The Top Albums of 1975

It's that time of year again. As 2025 winds to a close, I'd like to run it all the way back to 1975, a truly classic year for music which gave us so many brilliant albums it was near impossible to narrow down to only twenty options. As the first half of the decade ended, this is where music was beginning to fully change and shed the last vestiges of the 60s and pioneer trends all its own. In 1975 we got the first rumblings of the two defining movements of the late 70s, punk rock and disco, and while neither had come to full bloom yet, you can hear their roots all over some of these projects. This was a banner year for rock, pop, soul, funk and singer-songwriter, all genres that appear here, but more than this, it feels like the year of the auteur, with many of the best projects feeling like expressions of why a particular artist is so great. Without further adieu, let's count down the Top Twenty Albums of 1975.

#20 One of These Nights - The Eagles (43 minutes, Country Rock / Soft Rock)

On their fourth album, The Eagles were looking for a change, and they found it as they continued straying further and further away from their country roots to find glory in the annals of rock and roll.  Here, the group uses their country influences as a way of flavoring their rock as opposed to their first three albums, where it was the other way around. This is mainly achieved by sidelining their founding member Bernie Leadon to only two tracks, which feel like they are on a different album entirely, but as for Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Randy Meisner they all contribute some of their best songs yet and they strike a great balance as both songwriters and singers.  The singles here are of blockbuster quality, helping the group assert themselves as some of the dominant hitmakers of the day with their blend of gorgeous harmonies and soaring choruses.  While they haven’t crafted an album as spotless as Hotel California, the alchemy that would lead to that masterpiece is on full display here in the singles especially.  This is both the end of an era and the beginning of the Eagles renaissance, and it makes for damn good driving music too.

Choice Cuts: "One of These Nights" "Take It to the Limit" "Lyin' Eyes"

#19 Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon (35 minutes, Singer-Songwriter / Jazz Pop)

Paul Simon’s brand of songwriting is some of the best of the decade, primarily because of his ability to blend the majorly clever with the universal and simple, and this album is a great example of that superpower.  Like his contemporary Joni Mitchell, this album sees Paul Simon dive into jazzier waters than ever before, wearing a soft Steely Dan influence on many songs.  This doesn’t have any crazy solos or funkier moments, mainly having Paul croon over jazzy piano trills, which fits well with his soft, warm voice.  Simon’s lyrics are primarily concerned with the haze of nostalgia, writing songs about past friends, lovers and hometowns with a sense of melancholic longing.  Many of Simon’s best projects are loud and joyous, celebrating the beauty of life whether it be with African counterrhythms or simple folk songs, but here he presents a more somber, reflective version of himself, which makes for a beautiful, quiet album of the likes he wouldn’t often make, but I’m very glad he did.

Choice Cuts: "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" "My Little Town" "Still Crazy After All These Years"

#18 Sabotage - Black Sabbath (43 minutes, Heavy Metal / Progressive Rock)

Some bands are best known for never making the same album twice while others can make a decades long career out of not fucking with the formula, but Black Sabbath is one of the rare bands that were able to give us the best of both worlds, particularly in their first decade with the inimitable Ozzy Osbourne at the helm.  This record, their sixth in as many years, is widely considered to be their final classic (at least before Ronnie James Dio entered the picture) and it does feel like a turning point for the group, split between some of their most experimental moments and their most pop-adjacent.  The throughline here, as with all of their records, is the sheer heaviness of the music, with Tony Iommi’s blistering riffs smacking you across the face with their immediacy and power.  The best songs here build on the prog-rock tendencies of 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, delivering multipart opuses with wicked solos but on the other hand, Ozzy’s knack for pop hooks rears its head, delivering a few easily digestible slices of radio-ready hard rock to balance out the weirder moments.  You can see the cracks beginning to form, but for this one final classic LP the original Sabbath delivered another dose of the heaviness we all know and love.  Rock on lads!

