Every week during 2022, we highlight one of the most important bands ever with live cuts, fan favorites, and their essential tracks. Each week, you vote for their Perfect Album. Here are the results.
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Ozzy Osbourne ‘Diary of a Madman’Learn more about the album: Ozzy Osbourne Thought ‘Diary of a Madman’ Sounded Like ‘Crap’ Randy’s Last Stand: Diary Of A Madman Turns 40 Watch: The Story of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’The idea was to make a hard rock version of Thriller. It took three years, three producers and a number of tragic car accidents for it to finally happen, but it did. The album produced seven hit songs and went on to become one of the biggest sellers, not only of Def Leppard’s career, but…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Jimi Hendrix ‘Are You Experienced’Learn more about the album: Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Are You Experienced’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Are You Experienced’ Revolutionized Rock Guitar The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Debut Album ‘Are You Experienced’ Turns 55 Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Red Hot Chili Peppers “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”The Chili Peppers kept changing lineups throughout most of the ’80s. They finally had the perfect band when they recorded the biggest record of their career. Instead of going with George Clinton, they brought in Rick Rubin who would tighten up their sound. He specifically focused on Flea and having him dial back his slap…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Bon Jovi ‘Slippery When Wet’Learn more about the album: The story behind Bon Jovi’s ‘Slippery When Wet’ album cover ‘Slippery When Wet’: The Album That Changed Bon Jovi’s Lives How Bon Jovi Changed the World With ‘Slippery When Wet’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Grateful Dead ‘American Beauty’Learn more about the album: Grateful Dead’s ‘American Beauty’ Stays True to Group’s Message With Themes of Peace, Hope The Story of the Grateful Dead ‘American Beauty’ ‘American Beauty’: An Uplifting Experience Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: John Mellencamp ‘Scarecrow’Learn more about the album: Behind the Song: John Mellencamp, “Rain On The Scarecrow” John Mellencamp’s ‘Scarecrow’ Turns 35 | Anniversary Retrospective “Blood on the Scarecrow”: John Mellencamp, the Death of the Family Farmer, and the “Free Market” Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Styx ‘The Grand Illusion’Learn more about the album: How Styx Broke Through With ‘The Grand Illusion’ The Story Behind The Album: The Grand Illusion ‘The Grand Illusion’: Styx Enter The Platinum Stratosphere Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Smashing Pumpkins ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’Billy Corgan said that he wanted to create an album that would be the ’90s version of “The Wall”. He decided to use different producers than the Pumpkins had previously worked with to create a very different sound than 1993’s Siamese Dream. The album ventured from hard rock to synth-based to even a full orchestra.…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: AC/DC ‘Back in Black’Bon Scott died in early 1980, right after the band had their big commercial breakthrough with 1979’s Highway to Hell. Instead of packing it in, the band quickly hired Brian Johnson and started writing. The band didn’t stray from what made them famous with most of the songs either about sex, rock and roll or…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Cream “Disraeli Gears”Learn more about the album: The story behind the album cover: Cream’s Disraeli Gears ‘Disraeli Gears’: How Cream Shifted Into Psych-Blues Legends Rolling Stone Review: ‘Disraeli Gears’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Stone Temple Pilots ‘Core’Formed in San Diego in 1989, Scott Weiland, the DeLeo brothers and Eric Kretz set out to make an album reviving the album-oriented era where you just don’t listen to a song but to the whole album. That’s exactly what you get with Core, their best-selling album certified 8x Platinum in 2001. Not bad for a…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Queen ‘A Night at the Opera’Learn more about the album: Queen Faced Split If ‘A Night at the Opera’ Flopped Every song on Queen’s A Night At The Opera, ranked from worst to best A Night At The Opera: Why It’s Queen’s Greatest Album Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Doors ‘L.A. Woman’Learn more about the album: Doors’ ‘L.A. Woman’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know How Jim Morrison’s final sessions with the Doors produced an L.A. classic out of chaos Revisiting the Doors’ Last Album With Jim Morrison, ‘L.A. Woman’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Pearl Jam ‘Ten’After Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament started to put together a new band. Hearing a demo from San Diego singer Eddie Vedder, the band soon formed Pearl Jam. A lot of the instrumental tracks on Ten were written and Vedder added lyrics that dealt with…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Kiss ‘Destroyer’Learn more about the album: 20 things only Kiss fanatics know about Destroyer The Oral History of Kiss’ Destroyer: ‘It’s a Miracle We’re Alive’ How Kiss Refused to Play It Safe With Destroyer Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: David Bowie ‘Let’s Dance’Learn more about the album: David Bowie Said ‘Let’s Dance’ ‘Drove Him Mad’ Because It Put Him in a Box Let’s Dance: How David Bowie Came Out Fighting For The Pop Crown Why David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ Video Angered Stevie Ray Vaughan Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Metallica ‘Master of Puppets’Learn more about the album: Metallica Talk 30 Years of ‘Master of Puppets’: ‘We Were Just Kids’ 10 Reasons Why Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ Is So Damn