Classic Rock Magazine

Punk fury gives way to classic songwriting, live albums prove dangerous to the charts, and Van Halen, Kate Bush and Dire Straits make their entrance

Famous for being punk’s finest hour, 1977 also produced one of the best-selling rock albums in Rumours, and classics from Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Rush and Thin Lizzy

1976 was the year when punk first started to rear its head, Kiss found their feet in the studio and the world fell in love with Debbie Harry

The classics just keep on coming. Welcome to the year of Physical Graffiti, Born To Run, Blood On The Tracks, A Night At The Opera and many more

1974 was a hectic 12 months for Queen which saw them hit gold twice, while Aerosmith started to get into their considerable stride and Skynyrd released their signature track

1973 was the year the Skynyrd arrived, Led Zeppelin showed chinks in their armour, and Tubular Bells and Dark Side Of The Moon began their route to world domination

In 1972 prog rock starts to take hold, but not before Bowie produces possibly his most iconic recording and the Stones regress into murky, blues-infested waters. These are the year's best albums

1971 was nothing if not eclectic, as some bands came out with 20-minute epics while others stripped their music right down to rock’n’roll basics. These are the year's best albums

Altamont had brought the 60s to a disastrous close, but 1970 saw the birth of a new breed of supergroups, and established stars heading in new directions

How Jimi Hendrix's second psychedelic masterpiece Axis: Bold As Love proved it wasn't just America’s west coast musicians who were inspired by acid

Eagles' Hotel California single cemented them as rock'n'roll superstars the world over – here's the inside story of how it was made

By the beginning of 1970, The Who were road-hardened and sick of playing Tommy. So they took it back to basics with an album that set the bar for live albums in the 70s

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By the beginning of 1970, The Who were road-hardened and sick of playing 'Tommy'. So they took it back to basics with an album that set the bar for live albums in the 70s