Choice Cuts: "Symptom of the Universe" "Hole in the Sky" "Am I Going Insane"

#17 Venus and Mars - Paul McCartney & Wings (43 minutes, Pop Rock)

After the smashing success of Band on the Run, which saw McCartney regain touch with his unparalleled command of the pop hook and deliver a Beatles quality project, McCartney had nowhere to go but down, and while this might not hit the heights of Band on the Run, it comes pretty close.  As always, Paul delivers songs with some of the catchiest choruses of the era, which will stick in your head for days, but these are no candyfloss pop songs, this record sees Wings rock harder than ever before, and in new styles, with the band taking a bit of a musical tour of various styles from 50s throwback rock ‘n’ roll to bluesy funk, spirited pop and even New Orleans styled zydeco jazz with a sense of joy and delight that all of McCartney’s best work possessed.  For the first time, McCartney also lets the rest of Wings take on an increased role in the songwriting with a contribution each from guitarists Jimmy McCullough and Denny Laine, which make this feel more like a real band than ever.  Where Band on the Run felt like the best of Paul McCartney, this feels like the best of Wings, as a unit, and for that it should be seen as a lost classic.

Choice Cuts: "Listen to What the Man Said" "Call Me Back Again" "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" "Magneto and Titanium Man"

#16 Family Reunion - The O'Jays (44 minutes, Philly Soul / Disco)

The O’Jays could usually be counted on for a few killer singles penned by the legendary Philly soul architects Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, but a few times in their career they came together to magic LP length magic, and this was the last of their three undisputed classics.  While their earlier work relied more on the string-laden, elegant Philly soul sound, there’s more of a desire to experiment here, with the three flagship songs diving into gospel, blues and disco styles, all while retaining the signature O’Jays sound due to the trio’s brilliant vocal chemistry.  This feels indebted to The Isley Brothers in a way, namely due to the extended jams here, with both the lush, sensuous ballads and the up-tempo cuts luxuriating in longer run times.  Eddie Levert in particular shines bright on here, with his vocals front and center, baring his soul on the plush ballads.  While not every track here is a stone cold classic, and a few moments feel quite patriarchal in retrospect, this is some of the best R&B out there.  Pick it up and cruise.

Choice Cuts: "I Love Music" "Livin' for the Weekend" "Stairway to Heaven"

#15 Young Americans - David Bowie (40 minutes, R&B / Funk)

One of the most common refrains about David Bowie’s artistry is that he was a chameleon, hopping seamlessly from genre to genre, and there are few better examples of that phenomenon than this record, where Bowie abandons his signature glam-rock sound and dives deep into the world of Philly soul.  The match sounds awkward on paper, but on record it is some magical alchemy with Bowie’s emotive yet effortlessly cool voice drifting above the slick R&B backing with groovy bass lines and suave saxophone solos.  Bowie’s ability to bring his own unique flair to the genre allows for some truly dazzling songs, blending obscure art-rock with cracking funk instrumentals and smooth soul balladry.  The secret weapon of the album is the backing vocal arrangements, done by a then unknown Luther Vandross, which give each song some gospel fervor which expertly balances out Bowie’s detached cool.  This project would effortlessly segue him into the icy art-rock meets funk of Station to Station and the atmospheric soundscapes of the Berlin trilogy.  It all makes perfect sense without making any sense at all, but then isn’t that what makes Bowie so damn special after all?

Choice Cuts: "Young Americans" "Fame" "Fascination"

#14 A Quiet Storm - Smokey Robinson (36 minutes, Soul / Smooth Jazz)

Smokey Robinson is best known as one of the architects of the Motown sound, the best thing to come out of the 1960s along with The Beatles, but on this album, his third separated from his Motown compatriots, The Miracles, he completes his transition away from the breezy, well-orchestrated soulful pop trifles of his Motown heyday and becomes the innovator of an entirely new genre, the album’s namesake, Quiet Storm.  While it’s now known mostly as a sort of radio station, in 1975, Smokey began crafting a smooth, lush nocturnal brand of soul, all about cooing, falsetto vocals and liquid grooves that are better for making out than dancing.  This album is deeply sensuous, with Smokey delivering gorgeous, crystalline vocals and soft instrumentals which forgo funk in favor of a jazzier, more smooth atmosphere.  These songs groove lightly, a perfect fit for Smokey’s one of a kind voice.  It’s a lulling, beautiful record which is more about vibe than songcraft, a rarity for someone of Smokey’s songwriting caliber, but it works wonders.  This may not house any of his all time greatest songs, but as a singular album, he doesn’t have many that stand quite so tall in his storied career.  Lay back and get lost in the grooves.

