10 Most Underrated Classic Rock Albums of All Time, Ranked

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Just because a musician is famous doesn't mean that all their albums are. Nor does it mean that they all should be. All the most celebrated rock bands with a decent number of records has at least one that fans aren't nearly as obsessed with. And that's okay; no artist is perfect. No one puts out their best work every time. However, there's also the other side of the coin: sometimes a great album will be severely overlooked, for one reason or another.

This has even happened to the greatest rock bands of all time. It's not like these are always albums that you've never heard of before, necessarily, or that they don't have any songs that you'll recognize. However, most of the tracks aren't as well-known as their bands' big hits, while the records on the whole haven't accrued the royal status that they deserve. Now, the degree to which something is underrated by society after so many years and re-evaluations is hard to quantify, so ranking these can be a bit tricky. Whether you agree with the order or not, though, it seems that more people should know these albums inside and out.

10 'Led Zeppelin III'

Led Zeppelin

We'll put Led Zeppelin III as the least underrated on the list, since many of us should at least be able to remember Jack Black singing along to "Immigrant Song" in the still-excellent School of Rock. Meanwhile, many Led Zeppelin fans will know the lovely "Tangerine," the explosive "Gallows Pole," and the bluesy "Since I've Been Loving You." But these are treated as minor works in comparison to Zeppelin's other pieces, rather than the huge classics they should be.

This album shows how underappreciated their unplugged pieces are. "Friends" is definitely not as praised as it should be, "That's the Way" is another gorgeous original, "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is an absolute blast, and "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" has some incredibly intense slide guitar. Maybe most Zeppelin fans want to hear the amp blasting on every track, but then that killer riff from "Out on the Tiles" should have played a bigger part in pop culture by now. With such a wide range and as much precision as ever, Led Zeppelin III is one of the group's most exciting and unpredictable records.

9 'Get Your Wings'

Aerosmith

Aerosmith's first album would have a right to be here if it weren't for "Dream On." So we're going with their second, which does have the fairly recognizable "Same Old Song and Dance" and the band's cover of "Train Kept a Rollin'." Those deserve even more attention, but let's focus on the ones that get even less spotlight. "Lord of the Thighs" is surprisingly strong for something most people haven't heard of, and "Woman of the World" is another rocker that no one talks about.

"S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a very solid, concise track that clearly distinguishes between early Aerosmith and the competent-but-less-grounded feel to their resurgence in the 80s and 90s. "Pandora's Box" has some of the band's filthiest lyrics, but it also has one of its strongest riffs. Then there's "Seasons of Wither," a ballad so affecting and yet so ignored that it has to go down as one of the most underrated rock songs of all time.

8 'Queen'

Queen

Queen's eponymous first album is extremely overlooked, yet it features several of the most compelling Queen songs out there. Ironically, "Keep Yourself Alive" is its most famous song and one of its least interesting pieces. Most of these tracks are so layered that it's no surprise at all in retrospect that the band became famous for something as complex as "Bohemian Rhapsody" a few years down the line.

"Doing All Right" turns a gorgeous piano riff that immediately mellows you out into a hard rocker without making the shift feel forced. "Great King Rat" is powered by great percussion, heavy guitar, and cool transitions. "My Fairy King" is one of the most fascinating four minutes in the band's repertoire, and "Son and Daughter" totally rocks. Furthermore, "Jesus," "Liar," and "The Night Comes Down" all feel like underappreciated masterpieces that show why Queen's darker, heavier, more immersive early days might have been their best.

7 'Sabotage'

Black Sabbath

The enormously influential Black Sabbath is most well-known for a number of songs, and none of them is on their more experimental 1975 album Sabotage. "Iron Man," "Paranoid," "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs," "N.I.B."—those giants are nowhere to be found here. Instead, we get songs that aren't as likely for the general public to come across. That's not to say the album didn't receive positive reviews, but it doesn't seem to have the same must-hear status as the first two records all these years later.

This album is only eight songs long, and they're all worth hearing. "Megalomania" earns its nearly 10-minute length, "Thrill of it All" is another lengthy heavy-hitter that takes its own intriguing turns, "Am I Going Insane" is a good time, and "The Writ" enticingly balances heavy metal with a lighter acoustic aesthetic. That said, the highlights of the album are "Hole in the Sky," "Symptom of the Universe," and "Supertzar"—which should be just as famous as the classics mentioned in the previous paragraph. Taken together, they demonstrate that Sabbath were clearly still in their prime when they made Sabotage.

6 'Meddle'

Pink Floyd

Before they immortalized the band with The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd came out with their 1971 record Meddle. "One of These Days" starts things off with one of the band's best basslines: a dark, suspenseful, and near-wordless start to a record that's been overshadowed by the band's next four albums. Next we get "A Pillow of Winds," which has the opposite vibe and yet isn't jarring. Featuring some beautiful acoustic work, this piece is very zen.

