Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock

Much less bombastic than the band's earlier releases, In Hearing Of is almost funky at times, with "The Devil's Answer" sounding like a meeting between Memphis soul and British rock…

The third incarnation of English prog rockers, Atomic Rooster make their debut on Made in England (1972). The group began as a trio featuring former Crazy World of Arthur Brown member Vincent Crane (organ), Nick Graham (bass), and Carl Palmer (drums)…

Picking our list of the Top 100 '70s Rock Albums was no easy task, if only because that period boasted such sheer diversity. The decade saw rock branch into a series of intriguing new subgenres, beginning, at the dawn of the '70s, with heavy metal. Singer-songwriters came into their own; country-rock flourished. The era ended with the revitalizing energy of punk and New Wave. No list would be complete without climbing onto every one of those limbs. Here are the Top 100 '70s Rock Albums, presented chronologically from the start of the decade.

Ah, perhaps there's truth in advertising after all, since The Best of Uriah Heep really is a "best of." Nothing less than a musical Juggernaut, this compilation delivers wave after wave of heavy molten rock that will either forge your fealty or send you fleeing. At their most menacing ("Gypsy," "Bird of Prey"), Heep rides relentlessly alongside the horsemen of the apocalypse, Black Sabbath and Van Der Graaf Generator. What the band lacks in artful studio execution they make up for in sheer force, from Ken Hensley's towering organ to Mick Box's distortion-drenched guitar. Perhaps because of frequent personnel changes (chronicled in a multicolored chart on the disc sleeve that would give Ross Perot a headache), Uriah Heep never developed the consistent sound of other heavy metal acts.

Fourteen tracks cover the period between 1967-1972. The 15th track, La Nella Casa Dell'Angelo is actually from 1981.
Unique in the history of Italian progressive music, New Trolls were leaders and were for a time the top band in Italy. In 1973, New Trolls split into two camps, the hard-rocking Ibis and the symphonic-oriented New Trolls Atomic System. They crossed many different permutations of line-up changes, many musical stylings… and great hits, passing through beat, pop ballads, progressive rock works, hard rock, and melodic pop followed groups like Genesis and PFM.

"Devil's Answer" might be the record for which Atomic Rooster are remembered, but it was their second album that posted warning that they were on the verge of creating something dazzling – simply because the record itself is a thing of almost freakish beauty. With only organist Vincent Crane surviving from the original lineup, and John Du Cann coming in to relieve him of some of the songwriting duties, Death Walks Behind You opens at a gallop and closes with a sprint…

Holland produced some of the finest psych and prog of the late '60s/early '70s. These hand-picked tracks, sung in English, come from the best Dutch bands of that era. Some even played alongside Rock Gods Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. From raw guitar a la Hendrix, to beautiful female harmonies, this collection of extremely rare and hard to come by singles is a must have for the opening track alone: a blisteringly haunting 5 minutes of something once heard, never forgotten.

Great UK underground heavy psych rock album from 1969 recorded by a trio from Lancashire. Well structured songs with fine melodies similar in places to Cream but with the odd swathe of mellotron lending an early progressive touch. Much loved by collectors of UK underground music this album is well worth checking out…Highly recommended.

Great UK underground heavy psych rock album from 1969 recorded by a trio from Lancashire. Well structured songs with fine melodies similar in places to Cream but with the odd swathe of mellotron lending an early progressive touch. Much loved by collectors of UK underground music this album is well worth checking out…Highly recommended.

Any discussion of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different. A defining element of that decade, the genre (and the bands that rose to fame playing it) was given credit for revitalizing rock at a badly needed moment. That said, there's far more to the story. Our list of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums, presented in chronological order, takes in the rich diversity of the period.