Choice Cuts: "Quiet Storm" "Baby That's Backatcha" "The Agony and The Ecstasy"

#13 Face the Music - Electric Light Orchestra (36 minutes, Orchestral Pop / Art Rock)

The magic of Jeff Lynne, the lead singer and main songwriter behind ELO, is that he can write some of the catchiest pop hooks since the heyday of The Beatles, but what makes ELO more than just your average pop-rock band is the way they dress those simple pop songs up in pomp, circumstance and orchestral bombast.  No other album in their catalog accomplishes that feat quite like their fifth project, coming hot off the heels of their gorgeous concept album El Dorado, here Lynne is content to deliver eight killer pop songs draped in layers of sweeping strings, punchy horns and strutting rock beats.  While their earlier material leaned heavily on the conventions of progressive rock, this album fully embraces their pop side to great success, letting each song come in, deliver a knockout punch of a hook for three to four breezy minutes, and then leave.  You’ll be humming these songs for days after just one listen.  While their next two albums would improve on the formula set here, this album perfects the classic ELO sound, and there’s not much pop-rock music I like more.

Choice Cuts: "Evil Woman" "Strange Magic" "Fire on High" "Nightrider"

#12 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John (46 minutes, Pop-Rock)

Every superhero needs an origin story, and there are few figures in the history of rock music that feel like larger than life superheroes more than Elton John, the technicolor wizard of 70s pop.  After a series of hits throughout the first half of the decade that would make anyone envious, Elton and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin decided to move away from the blockbuster pop rock of his past few albums and write a quieter, more introspective album about the beginnings of their collaboration.  The brilliance of this album is not only in the storytelling, which uses Taupin’s usually abstract lyrics very effectively, using off-kilter metaphors to tell the story through emotion instead of direct, more boring lyricism, but also in the way it simultaneously feels both intimate and small scale, while still having the music feel as bombastic as ever.  This truly feels like a travelogue of Elton’s early career, touching on the folksy country and orchestral balladry of his first few projects while still utilizing the glitzy glam-pop rock that made him a worldwide sensation, and even layering in new sounds like an element of Broadway showtunes and wisps of disco synths.  The big emotional gut punches on this album are its strongest moments, making you feel invested in the Elton story more than any biopic I’ve ever seen.  If “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” doesn’t touch you, you might not be human.  This feels like a celebration of Elton’s first career phase, a summation of that period before the incoming split between Elton and Bernie, and as a remembrance of that era, it works wonders, and as a standalone piece, it ranks among his career best material.

Choice Cuts: "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" "We All Fall in Love Somtimes" "Gotta Get a Meal Ticket" "Curtains"

#11 The Hissing of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell (42 minutes, Singer-Songwriter / Jazz-Pop)

Joni Mitchell is a songwriter’s songwriter, that’s no secret.  Every time I listen to a project of hers I am in awe of her command of both lyric and melody, and this album stands as one of her best in both areas.  Lyrically, Joni is in a very contemplative mood, writing a loosely conceptual series of songs about the existential dread of life in the suburbs, feeling trapped in the hell of domesticity.  She paints pictures of boredom that are so vivid that you can feel yourself disappearing into the leather couches she writes about.  I mean the album title alone is so evocative, only Joni could manage to paint a masterpiece in just one line.  The way she explores the loneliness of these forgotten housewives is brilliant, each song investigating a different aspect of life, from the fleeting romance of youth to the existential terror of the urban jungle.  Musically, Joni continues her newfound embrace of jazz that began on Court and Spark, luxuriating in plush piano lines, jazzy horns and dizzying drum fills mixing in with her acoustic singer-songwriter stylings.  Joni, ahead of her time as always, even employs Graceland-styled sampling of African drumming ten years before Paul Simon would bring it to the mainstream.  While this may lack the big hits of her earlier 70s projects, it is some of her career best writing.  You can read it like a novel, but it’s better listening, I promise.

