Great list. My favourite album from 1976 is easily 2112 by Rush. I would also list the Ramones debut, Boston's debut and Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life
Thanks! I had a longer list, and that included Boston and 2112. The former just missed the cut, and the latter was soon eclipsed by "A farewell to Kings' and 'Hemispheres'. Wonder's is great but I preferred his earlier albums, and 'Isn't She Lovely' was too twee for my tastes!
We must be of a similar age! Back in 1976 for me was Queen A Day at the Races, Supertramp Crisis What Crisis and F.Mac Rumours + the majority of yours. 😀
A nice array of albums . I look forward to exploring the Go album that you showed , and I have heard all of the others . Here's my list , not in any particular order : Steely Dan : The Royal Scam Be Bop Deluxe : Modern Music. ( Sunburst Finish is also great ) David Bowie : Station to Station Bob Dylan : Desire Genesis : A Trick of the Tail Genesis : Wind & Wuthering. (. I saw both of these tours as well ) Kansas : Leftoverture Bob Seger : Night Moves Heart : Dreamboat Annie Camel : Moonmadness Thin Lizzy : Jailbreak Billy Joel : Turnstiles Boz Scaggs : Silk Degrees Eagles : Hotel California Graham Parker : Heat Treatment Al Stewart : Year of the Cat Queen : A Day at the Races 10CC : How Dare You Warren Zevon : Warren Zevon Wings : Wings Over America Thanks for the recommendations. !
Hi David, your selection is second to none, lot of amazing records and bands that I grew up with, that I still love and listen to today. Love prog rock and jazz-fusion rock, hence bands like Camel, PFM and Brand-X are very appealing to me, and of course having in the list the two Genesis albums released in that year is a ''common sense''. If I were to make my own list, I would ''steal'' quite a few names from you, while also adding Rush's 2112 and Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre. Very cool selection, plus i love your stories. Thanks for sharing those great concert memories, pictures, posters, etc.. Kind Regards from Eastern Canada
Great picks David! - I have most of your 20 (16 or so). What I'd add is Alan Parsons: Tales of Mystery & Imagination; Rory Gallagher: Calling Card; Rush: 2112; Rolling Stones: Black & Blue; Led Zeppelin: Presence. It was a great year for live albums too. Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall; Bob Seger Live Bullet; Frampton Comes Alive; Wings Over America. Cheers from Central California!
Dave, great insight again. I too, used to take a SLR to gigs in the 70s, starting off with a Zenit E and graduating to an Olympus OM10. I’ve got a few shots of Genesis at Knebworth and a few of Magazine, Bauhaus, Madness and a few other at local gigs. As with your previous ‘best of the years’ videos, there are differences to my versions. This is not because I disagree with you, it’s mainly because I’ve not heard the record at all, not heard it enough to form a solid view or in some instances I’ve not even heard of the artist. This is one of the joys of these videos though, it alerts me to things to look out for or to have a few more listens of. Anyway, from your list, this is where we agree: Genesis - Trick of the Tail (in my top 5 of all time), Bowie - Station to Station (possible top 10 of all time), Ian Hunter- All-American Alien Boy, Genesis -Wind and Wuthering (both top 50?) and then Eagles- Hotel California and Thin Lizzy-Jailbreak (both great but outside top 100 oat, but in top 20 for the year) Not mentioned by you, but in my top 20 of the year would be Jon Lord-Sarabande, Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life, Alice Cooper- Goes to Hell. Which means I’ve only got 9 in my top 20 of the year! Must try harder! Cheers again, and I look forward to 1977👍
1977 coming soon Gary! It's going to be interesting to see how our faves overlap in that pivotal year! I used to have that Jon Lord album (and I might even have a replacement still....somewhere). I'm sure I sold my first copy. Didn't hit the spot....for me. 'Songs in the Key of Life' has never been a go-to album of Stevie's for me. I think I was turned off by 'Sir Duke' and 'Isn't She Lovely' - soooo overplayed at the time. 'Living for the City' and 'Superstition' are my faves, so I gravitate to the early 70s albums. And BTW, the Olympus OM10 was a winner, wasn't it? Out of my price range though.
