AllMusic Loves 1973

If any year fits the definition of "classic" it would be 1973, a year that could be seen as a pinnacle of classic rock, soul, and country. It was the year Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon, the year Bruce Springsteen made a splashy debut, the year David Bowie sung about "The Jean Genie," the year Paul McCartney took his band on the run, but also it was the year Waylon Jennings turned outlaw with Honky Tonk Heroes, the year Can broke ground on Future Days, the height of smooth soul and Blaxploitation, the year Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes pointed the way toward disco. In other words, it was a year that gave us plenty of reasons to love, and here AMG rounds up some of our very favorite albums and singles from the glorious year of 1973.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine [Spotify]
Another one of these years that's an embarrassment of riches. How could it not be when David Bowie, Doug Sahm, Bruce Springsteen, Roxy Music, and Paul McCartney all released two albums in one year? It took me too long to whittle down my list of albums so I compensated by cutting the singles list relatively short -- spillover shows up on my Spotify playlist but keep in mind that licensing restrictions not only prevent Macca's rockers from showing up (no "Hi Hi Hi" or "The Mess") but also beloved cult favorites like Blue Ash's "Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her)" and Dick Curless' "Chick Inspector (That's Where My Money Goes)" are absent.

Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken
The Who - Quadrophenia
Mott the Hoople - Mott
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Ringo Starr - Ringo
Daryl Hall/John Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette
The Sir Douglas Band - Texas Tornado
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Bob Seger - Back in '72
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Roy Wood - Boulders
Billy Joel - Piano Man
Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
Roxy Music - Stranded
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Gram Parsons - GP
Doug Sahm and Band - Doug Sahm and Band
The Rolling Stones - Goats Head Soup
Faces - Ooh La La
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Sly & the Family Stone - Fresh
The Kinks - The Great Lost Kinks Album
Bruce Springsteen - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Al Green - Call Me
Paul McCartney & Wings - Red Rose Speedway
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd
Charlie Rich - Behind Closed Doors
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon

Bobby Womack - "Across 110th Street"
Ringo Starr - "Photograph"
Beach Boys - "Sail on Sailor"
Alice Cooper - "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
The Spinners - "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"
Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain"
BW Stevenson - "My Maria"
Charlie Rich - "Behind Closed Doors"
Paul McCartney - "The Mess"
Tompall Glaser - "Texas Law Sez"
Stories - "Brother Louie"
Sweet - "Ballroom Blitz"
Carly Simon - "You're So Vain"
Stealers Wheel - "Stuck in the Middle with You"
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show - "Cover of the Rolling Stone"
King Harvest - "Dancing in the Moonlight"
Merle Haggard - "If We Make It Through December"
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes - "The Love I Lost, Pt. 1"
Jerry Reed - "Lord Mr. Ford"
Blue Ash - "Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her?)"

John Bush
10cc - 10cc
Betty Davis - Betty Davis
Duncan Browne - Duncan Browne
Marcos Valle - Previsão do Tempo
John Cale - Paris 1919
Faces - Ooh La La
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
The Who - Quadrophenia
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Donny Hathaway - Extension of a Man
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
Willie Colón - Lo Mato
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
Jerry Jeff Walker - Viva Terlingua!
Roy Wood - Boulders
Faust - Faust IV

Jerry Jeff Walker - "Gettin' By"
Sly & the Family Stone - "If You Want Me to Stay"
Dr. John - "Right Place Wrong Time"
Herbie Hancock - "Watermelon Man"
Bob Seger - "Back in '72"
Merle Haggard - "If We Make It Through December"
Waylon Jennings - "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean"
Ike & Tina Turner - "Nutbush City Limits"
Al Green - "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)"
Mandrill - "Fencewalk"
Weather Report - "Boogie Woogie Waltz"
Marcos Valle - "Não Tem Nada Não"
Cymande - "The Message"
Kool & the Gang - "Hollywood Swinging"
The Intruders - "I'll Always Love My Mama, Pts. 1-2"
Carpenters - "Yesterday Once More"
Faces - "Ooh La La"
The Rolling Stones - "Winter"
New York Dolls - "Personality Crisis"
Bob Dylan - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

Jonathan Ball [Spotify]
The Who - Quadrophenia
Al Green - Call Me
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning
Can - Future Days
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Roxy Music - Stranded
Peter Frampton - Frampton's Camel
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Tangerine Dream - Atem
Milt Jackson - Sunflower
Hawkwind - Space Ritual