Choice Cuts: "The Jungle Line" "In France They Kiss On Main Street" "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow"

#10 Katy Lied - Steely Dan (35 minutes, Jazz Rock)

Steely Dan’s fourth outing was a true rebirth for the band, as it was the first project where they ceased to be a band, in the traditional sense.  After Pretzel Logic, the Dan masterminds, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, realized that they could be much more musically ambitious if instead of using a set band they could hire the cream of the crop of session players to suit each individual composition.  While this approach would come to true fruition on their following three albums, here Fagen and Becker begin experimenting more with pure jazz-fusion than ever before, taking the more traditional three minute pop songs they were cranking out the previous year, and adding jazzier chord changes and more intricate solos.  The songwriting is the true star of this album, with Becker and Fagen hitting new heights lyrically, with their oblique, intellectual brand of humor showing up on every track, poking fun at everything from drug problems to your creepy uncle.  There is a darker undertone here than other Dan albums, or at least the music is able to match their bleak lyrical humor with more subdued jazzy pop songs, mostly eschewing rock guitars for melancholic saxophones and marimbas.  The hooks on each song will have you returning again and again for the duo’s command of a catchy melody, no matter how complex the music could become.  Fagen’s singing hits new heights, best when he is accompanied by the contrastingly soulful tenor of Michael McDonald, one of the band’s new pinch hitters.  While this is maybe the most unassuming of the classic Dan records, it’s no slouch and contains some of the band’s best writing.  A forgotten gem.

Choice Cuts: "Doctor Wu" "Any World (That I'm Welcome To)" "Black Friday" "Everyone's Gone to the Movies"

#9 Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (42 minutes, Soft Rock / Folk)

When people think of Fleetwood Mac, they tend to think of the classic five: Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, but little do many people know, Fleetwood Mac had been kicking around for almost a decade prior to this, the first album to feature Nicks and Buckingham.  They’d done stints as a UK blues rock group, a twee folk outfit and now they’d fully begun their imperial era as soft-rock titans.  It is clear from the first notes here that Nicks and Buckingham were the secret ingredient the group had been missing.  The self-titled nature of the album makes it feel like a second debut record of sorts, and for a debut, it is unparalleled.  Lindsey Buckingham takes the lead on much of the album, his songs give the album its irrepressible rock energy, with folksy but rocking guitar licks and his rootsy vocals giving the group a much needed edge.  In contrast, Stevie Nicks contributes a few brilliant, wispy and waifish folk songs draped in her signature mystique, blending the earthiness of her ballads with the witchy vibes of her pop classics.  No one else had an energy like Nicks, and she went on to inspire generations of performers with her unique aura, but she had it perfected from the get-go here.  Last but certainly not least are the contributions from resident hitmakers Chrstine McVie, who I feel is the group’s unsung hero, delivering the warmest, most inviting pop songs with soaring, but soft hooks that would become radio staples for generations.  The alchemy of these five performers is unlike most other bands, locking in from moment one as if they’d been playing for decades.  While their following album may be more legendary, I’d say this almost equals it in terms of pop genius, pound for pound and song for song.  A surprising classic on the first try.

Choice Cuts: "Landslide" "Rhiannon" "Say You Love Me" "I'm So Afraid"

#8 That's the Way of the World - Earth, Wind & Fire (38 minutes, R&B / Funk)

At their best, Earth, Wind & Fire sound like they’re playing the best concert you’ve ever been to every single time they get in the studio, and this album is no exception.  After solidifying what made them special on their previous record, 1974’s Open Our Eyes, Maurice White and company deliver what can easily be called their masterpiece, a thunderous slab of funk, R&B and jazz coalescing to become the signature EWF sound.  Many bands tried to replicate their unique sonic cocktail, but none came close.  While the group’s vocals are always on point, the blend between Maurice’s powerful tenor, Verdine’s growling bass and Philip Bailey’s soaring falsetto is unimpeachable here, with Bailey in particular getting highlighted on the spectacularly gorgeous ballads.  Every song grooves like a mother, with popping bass lines and punchy horn arrangements, which could get even the shyest wallflowers onto the dance floor, and their jazz chops are on full display with the few virtuosic solos they let rip.  It’s challenging to put into words what the magic of EWF is primarily because it’s not music to be passively listened to, it’s music to experience with your full body, so without further adieu, get off the couch and shake your booty; it’s the best way to pay your respects to these generational talents.

