Echo Tom Petty

An American Treasure, the first posthumous Tom Petty project, is designed as an aural biography of the late rocker, telling a tale that begins with a Mudcrutch session from 1974, running through the glory of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in 1976, and concluding with a live version of "Hungry No More" from 2016, just over a year prior to his tragic 2017 passing. Arriving roughly a year after Petty's death, the timing for An American Treasure makes sense – he certainly deserved a tribute – but in strict discographical terms, there didn't seem to be a need for a second career-spanning box set, as he already had 1995's rarity-laden box Playback and a multi-disc The Live Anthology from 2009. Happily, An American Treasure offers a story that's not told on either previous set, and that's a complete picture of Petty's career, told entirely through byways, not highways.

When Tom Petty died in October 2017, he left behind a vault overflowing with hundreds of hours of unheard music. Much of it came from concerts, but there were also tons of demos, alternative versions of album tracks and even tunes he discarded completely over the years that have never been released. Once the initial shock of his sudden death subsided, his wife Dana, daughter Adria, producer Ryan Ulyate and bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench began poring through the material to create the upcoming four-CD box set An American Treasure, which arrives in stores on September 28th.

The Top 100 '80s Rock Albums span a series of genres as startling and varied as the era's neon-flecked fashions.No one was immune to the early-decade emergence of new wave, from up-and-coming acts to legacy groups – many of whom began incorporating the then-new sound into their bedrock approach.Meanwhile, classic rock and subsequently metal began a transformation into mass acceptance when the edges were smoothed out to form arena rock and hair metal, respectively. The arrival of roots, thrash, and world music influences kept things interesting, along the way. All of it made selecting the period's best releases both intriguing and deeply challenging.Check out the list below, as Ultimate Classic Rock takes a chronological look at the Top 100 '80s Rock Albums.

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty, Karen Elson, Conor Oberst), returns with his third solo release. The ambitious “maximalist” album, titled Rare Birds, is released 2nd March on Bella Union and features contributions from Father John Misty, Lucius, Lana Del Rey, and New Age music legend Laraaji.