Good Master Of Puppets: how Metallica made the greatest metal album of all time Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Boston ‘Boston’There are very few albums where every song on it has become a recognizable hit, especially a debut album! This is true for Boston’s first LP behind the genius of Tom Scholz, an MIT graduate with a Master’s degree from that esteemed university. When first signed to a record label (Epic) they wanted him to…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Alice in Chains ‘Dirt’The fourth band on the Mount Rushmore of grunge was more of a metal band than the other groups from their hometown. Their breakthrough album covered dark topics ranging from heroin addiction to the death of their friend to the Vietnam war. This wasn’t your typical four million copy selling record. The album featured five…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: The Cars ‘The Cars’It is not often that your debut album also sounds like a greatest hits. The Cars are one of those bands thanks to the genius of Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr. These two Boston based musicians came up with a sound that would later would be called new wave. An album with six hits that…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: The Who ‘Who’s Next’Learn more about the album: Who’s Next: The Masterpiece That Freed The Who From Their Shackles The Cover Uncovered: The story behind The Who’s futuristic Who’s Next Exclusive: Townshend On Revisiting Who’s Next Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Bruce Springsteen ‘Born to Run’Learn more about the album: Born to Run and the Decline of the American Dream The story behind Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run album artwork How Bruce Springsteen Made Born To Run an American Masterpiece Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Scorpions ‘Love at First Sting’Learn more about the album: How Scorpions Become an Overnight Success After Nine LPs Five of the Most Controversial Heavy Metal Album Covers Every Scorpions album ranked from worst to best Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: U2 ‘The Joshua Tree’Learn more about the album: U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’: 10 Things You Didn’t Know U2’s The Joshua Tree Tackled The Complexity Of The American Ideal Bullet the red, white and blue sky: Why U2’s The Joshua Tree still resonates, 35 years on Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Aerosmith ‘Toys in the Attic’Learn more about the album: Aerosmith’s ‘Toys in the Attic’: A Track-by-Track Guide Every Song On Aerosmith’s Toys In The Attic Ranked From Worst To Best Aerosmith Tell The Story Behind Their Hard-Rock Masterpiece ‘Toys In The Attic’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Stevie Ray Vaughan ‘Couldn’t Stand The Weather’Learn more about the album: Stevie Ray Vaughan Confirms Legend on Couldn’t Stand The Weather Stevie Ray Vaughan: Couldn’t Stand The Weather review Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Foo Fighters ‘The Colour and the Shape’Released in 1997, The Colour and the Shape marks the official debut of the Foo Fighters as a band. The self-titled debut album was pretty much all Dave Grohl, who in his own right is an extremely gifted musician, songwriter, and film director. (He directed most of the Foo’s videos). After the success of the first…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Van Halen ‘Van Halen’The Van Halen demo was financed by Gene Simmons in 1977 and helped them get their first record contract along with the touring of the L.A. club scene, especially at the Whiskey a Go Go where the cover art for the album came from. The first single introduced us to the incredible Eddie Van Halen…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Rolling Stones ‘Let It Bleed’Let It Bleed, the 8th studio album from the Rolling Stones, was released in 1969 as their follow-up record to Beggars Banquet. During the recording of the album, Brian Jones’ excessive drug use made him increasingly unreliable and ultimately he was fired from the band. He died within a month of being fired. While the…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Green Day ‘Dookie’Green Day was a San Francisco punk band that put out two records on the independent Lookout label, but in 1994 they released their major label debut and a record that made punk rock the most popular sound in the country. An album full of Generation X problems, dirty jokes and Ramones-style riffs, Dookie went…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Tom Petty ‘Damn the Torpedoes”Learn more about the album: “Everybody’s Had to Fight to Be Free”: Tom Petty’s ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ Turns 40 Tom Petty’s Real-Life Nightmares: Rocker on ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ Woes How Tom Petty Finally Hit the Big Time With ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading
- Perfect Album: Mötley Crüe ‘Shout at the Devil’The second album from Mötley Crüe Shout at the Devil helped solidify the band as one of the top selling heavy metal acts of the ’80s. The album sold 200,000 in its first week and was certified 4x platinum. Fun Fact: While recording the album, bassist Nikki Sixx was involved in a serious car crash…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Nirvana ‘Nevermind’The second album from the Seattle based grunge band that changed the face of music as we know it. Taking a cue from the Pixies while also combining the punk sounds of Black Flag with the pop hooks of the Beatles, Nirvana created an album that famously knocked Michael Jackson out of the number 1…… Continue Reading
- 99.1 PLR Perfect Album: Led Zeppelin ‘IV’Learn more about the album: How Band Struck Back at Critics With 1971 Masterpiece 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Led Zeppelin ‘IV’ How Led Zeppelin Finally Conquered The World With ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ Essential video: Listen to the album:… Continue Reading