Choice Cuts: "Shining Star" "Reasons" "That's the Way of the World" "Yearnin' Learnin'"

#7 The Heat Is On - The Isley Brothers (37 minutes, Funk-Rock / Soul)

In 1975, The Isley Brothers were on a roll.  Ever since the trio of singing brothers joined up with their extended family in 1973 to form the world’s foremost funk rock outfit, they couldn’t stop pumping out classic album after classic album, but this, their third project as a sextet, reigns chief among them for delivering their most compact, filler-free set of songs ever.  After many years of having some of their standout songs be wildly reimagined covers of soft-rock and folk songs of the day, turning them into funky workouts or soulful ballads, this is their first ever project to be comprised of all original material, and they make it count, at no point do you miss the covers at all.  The album is split down the middle between straight ahead, heavy funk rock scorchers and gorgeous, sexy, tender balladry.  The A-Side houses the three funk-rockers which feature the truly virtuosic guitar work of Ernie Isley, the band’s not-so secret weapon, who solos like his life depends on it, letting each irresistible groove ride out in a luxurious James Brown styled instrumental Part 2.  Even better is the B-Side where Ron Isley is allowed to show off his own virtuosic pipes even more on the soft, sexy romantic ballads which see the band creating lush backdrops of keys and bass.  Few soul singers have the captivating quality of Ron Isley’s falsetto, and no album showcases his pipes better than this one.  In six songs, the Isleys deliver a masterclass in what R&B should sound like, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Choice Cuts: "For the Love of You" "Fight the Power" "Hope You Feel Better Love" "Make Me Say It Again Girl"

#6 Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (1 hour and 23 minutes, Hard Rock / Progressive Rock)

Led Zeppelin weren’t just a rock band, they were gods among men, and this album proves that more than any other.  While it may not be their most consistent project, it is certainly their most ambitious, a sprawling double album that dabbles in countless styles, both old and new for the band, and most importantly really letting their epic tracks feel epic, being longer than ever before.  While on Houses on the Holy, the group dabbled in both prog-rock and funk-rock flavors, those two styles come to full fruition here with certain songs feeling like the meeting of Stevie Wonder and Black Sabbath, while others feel like Genesis or Yes, but with a lot more muscle.  The sporadic influences from other genres by no means dilute the pure Zeppelin-esque sound though, the players all still sound the same, if not better than ever.  Plant is in great voice, delivering roaring, raw vocals on the rockers as always, but even better is his singing on the softer ballads, where his tenderness really shows.  The rest of the band is at their most instrumentally creative, with Page’s riffs blending blistering blues rock with intricate progressive soloing, and the rhythm section of Jones and Bonham are as locomotive as ever.  Does every song here work, not quite, but the hit rate is staggering for a double album, let alone a double album after five previous albums in less than ten years.  This, much like Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, is an emblematic “end of an era” record, with this being the last pure explosion of creativity before the inevitable drop in quality, as no one, not even the gods of Rock could stay perfect forever.  As the last true classic Zep album, it stands tall among rock double albums as one of the best of the best.  Turn it up and air drum for your life.

Choice Cuts: "Trampled Under Foot" "Ten Years Gone" "Kashmir" "Houses of the Holy" "In the Light" "The Rover"

#5 Horses - Patti Smith (43 minutes, Punk / Art Rock)

Many people call this the first punk rock album, but I feel that pays a disservice to this record in a way, because while it is a revolutionary musical statement, it’s more than just bash and thrash garage rock, it’s poetry.  Patti’s lyricism on this album is staggering, she writes in a beautifully free-form manner, like a poet whose imagery is so vivid they don’t even need to bother to rhyme.  The lyrics are as oblique and lend themselves to as many distinct interpretations as Dylan, but her delivery makes them as stark and immediate as the best from Lou Reed.  Her caterwauling voice doesn’t need to be traditionally pretty, as its cries of anguish and ecstasy are so raw that are beyond beauty.  Musically, the foundations of punk are brought about, with a ramshackle garage rock quality permeating each song’s loping guitar riffs and rhythm section with slight hints of reggae and even jazz, even if it's all just meant to accentuate Patti’s slithering, growling vocals.  I’m convinced this album would be nearly as good as an a cappella project as Smith’s vocals are so uniquely fascinating, but the band’s effortless muscle is infectious on its own.  This album supersedes the description of punk in many ways, as no pure punk album would be so adventurous to deliver tracks like “Birdland”, a stunning nine-minute piano ballad about an alien invasion which at points feels more like a poetry recitation than a traditional song.  The album’s signature moment sees Patti and company laying waste to a classic rock staple, adding her own lyrical mantras and thrashing away until the song is nearly unrecognizable.  If that isn’t modern art I don’t know what is.  Patti Smith is a rock and roll prophet, showing up on the scene, immediately fucking shit up and loudly proclaiming that the new world order is coming and you’d better get ready.  The world wasn’t ready for Patti Smith, and whenever I listen to this record, it still feels as fresh and thrilling as it would have in 1975.