Some excellent selections there David. Other personal favourites from that year include Breakaway-Gallagher & Lyle, Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs and Frampton Comes Alive.
Some good choices there David and I have just downloaded a few so thank you. 1976 would have been a good year for my record buying as I had started work and used to buy several albums a week back then but due to my memory issues I can’t remember what!
I have a couple of Zenits! (and a bunch of Feds, a Zorki, a Kiev, a Lomo, and even a Vilia, etc.). Station to Station would be on my top of '76 list. Interesting to see Saint-Saëns on your list. I have a few Barenboim recordings. I enjoyed the photos.
I was emailing a musician friend from school 50 years ago this morning and I said how many great albums came out in 1976, as I was listening to JJ Cale's 'Troubadour' album. A mad coincidence !
Hi David! Throwing down the gauntlet at the start with reference to lighting up the comment section. I love it. I read the comments in your last video so caught that instantly. Your camera case is awesome. What great stories from those shows you have. Very enjoyable video my friend! ✌️
Royal Scam. Unorthodox Behaviour, Bright Size Life, Hejira. Wired (Jeff Beck), Moonmadness, Songs in the Key of Life, Desire, Black Market (Weather Report), Tom Petty 1st, Yellow Fields (Eberhard Weber), and Trick of the Tail are albums I still play a lot. Brand X was an underrated band. 1976 is one of my favourite music years. Pop music reached a peak in terms of sophistication and went downhill afterwards.
David, I know it''s your personnal selection, great selection, but have you forgotten The Steve Miller Band's 'Fly Like An Eagle'? Alice Cooper cites the album as a dividing line in rock music,a Year Zero.
I know 'Fly Like an Eagle' pretty well, Nick. It's a fine album but, for one reason or another, didn't connect with me that strongly back in '76. I was probably still too much focused on Prog!
Hi David, I think we are very similar in age as I started getting interested in album rock in the autumn of 1975, so 1976 is my first full year as an avid music fan. It remains my all-time favourite year, so I'll be back later with my top 20. It will feature many of the same albums as you, but the order is different, except for our #1. You mentioned Windows. I went to the university in Newcastle (1978-1981) and probably spent more time in the record stores than I did in lectures. Was Windows the store in the little arcade?
Since 2020, I've been recording every album play in a spreadsheet so I find it easy to do ranking lists based on an algorithm that looks at the number of plays and which year. I intended to match you with a top 20, but I can't do it. There are far too many great albums that would be missed. I've finished with a top 50 studio albums, and all the way down to #42 make my current top 500 and the others are close contenders. Here's my list: 1 Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail 2 Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record 3 Steely Dan - The Royal Scam 4 Horslips - The Book of Invasions 5 City Boy - City Boy 6 David Bowie - Station To Station 7 Graham Parker - Heat Treatment 8 Al Stewart - Year of the Cat 9 Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading 10 Be Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish 11 Genesis - Wind and Wuthering 12 Bob Dylan - Desire 13 City Boy - Dinner At The Ritz 14 Rainbow - Rainbow Rising 15 Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak 16 Graham Parker - Howlin' Wind 17 Camel - Moonmadness 18 Eagles - Hotel California 19 Bad Company - Run With The Pack 20 Rory Gallagher - Calling Card 21 Ronnie Lane - One For The Road 22 Golden Earring - To The Hilt 23 Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life 24 Back Street Crawler - Second Street 25 Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigle 26 Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon 27 Jackson Browne - The Pretender 28 Racing Cars - Downtown Tonight 29 Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes 30 Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music 