#144 - Days Of Future Passed, The Moody Blues

"What surprises first-time listeners -- and delighted them at the time -- is the degree to which the group shares the spotlight with the London Festival Orchestra without compromising their sound or getting lost in the lush mix of sounds. That's mostly because they came to this album with the strongest, most cohesive body of songs in their history, having spent the previous year working up a new stage act and a new body of material (and working the bugs out of it on-stage), the best of which ended up here." (allmusic guide)

#143 - Back In Black, AC/DC

"Back in Black is the ultimate example of a band turning a career-threatening negative into a remarkable positive and stands alongside such landmark albums as Van Halen, Led Zeppelin II, Are You Experienced?, and Paranoid as hard rock's greatest achievements. Rock music rarely gets better than Back in Black." (allmusic guide)


#142 - Bitches Brew, Miles Davis

"This is the album that found Miles losing some of his older jazz audience while gaining a new rock fan following. Considered by some at the time to be a sell-out, this is actually daring music that still challenges and inspires. Wayne Shorter remains on soprano sax, though new musicians John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Larry Young all shine in the spotlight." (real music guide)

#141 - Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young & Crazy Horse

"Young divided his record into acoustic and electric sides while filling his songs with wildly imaginative imagery. The leadoff track is the most concise and knowing description of the entertainment industry ever written; it was followed by "Thrasher," which describes Young's parallel artistic quest in an extended metaphor that also reflected the album's overall theme -- the inevitability of deterioration and the challenge of overcoming it." (allmusic guide)

#140 - The Rising, Bruce Springsteen

"With an understated yet intense power, Bruce examines the open sore left on the American people's psyche following the events of September 11, 2001. More importantly, he's written some great songs here. Many will find The Rising inspirational and moving in a way few rock records have ever been." (real music guide)


#139 - The Stranger, Billy Joel

"Joel delivered a radio-perfect smash with The Stranger in 1977, and its title track is the quintessential Joel song -- a melody you can't shake, that clean studio feel, and mean-spirited lyrics. He turns that trick with sharpshooter accuracy on this one; chances are you know six of the nine songs on here by heart." (real music guide)