card” is probably my favorite of his studio albums. To my ears, it’s perhaps because it’s the only one where he used an outside producer (thank you Roger Glover of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame). Or maybe because his band by 1976 was so tight, after having been together for several years of constant touring and it being their fourth studio album together, after the wonderful “Tattoo,” “Blueprint” and “Against the Grain” albums. Sadly, bassist Gerry McAvoy is the only survivor from this iteration of Rory’s band. R.I.P. Rory, keyboardist Lou Martin and drummer Rod de’Ath, all gone too soon.
Kirk Crawford, Rancho Santa Fe
Led Zeppelin
My favorite album from 1976 is Led Zeppelin's "Presence," which admittedly doesn't not reach the heights of their previous six albums, including their 1975 masterpiece "Physical Graffiti." And, arguably, it does not match the quality of the band’s 1979 album "In Through The Out Door," their last studio album before the death of drummer John Bonham. Still, songs like "Achilles Last Stand" (the rhythm section work of Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones is both amazing and underrated) and "Nobody's Fault But Mine" are undeniably classics. And the underrated "Hot's On For Nowhere" (used effectively in its entirety in the Tony Alva section of the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys") make this still an important album in the Led Zeppelin canon.
From its inception while Robert Plant recovered from his severe car accident writing the album with Jimmy Page in the Malibu Beach Colony, to its birth at Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studios in Munich (just before the Stones came there to record "Black and Blue"), "Presence" remains essential listening for any fan of Led Zeppelin.
John Kaup, Scripps Ranch
David Bowie
As a 19-year-old in 1976, I can recall quite a few albums that saw multiple spins: Steely Dan’s “Royal Scam,” Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender,” Wings’ “Wings At The Speed of Sound,” and Al Stewart’s “Year of Cat.” But by leagues, David Bowie’s “Station to Station” saw the most plays and is my 1976 favorite.
At that time, Bowie’s song “Golden Years” was earning much radio airplay. But it was the prescient title song and “Word On a Wing” and “TVC15” that most captivated me (even though there were only six songs on the album). “Station To Station” had, to some extent, evidence of some of its influences (e.g., Neu!, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and even disco on the song “Stay”). But it also was a harbinger of things to come in 1977 (including Bowie’s Low and Heroes) all of which were seminal influences in the burgeoning genres of punk/new wave/new romantics/synth-rock, etc. An amazing album!
Dale Glaser, Point Loma
Boston, Kansas
The year 1976 was a great music year for me. It contains my top two favorite albums of all time. I’ve always found it interesting how music critics despise the music I love and heap praise on albums I have given so many chances, with repeated listens, but can’t even make it through the whole album. Critics seem to love Velvet Underground, but they hate Rush, Kansas, Boston and Kiss. Sometimes I think lyrics come into play with critical acclaim. I enjoy great lyrics, but hey, I’m listening to music.
Anyway, here are my favorite (not critically applauded) albums from 1976.
1. Boston, “Boston.” Every song was played on FM radio. It’s virtually a greatest hits album.2. Kansas, “Leftoverture.” Critics call it pompous. I call it brilliant!3. Aerosmith, “Rocks.” This is also my favorite Aerosmith album overall.4. Kiss, “Destroyer.” Overproduced? Probably. However, it has many powerful standout songs.5. Rush, “2112.” Another band consistently hated by critics that happens to be my favorite band. Undeniable musicianship and compositional skills.6. Ted Nugent, “Free for All.” Straight ahead rock and roll.7. Judas Priest, “Sad Wings of Destiny.” The band finally was figuring out their musical direction on this one.
So, there definitely seems to be a theme with my picks: Every critic will tell you these albums are rubbish. I guess I love trash. For me, 1976 was a great year for rock and roll.
Howard Hollis, Escondido
Al Stewart
I'm glad you continued your Best Albums of the Year series, even though we both feel a sense of decline from the peak year of 1972. Since you only invite readers to discuss their favorite album, I will just mention a few others, which don't include any of the 12 you chose. As always, I don't include jazz. I do have Joni Mitchell’s song "Amelia" on my super-tapes, which total about 30 hours. I was interested to learn the title refers to Amelia Earhart.
My favorite album of 1976 is Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat.” Stewart's popularity peaked with two albums produced by Alan Parsons: “Year of the Cat” (1976) and “Time Passages” (1978). Both have long title tracks (8-minutes-plus and 6-minutes-plus, respectively) that were Top Ten hits in spite of their length. Both have catchy melodies, interesting harmonies, elaborate arrangements featuring acoustic guitars, and striking saxophone solos. Both are so good it's hard to choose between them.
Stewart wrote (or occasionally co-wrote) all his songs throughout his career. His unique feature is his interest in history, primarily the 20th Century. Most pop music, going back at least to Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, is about romantic and/or sexual relationships. Stewart sings about notable figures and events of the real world. On “Year of the Cat,” we see this in "On the Border" (which is about Basque separatists), "Lord Grenville" (a 16th-century English admiral), and "Flying Sorcery" (Amy Johnson, Britain's Amelia Earhart). Other cuts on the album reflect Stewart's view that his songs are "aural cinema," telling stories and evoking a variety of settings.
Born in 1945, Stewart recorded and performed consistently from his first album, in 1967, to a farewell tour in 2025 to celebrate his 80th birthday. He occupies a unique role as the musical historian of the 20th Century.
My other favorites include: Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” (a close second); Boz Skaggs’ “Silk Degrees”; and Linda Ronstadt’s “Hasten Down the Wind” (I would buy this just for the cover photo of Linda)
Dave Chamberlain, Tierrasanta
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