31 Bob Seger - Night Moves 32 Boston - Boston 33 Son Seals - Midnight Son 34 Jess Roden - Play It Dirty Play It Cheap 35 Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man 36 Rick Wakeman - No Earthly Connection 37 10cc - How Dare You 38 Jess Roden - Keep Your Hat On 39 Tom Petty - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 40 Heart - Dreamboat Annie 41 Elliott Murphy - Night Lights 42 Ramones - Ramones 43 Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Roaring Silence 44 Eddie & The Hot Rods - Teenage Depression 45 Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle 46 Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny 47 Led Zeppelin - Presence 48 John Miles - Rebel 49 Aerosmith - Rocks 50 Ian Hunter - All American Alien Boy
I took out these live albums from my first list, but these also deserve a mention: 1 Paul McCartney - Wings Over America 2 Dr Feelgood - Stupidity 3 Bob Seger - Live Bullet 4 Roxy Music - Viva! Roxy Music 5 J Geils Band - Blow Your Face Out 6 Phil Manzanera - 801 Live 7 Charles Mingus - Mingus At Antibes 8 Joe Walsh - You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind
Thanks Paul. Yes, J.G. Windows was (and still is) located in the 'Central Arcade'. It used to be THE go to place for records, but these days, the selection. is limited and prices on the high side. Thanks for commenting on the video. '76 was a great year.
Great list. My favourite album from 1976 is easily 2112 by Rush.
I would also list the Ramones debut, Boston's debut and Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life
Thanks!
I had a longer list, and that included Boston and 2112. The former just missed the cut, and the latter was soon eclipsed by "A farewell to Kings' and 'Hemispheres'. Wonder's is great but I preferred his earlier albums, and 'Isn't She Lovely' was too twee for my tastes!
Hotel California was huge in 77. The album came out in December 76 ! I adore Trick Of The Tail !
We must be of a similar age! Back in 1976 for me was Queen A Day at the Races, Supertramp Crisis What Crisis and F.Mac Rumours + the majority of yours. 😀
A nice array of albums .
I look forward to exploring the Go album that you showed , and I have heard all of the others .
Here's my list , not in any particular order :
Steely Dan : The Royal Scam
Be Bop Deluxe : Modern Music. ( Sunburst Finish is also great )
David Bowie : Station to Station
Bob Dylan : Desire
Genesis : A Trick of the Tail
Genesis : Wind & Wuthering. (. I saw both of these tours as well )
Kansas : Leftoverture
Bob Seger : Night Moves
Heart : Dreamboat Annie
Camel : Moonmadness
Thin Lizzy : Jailbreak
Billy Joel : Turnstiles
Boz Scaggs : Silk Degrees
Eagles : Hotel California
Graham Parker : Heat Treatment
Al Stewart : Year of the Cat
Queen : A Day at the Races
10CC : How Dare You
Warren Zevon : Warren Zevon
Wings : Wings Over America
Thanks for the recommendations. !
Hi David, your selection is second to none, lot of amazing records and bands that I grew up with, that I still love and listen to today. Love prog rock and jazz-fusion rock, hence bands like Camel, PFM and Brand-X are very appealing to me, and of course having in the list the two Genesis albums released in that year is a ''common sense''. If I were to make my own list, I would ''steal'' quite a few names from you, while also adding Rush's 2112 and Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre. Very cool selection, plus i love your stories. Thanks for sharing those great concert memories, pictures, posters, etc.. Kind Regards from Eastern Canada
Thank you! '2112' and 'Oxygene' were just outside my top 20.
Loving your taste in music!
Great picks David! - I have most of your 20 (16 or so). What I'd add is Alan Parsons: Tales of Mystery & Imagination; Rory Gallagher: Calling Card; Rush: 2112; Rolling Stones: Black & Blue; Led Zeppelin: Presence. It was a great year for live albums too. Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall; Bob Seger Live Bullet; Frampton Comes Alive; Wings Over America. Cheers from Central California!
Hi Brian, I have all of those except 'Calling Card'. That first Alan Parsons album is a great one, and 'Carnegie Hall' is superb.
