10 albums from 1976 we’ll still be listening to in 2076 (and one we should forget was ever made)

Heart – ‘Dreamboat Annie’

A lot of Heart’s most commercially successful music came when they agreed to start working with other songwriters. While this decision proved to be a good one, it was also one that the band were never that comfortable with.

“We had previously written everything, [but the] type of stuff we were writing was not the type of stuff that was being accepted by radio,” said Ann Wilson. “We really felt uncomfortable about the fact that we’d worked all those years and written all those songs, and it took other people’s songs to get us number ones. So it was sort of a devil’s bargain.”

Their 1976 album, Dreamboat Annie, is the first record that the band ever put out, and so it’s Heart at their most unfiltered and raw. It comes across in the music; the vocals are killer, and the guitar glides through each track seamlessly. While this period of the band might not have brought in the money or the millions of listeners, it was a time when the band were at their freest, and with the power of hindsight, it’s simply one of their best records to date. The passion with which these songs are performed will be remembered long after the hype of commercial hits fades.

Blondie – ‘Blondie’

It’s rare for a band to release a debut record and already have a sound which comes across as near-perfect, and yet, debuts like Blondie’s exist. It seems that the group knew exactly what they were keen to make, as their artistic flair on that album is pretty undeniable, with punk, rock, and glam all interwoven seamlessly.

This album isn’t just the byproduct of great musical minds coming together, but it’s one of connection and community. Blondie found a home in the punk scene in New York, specifically at the venue CBGBs, and that sense of belonging shines through on this 1976 offering. The feeling you get when listening to a band so willingly try something new because of their environment transcends time, and so this is an album that music lovers will continue to listen to for decades to come.

“For me, CBGBs was a workshop that basically enabled us to make our mistakes in public,” said Clem Burke. “Very few of those moments were captured on video because, obviously, there were no cell phones with cameras and things like that. We were able to work through our original music in front of a minimal audience and get the feedback that we needed to continue.”

Kiss – ‘Destroyer’

At first, people loved Kiss because of their stage shows, flamboyance, and use of pyrotechnics. It was a spectacle that was pretty hard to turn away from, as Black Sabbath found out the hard way.

“Kiss was the first one to use pyro,” said Geezer Butler, “You’ve never seen that. I mean, the shock of that. And they were supporting us, so they weren’t even headlining. I went out and watched them. There were all these flames coming out the stage and everything. It was like ‘Oh my God, what’s going on here?’”

Their shows were incredibly exciting, but the reason Kiss has continued to be considered one of the greatest rock bands on the planet is that they have the music to back up that over-the-top image. The album of theirs that took them from being considered rock royalty to rock Gods was Destroyer, and its magnitude holds up in the modern age as well as it did back in 1976. As the years continue to roll by, this is an album that isn’t going anywhere.

Diana Ross – ‘Diana Ross’

When Diana Ross was talking about performing in The Supremes, she said that one of her most exciting career moments was when they bagged their first hit record. “Well, there’s been quite a few exciting things,” she said, “but first of all, the most exciting was to get a hit record, the first hit record we ever had, and we were really shocked about it and happy about it. And that was about the best thing.”

This would be the first hit of many for Ross, as not only would she have a plethora with The Supremes, but things would really take off for the singer when she started working as a solo artist. Her debut was crucial, as it proved that not only was Ross capable of being a solo performer, but that doing so was the beginning of a brand new chapter. With songs like ‘I’m Comin Out’ and ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, this was an LP that really skyrocketed her to the spotlight.

The Ramones – ‘The Ramones’

Perhaps one of the largest musical developments to happen in 1976 was the punk movement. Bands across the world grew tired of how overly complex rock music was becoming, and as such, a reset was needed, and it came in the form of these angsty, anarchy-loving vagabonds. The Ramones were one of the first bands to really perfect the punk style, sound, and performance, and as such, their first album will go down in history.