"Fearless" is another winner that can chill you out in stressful times. Then we get the surprisingly pleasant "San Tropez," another relaxing little number that lets go of the spacey vibe for a few refreshing minutes. Nothing on side one misses, really, but what makes this truly iconic is the single track on side two: "Echoes." Some Floyd fans will know and love this 23-minute psychedelic masterpiece, yet it still lives in the shadow of Floyd's later epics. In summary, it should be valid for someone (not this writer, but someone) to call this undervalued record their favorite Floyd record.

5 'Chicago V'

Chicago

To be fair, Chicago was terribly lazy when it came to naming their albums (to the point where Chicago V was actually their fourth studio record; counting the live album that preceded this as Chicago IV was silly). Their cover art wasn't the most creative in the world, either. However, those excuses aren't enough for "Saturday in the Park" to be the only recognizable song from this 1972 masterpiece.

The jazzy "A Hit by Varèse" is such a fascinating way to start, and the entire band maintains this synergy in every one of the 9 songs that follow. "Now That You've Gone" is a delectably unpredictable groove, "Dialogue (Part I)" succeeds at lifting our spirits, and "Dialogue (Part II)" is one hell of a jam. "While the City Sleeps" is another series of pleasant surprises, "State of the Union" is top-shelf funk, and "Goodbye" is another stellar example of jazz rock. The compliments can go on forever, really.

4 'Strange Days'

The Doors

Another album with a couple of songs you might have come across on the radio. The Doors' second album, Strange Days, boasts a couple of short singles called "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times." Both great, but it's not enough to just know those two. This album is stunning from start to finish, and we as a society need to embrace that. Yet most fans will tell you they either love The Doors or LA Woman most, with this one not even in contention.

"You're Lost Little Girl" and "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" are a few of the most intoxicating Doors songs you can find, but who's talking about them? "Horse Latitudes" is so intense in its brief appearance that the band's attention to detail was as strong as ever. "Unhappy Girl," "My Eyes Have Seen You," "Strange Days"—all of these are winners. And if those weren't enough, the album ends with the pièce de résistance, "When the Music's Over": a psychedelic epic that ought to be as iconic as "The End."

3 'Venus and Mars'

Paul McCartney and Wings

When it comes to McCartney's best singles after The Beatles, you can expect a ton of people to immediately mention "Live and Let Die." As far as albums go, they will almost certainly jump to Paul McCartney & Wings' illustrious Band on the Run. Nothing wrong with that, of course; it's one of the best rock albums of its era. The problem is that their follow-up record Venus and Mars is treated as inferior, which is insane.

"Venus and Mars" is a lovely introduction, and its reprise is just as cool. "Rock Show" is one of Wings' most exciting tracks, especially that piano-driven jam in the final section. "Magneto and Titanium Man" is so much fun, and "Letting Go" is one of the highlights of McCartney's career. One can argue that "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" and "Medicine Jar" are equally fantastic. Listening to this whole album, one realizes that it has no weak spots. This might even be better than Band on the Run, quite frankly.

2 'Minstrel in the Gallery'

Jethro Tull

Aqualung and Thick as a Brick are the biggest Jethro Tull albums, and War Child at least has the relatively well-known "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day" and (considerably less interesting) "Bungle in the Jungle." When it comes to the album Minstrel in the Gallery, it seems to have attained the status of a niche album that only people who love the band will know anything about. This is unfortunate, as this has to be one of the greatest albums of 1975.

First of all, the title track is just as epic as "Aqualung" (despite being a little bit longer). "Cold Wind to Valhalla" feels like we're indeed being swept into a mythical realm, and the elegant first half of "Black Satin Dancer" should be known everywhere. "Requiem" and "One White Duck" are gorgeously sad acoustic pieces, and the massive "Baker St. Muse" is a wildly imaginative, constantly moving epic that somehow never comes up. This album is vintage Jethro Tull, and therefore vintage progressive rock.

1 'Kansas'

Kansas

We all know that Kansas is responsible for one of the most widely known ballads of all time: "Dust in the Wind." We also know they made the beloved "Carry on My Wayward Son," but can anybody besides the most devoted fans name any of the songs from their debut album? Honestly, that incredible cover art alone should have ensured that Kansas would get more attention.

Alas, it hasn't. Which is a shame, because this record maintains such a propulsive, organ-heavy energy over the course of its 45 minutes. This charismatic display of progressive rock makes every single one of its eight tracks count. From the fast-paced opening track "Can I Tell You" to its three enticing epics, Kansas comes from a band that wanted to make a strong first impression. This may not be the most impressive album on the list, but it's almost definitely the least well-known—and therefore the most puzzling when you discover it actually kicks ass.