Fantastic selection David. At least a good dozen would be on my list. You must be very proud of having those photos published, amazing.
I am. Incredible really. Just a lad who didn't know how to use a camera properly!
Dave, great insight again. I too, used to take a SLR to gigs in the 70s, starting off with a Zenit E and graduating to an Olympus OM10. I’ve got a few shots of Genesis at Knebworth and a few of Magazine, Bauhaus, Madness and a few other at local gigs. As with your previous ‘best of the years’ videos, there are differences to my versions. This is not because I disagree with you, it’s mainly because I’ve not heard the record at all, not heard it enough to form a solid view or in some instances I’ve not even heard of the artist. This is one of the joys of these videos though, it alerts me to things to look out for or to have a few more listens of.
Anyway, from your list, this is where we agree: Genesis - Trick of the Tail (in my top 5 of all time), Bowie - Station to Station (possible top 10 of all time), Ian Hunter- All-American Alien Boy, Genesis -Wind and Wuthering (both top 50?) and then Eagles- Hotel California and Thin Lizzy-Jailbreak (both great but outside top 100 oat, but in top 20 for the year)
Not mentioned by you, but in my top 20 of the year would be Jon Lord-Sarabande, Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life, Alice Cooper- Goes to Hell.
Which means I’ve only got 9 in my top 20 of the year! Must try harder!
Cheers again, and I look forward to 1977👍
1977 coming soon Gary! It's going to be interesting to see how our faves overlap in that pivotal year!
I used to have that Jon Lord album (and I might even have a replacement still....somewhere). I'm sure I sold my first copy. Didn't hit the spot....for me. 'Songs in the Key of Life' has never been a go-to album of Stevie's for me. I think I was turned off by 'Sir Duke' and 'Isn't She Lovely' - soooo overplayed at the time. 'Living for the City' and 'Superstition' are my faves, so I gravitate to the early 70s albums.
And BTW, the Olympus OM10 was a winner, wasn't it? Out of my price range though.
Some excellent selections there David. Other personal favourites from that year include Breakaway-Gallagher & Lyle, Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs and Frampton Comes Alive.
Some good choices there David and I have just downloaded a few so thank you. 1976 would have been a good year for my record buying as I had started work and used to buy several albums a week back then but due to my memory issues I can’t remember what!
I have a couple of Zenits! (and a bunch of Feds, a Zorki, a Kiev, a Lomo, and even a Vilia, etc.). Station to Station would be on my top of '76 list. Interesting to see Saint-Saëns on your list. I have a few Barenboim recordings. I enjoyed the photos.
Cheers Brian. I'll bet you can use all those cameras too. I was always the amateur amongst amateurs!
Mi hijo con 14 años se hizo fan de Genesis por A trick of a tail. ¡Qué álbum maravilloso!
Me too, at the same age 😊 Yes it is a wonderful album. Salud 🥂
I was emailing a musician friend from school 50 years ago this morning and I said how many great albums came out in 1976, as I was listening to JJ Cale's 'Troubadour' album. A mad coincidence !
I love 'Troubadour'. I bought the single 'Travellin' Light' first. Had never heard anything like it before.
Hi David! Throwing down the gauntlet at the start with reference to lighting up the comment section. I love it. I read the comments in your last video so caught that instantly. Your camera case is awesome. What great stories from those shows you have. Very enjoyable video my friend! ✌️
Cheers Mike. All good fun. That old camera case is mad. Who would carry something that clunky to a gig these days?!
Royal Scam. Unorthodox Behaviour, Bright Size Life, Hejira. Wired (Jeff Beck), Moonmadness, Songs in the Key of Life, Desire, Black Market (Weather Report), Tom Petty 1st, Yellow Fields (Eberhard Weber), and Trick of the Tail are albums I still play a lot. Brand X was an underrated band.
1976 is one of my favourite music years. Pop music reached a peak in terms of sophistication and went downhill afterwards.