Another thing that was so impressive about the Ramones was how well they continued to play together as a band. The majority of punk acts burned bright and fast, but even after their debut, this group kept going. “They existed for 22 years with the same level of intensity for the whole time,” said Eddie Vedder when talking about the band, “They may not have gotten along the whole time, but that was touring together for 22 years in a van for fuck sake. So, you have to understand.”

Elton John – ‘Blue Moves’

One of Elton John’s first big hits was ‘Crocodile Rock’, which music lovers around the world seemed drawn to. How interesting, then, that both John and lyricist Bernie Taupin couldn’t stand the track after a while. While they both respected the fact that people had fun listening to it, it wasn’t the track they wanted to be remembered for, as for John, it didn’t convey a message, and for Taupin, it didn’t convey a feeling.

Only three years after the release of ‘Crocodile Rock’, John released Blue Moves, an album which certainly isn’t his most famous but is the most effective when it comes to highlighting how talented a musician John truly was. The record contains elements of jazz and some of the most complex vocal melodies that he and Taupin ever came up with. In 100 years, when people are talking about how good a musician Elton John was, no doubt they’ll turn to this album.

The Modern Lovers – ‘The Modern Lovers’

It may be one of the most overlooked albums of the 1970’s. The Modern Lovers were truly a revolutionary band, who put their music before anything, including their look, their palatability or how effectively they could build an audience. As a result of their willingness to remain underground, a lot of people at the time weren’t listening to them.

It’s good that this album has since been discovered by the masses, as it’s truly a musical gem that didn’t get enough attention at the time. Jonathan Richman wrote songs that were deeply emotional and honest, as the entire band seemed driven towards putting their hearts and souls on the line in pursuit of their sound. This record remains one that people around the world will continue to turn to in decades to come, even if it didn’t originally get its flowers at the time of release.

The Eagles – ‘Hotel California’

The Eagles were one of the most revolutionary bands of their time, as they merged two of the most popular genres in the world, country and rock, in a way that was completely seamless. Towards the mid-70’s, the band had become a lot more guitar orientated, but this didn’t strip them of their original identity. Instead, it heightened it.

Their ‘76 album Hotel California is commonly dubbed one of the greatest records ever made, and it’s pretty easy to hear why. From the work on ‘Life in the Fast Lane’, the opening of which Slash has previously called a “killer riff,” to ‘Victim of Love’, to the classic that is the title track, this is an LP that doesn’t succumb to time in the same way that other records do. No, we’ll be playing this for a long, long time.

Stevie Wonder – ‘Songs In The Key of Life’

A lot of people don’t realise, but Stevie Wonder’s first ever number one song, ‘Fingertips (Pt. 2)’, was originally released as a B-side and was a live performance. It resonated with the public as it captured Wonder’s exciting playing style and the connection that he had with the stage, his band, and those watching, pretty beautifully.

So, the foundation was there that Wonder could build a career on, but many great musicians have performed well on stage and then not been able to transport that sound to the studio. Wonder didn’t have to worry. His ability to write songs and his excellent playing style existed on and off the stage, and it led to the creation of wonderful albums, the best of which is 1976’s Songs In The Key of Life. The album truly has everything and more; it’s so universal and versatile that there will never be a century in which its presence isn’t welcome.

Joni Mitchell – ‘Hejira’

When people talk about how good a musician Joni Mitchell was, they refer to her guitar, her voice, and her lyrics. When looking for an example of an album where all of these elements are in abundance, you can’t go far wrong with Blue. However, there was a lot more to Mitchell than just this folk sound, and five years after the release of that heartbreaking classic, she decided to prove as much on Hejira.

The majority of the music on the album was written and recorded when Mitchell was travelling, and it acts as a reflection of the places she visited. Mitchell is able to well and truly take the heart of different locations and put them into music. On this album, you have that classic folk sound, but there are also jazz sections and multiple other genres touched upon. If you want classic Mitchell, go to Blue, but if you want something that highlights just how expansive a musician she was, look no further than Hejira.