Choice Cuts: "Gloria: In Excelsis Deo" "Land (Horses/Land of a 1000 Dances/La Mer(de))" "Redondo Beach" "Birdland"

#4 A Night at the Opera - Queen (43 minutes, Hard Rock / Pop Rock / Progressive Rock)

When you think of bombastic music, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?  For me, it’s the high camp rock and roll of Queen, with all their theatrical pomp and circumstance.  It’s that needless bombast that makes Queen so delightfully singular and on no other album in their catalog do they capture the magic of overdoing it quite like they do here.  After spending their first three albums honing their brand of hard rock with prog-rock flavoring, here they mostly step away from that style and dive deep into the well of the more overtly theatrical.  While all of the band members contribute songs here in their signature styles: John Deacon’s gorgeous, candyfloss pop hooks, Roger Taylor’s thundering heavy rock and Brian May’s progressive rock epics, along with a few acoustic folksy trifles, the album’s best moments all belong to lead singer to the stars Freddie Mercury, whose unique handprint is all over the record.  There were hints of vaudevillian theatricality on their last album, Sheer Heart Attack; they come into full bloom here, as their own brief songs and as a way of flavoring the rock songs elsewhere.  Queen’s signature stacked harmonies also come into full blossom here, with the rock chorale bringing so many songs to life with their dizzying high notes.  It’s these choices that differentiate Queen from their contemporaries.  They weren’t afraid to make big swings, or be silly.  Does it all work?  On this album, I’d say so.  I mean what other band would put all their chips into a song as bizarre as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a half piano ballad, half rock anthem, half opera number, and then have it become their signature song.  No one else.  And that’s the magic of Queen, rock’s campiest icons.

Choice Cuts: "Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Death on Two Legs" "The Prophet's Song" "Love of My Life"

#3 Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (44 minutes, Progressive Rock / Art Rock)

Pink Floyd belong to the tradition of progressive rock, where simplicity is often traded out for complication at every turn, with copious solos and intricate, impenetrable lyrics sometimes rooted in sci-fi or fantasy.  More or less progressive rock is at its heart, nerdy.  This is where Pink Floyd differs from their progressive contemporaries.  Where everyone else was concerned with being as mysterious as possible with their oblique references, Pink Floyd’s lyrics were astonishingly simple and most importantly, able to evoke raw emotion unlike any of their compatriots.  No other album shows off this quality better than this, their follow-up to the genre defining classic The Dark Side of the Moon.  The best music is sometimes rooted in tragic loss, and the songwriting team of Roger Waters and David Gilmour are able to wring beautiful, cathartic music from the mental decline of their former collaborator Syd Barrett.  Instrumentally, this is very much a continuation of the beautifully lush art-rock of Dark Side, with Gilmour’s expressive guitar work taking center stage through much of the album, delivering gorgeously textured solos and riffs that are nearly tear-jerking on their own.  When paired with the lyrics eulogizing their fallen comrade about their divergent life paths, this album hits universal notes of regret, loss and memory.  I challenge anyone to make it through the title track without getting teary, if you do, you may not have a heart.  On the other hand, the rest of the album is filled out with songs which see the band struggling to reconcile their newfound mainstream popularity, ripping into the machinery of the record label in sharply funny fashion with hints of kraut-rock and funk spilling over as musical influences.  The true showpiece though is the 25 minute 9-part symphony which is “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, perhaps the band’s greatest moment, which ebbs and flows, building and peaking like any piece of classical music, mainly staying instrumental except for the very few, cathartic verses which say everything in so few words.  This is the last Floyd album that feels truly collaborative, or at least lacking an element of intra-band conflict, and for that it ranks as one of their greatest achievements.  A true masterpiece in all senses.