David, I know it''s your personnal selection, great selection, but have you forgotten The Steve Miller Band's 'Fly Like An Eagle'? Alice Cooper cites the album as a dividing line in rock music,a Year Zero.
I know 'Fly Like an Eagle' pretty well, Nick. It's a fine album but, for one reason or another, didn't connect with me that strongly back in '76. I was probably still too much focused on Prog!
David, your vinyl copy of 'jailbreak' is worth quite a bit. I also have the album, the Vertigo label is very collectable.
Do you think so? I'm sure it was a big seller at the time. There must be loads of copies out there. Mine is in great condition though.
Hi David, I think we are very similar in age as I started getting interested in album rock in the autumn of 1975, so 1976 is my first full year as an avid music fan. It remains my all-time favourite year, so I'll be back later with my top 20. It will feature many of the same albums as you, but the order is different, except for our #1.
You mentioned Windows. I went to the university in Newcastle (1978-1981) and probably spent more time in the record stores than I did in lectures. Was Windows the store in the little arcade?
Since 2020, I've been recording every album play in a spreadsheet so I find it easy to do ranking lists based on an algorithm that looks at the number of plays and which year. I intended to match you with a top 20, but I can't do it. There are far too many great albums that would be missed. I've finished with a top 50 studio albums, and all the way down to #42 make my current top 500 and the others are close contenders.
Here's my list:
1 Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail
2 Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record
3 Steely Dan - The Royal Scam
4 Horslips - The Book of Invasions
5 City Boy - City Boy
6 David Bowie - Station To Station
7 Graham Parker - Heat Treatment
8 Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
9 Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading
10 Be Bop Deluxe - Sunburst Finish
11 Genesis - Wind and Wuthering
12 Bob Dylan - Desire
13 City Boy - Dinner At The Ritz
14 Rainbow - Rainbow Rising
15 Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
16 Graham Parker - Howlin' Wind
17 Camel - Moonmadness
18 Eagles - Hotel California
19 Bad Company - Run With The Pack
20 Rory Gallagher - Calling Card
21 Ronnie Lane - One For The Road
22 Golden Earring - To The Hilt
23 Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life
24 Back Street Crawler - Second Street
25 Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigle
26 Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
27 Jackson Browne - The Pretender
28 Racing Cars - Downtown Tonight
29 Tommy Bolin - Private Eyes
30 Be Bop Deluxe - Modern Music
31 Bob Seger - Night Moves
32 Boston - Boston
33 Son Seals - Midnight Son
34 Jess Roden - Play It Dirty Play It Cheap
35 Bunny Wailer - Blackheart Man
36 Rick Wakeman - No Earthly Connection
37 10cc - How Dare You
38 Jess Roden - Keep Your Hat On
39 Tom Petty - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
40 Heart - Dreamboat Annie
41 Elliott Murphy - Night Lights
42 Ramones - Ramones
43 Manfred Mann's Earth Band - The Roaring Silence
44 Eddie & The Hot Rods - Teenage Depression
45 Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle
46 Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
47 Led Zeppelin - Presence
48 John Miles - Rebel
49 Aerosmith - Rocks
50 Ian Hunter - All American Alien Boy
I took out these live albums from my first list, but these also deserve a mention:
1 Paul McCartney - Wings Over America
2 Dr Feelgood - Stupidity
3 Bob Seger - Live Bullet
4 Roxy Music - Viva! Roxy Music
5 J Geils Band - Blow Your Face Out
6 Phil Manzanera - 801 Live
7 Charles Mingus - Mingus At Antibes
8 Joe Walsh - You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind
Thanks Paul. Yes, J.G. Windows was (and still is) located in the 'Central Arcade'. It used to be THE go to place for records, but these days, the selection. is limited and prices on the high side. Thanks for commenting on the video. '76 was a great year.
What a list, eh? Excellent. For what it's worth, I have copies of all but eight of those. I must be mad!