Choice Cuts: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" "Wish You Were Here" "Have a Cigar"

#2 Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (39 minutes, Rock / Singer-Songwriter)

If you can describe the magic of Bruce Springsteen at his best in a single phrase, I would submit “music that makes you realize you’re alive”, but this record sees Springsteen add to that, Born to Run can best be described as “music that makes you feel happy you’re alive”.  Rarely does an album feel as if it is positively bursting with a human vitality and vigor as much as Springsteen’s third outing.  The beauty of these songs is in how Springsteen is able to paint the most elegant, romantic pictures of the universal moments of suburban adolescence.  In a less talented artist's hands, these songs could be mundane, but with a song like “Thunder Road”, Springsteen’s pleas to his girlfriend to leave this dead end town feel positively Shakespearean in their grandeur, but with none of his pretension.  Musically, Springsteen and the E Street Band have found and perfected their signature sound, with the group delivering muscular rock versions of the sounds of their childhood, with elements of Motown and Phil Spector in their sweeping cinemascope arrangements, highlighted by Roy Bittan’s gorgeous piano and Clarence Clemons’ roaring saxophone.  This album alone seemed to birth an entire genre of devotees from Tom Petty to John Mellencamp and many more, the Heartland rock scene is indebted to this record more than they can ever express, but those imitators couldn’t ever nail the funkier, New York strut of the best Bruce tunes, probably cause they didn’t have Clarence Clemons on hand.  Springsteen’s rough but powerhouse vocals give the album an extra earnestness that a more polished vocalist might lack, he belts out each lyric as if it is his last words dripping with passion and emotion.  Each song on its own would be a tour de force, a classic tale of teenage romance and escapism, but put together it reads like a collection of short stories in that brilliant Americana style.  Perhaps the reason why the album resonates so much so many years later, is that while many of these characters get their ride off into the sunset moment, none of their stories have a promised happy ending.  These characters feel real, and their victories are hard won and sometimes short.  The characters don’t always succeed, but Springsteen makes sure you’re always rooting for them, like any good author.  In "Jungleland",there is beauty in mundanity and there is romance in the everyday grind. It’s hard to express how life-affirming this truly is, it’s rock music for the soul, and that’s Bruce's specialty.  Put the windows down in your Cadillac and drive down the highway blasting this one like it’s 75 all over again.

Choice Cuts: "Born to Run" "Thunder Road" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" "Jungleland" "Meeting Across the River"

#1 Mothership Connection - Parliament (38 minutes, Funk / R&B)

The best album of a particular year doesn’t always have to be the most innovative or the most forward thinking, sometimes it just has to be the most fun, and in the case of these generational funk-meisters that rings true.  For the first half of the decade, Parliament was the lesser of George Clinton’s two bands, but this album signified a seismic change in the Funk-a-verse, with Parliament going from horn-heavy side project into a full fledged monster, and sidelining the more acidic funk rock of Funkadelic for the rest of the decade.  George Clinton’s role here is mainly as the spaced out master of ceremonies, crooning like an old time DJ over most of these legendary jams, but his role is essential as it creates a sense of worldbuilding that you wouldn’t expect from a simple funk album.  On this album, Clinton creates a fantastically funky imaginary universe full of groove-tastic aliens and intergalactic DJs, and this lore would expand on every following album.  His role as Star Child was the one he was born to play.  While Clinton’s lyrics are as silly as ever, the band is what you stay for.  The way each song is able to layer every element while letting each performer shine is stunning.  The most creative way this happens is with the vocal lines, which don’t resemble the classic verse/chorus structure, but instead, from the school of James Brown, mostly consist of different refrains that Clinton layers on top of each other, like the world’s funkiest choir director.  Instrumentally, this album has no weak links.  The bass playing from ex-J.B. Bootsy Collins is mind-blowing in its groove and feel and the horn section delivers a real punch to each track, but the unsung hero is Bernie Worrell, the synth and keyboard wizard who creates the album’s intergalactic sounding textures.  It’s rare that a 50 year old album still feels futuristic, but this one does, albeit in a cheesy B-movie way, but I speak the language of camp, and this is a camp classic.  It’s hard to really describe the feeling of this album in words, it’s better to just listen and get lost in the Funk-a-verse.  Every time I pull this album off the shelf I discover a new hook, a new groove or lick and it keeps me coming back for more time and again.  Now in the words of George Clinton, get off your ass and jam!

Choice Cuts: "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)" "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" "Unfunky UFO"

And there you have it folks, those are my 20 favorite albums of 1975. Give these albums their flowers, cause fifty years on they are still stone cold classics. The Best of 1985 is coming soon. Let me know below if there's anything you think I missed, or any thoughts of your own on these brilliant projects!

Happy listening!