Carpenters - "Top of the World"
Carpenters - "Sing"
Beck, Bogert & Appice - "Superstition"
Paul McCartney & Wings - "Live and Let Die"
David Gates - "Clouds Suite"
Stevie Wonder - "Living for the City"
Deep Purple - "Woman from Tokyo"
Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
Charlie Rich - "The Most Beautiful Girl"
Paul Simon - "Loves Me Like a Rock"
King Harvest - "Dancing in the Moonlight"
Rick Nelson - "Garden Party"
Lou Reed - "Walk on the Wild Side"
Elton John - "Crocodile Rock"
Tony Orlando & Dawn - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"
Steely Dan - "Reelin' in the Years"

Chrysta Cherrie [Spotify]
Gato Barbieri - No More No Less
Marion Brown - Geechee Recollections
Can - Future Days
Betty Davis - Betty Davis
Fripp & Eno - No Pussyfooting
Guru Guru - Guru Guru
Joe Henderson - The Elements
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
The J.B.'s - Doing It to Death
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Bright Moments
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Milton Nascimento - Milagre dos Peixes
Flora Purim - Butterfly Dreams
Dewey Redman - Ear of the Behearer
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
Judee Sill - Heart Food
Slapp Happy - Acnalbasac Noom
Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers - Natural Boogie
O.V. Wright - Memphis Unlimited

Kevin Ayers - "Interview"
Roy Ayers - "Aragon"
Big Youth - "Tippertong Rock"
Jane Birkin - "Mon Amour Baiser"
Budgie - "Breadfan"
Dennis Coffey - "Outrageous"
Gal Costa - "Milho Verde (Folclore Portugues)"
Faces - "Silicone Grown"
Gong - "Flying Teapot"
Herbie Hancock - "Chameleon"
João Gilberto - "Águas de Março (Waters of March)"
Elton John - "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
Les McCann - "The Harlem Buck Dance Strut"
Chris McGregor & the Brotherhood of Breath "The Serpent's Kindly Eye"
Neu! - "Für Immer (Forever)"
New York Dolls - "Personality Crisis"
Status Quo - "Caroline"
Roosevelt Sykes - "I'm a Nut"
Koko Taylor - "Wang Dang Doodle"
Loudon Wainwright III - "The Swimming Song"

Andy Kellman [Spotify]
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
Weather Report - Sweetnighter
Donald Byrd - Black Byrd
Herbie Hancock - Sextant
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Return to Forever - Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
Al Green - Call Me
Marcos Valle - Previsão do Tempo
Sun Ra - Space Is the Place
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Sly & the Family Stone - Fresh
Can - Future Days
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Eddie Henderson - Realization
John Cale - Paris 1919
John Martyn - Solid Air
Terry Callier - I Just Can't Help Myself
Larry Willis - Inner Crisis
Gal Costa - Índia

Stevie Wonder - "Living for the City"
Funkadelic - "Cosmic Slop"
Eddie Kendricks - "Girl You Need a Change of Mind"
Bobby Womack - "Across 110th Street"
Gladys Knight & the Pips - "Midnight Train to Georgia"
Ann Peebles - "I Can't Stand the Rain"
Willie Hutch - "Brother's Gonna Work It Out"
Kool & the Gang - "Jungle Boogie"
Iggy & the Stooges - "Search and Destroy"
Ohio Players - "Ecstasy"
Todd Rundgren - "Hello It's Me"
Ike & Tina Turner - "Nutbush City Limits"
The Rolling Stones - "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)"
David Bowie - "Panic in Detroit"
Tower of Power - "So Very Hard to Go"
Bloodstone - "Natural High"
Earth, Wind & Fire - "Evil"
New York Dolls - "Jet Boy"
Ultra High Frequency - "We're on the Right Track"
Billy Cobham - "Stratus"

Jason Lymangrover
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Budgie - Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
Can - Future Days
Genesis - Selling England By the Pound
Gong - Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible, Vol. 1)
Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Catch a Fire
Mott the Hoople - Mott
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Roxy Music - Stranded
T. Rex - Tanx
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

James Christopher Monger
John Cale - Paris 1919
Planxty - Planxty
Black Sabbath - Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Duncan Browne - Duncan Browne
Queen - Queen
Ian Matthews - Valley Hi
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Willie Nelson - Shotgun Willie
Steeleye Span - Parcel of Rogues
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Planxty - The Well Below the Valley
Sandy Denny - Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Secos & Molhados - Secos & Molhados
Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
Mickey Newbury - Heaven Help the Child

Golden Earring - "Radar Love"
Dolly Parton - "Jolene"
The Who - "5:15"
Roxy Music - "Do the Strand"
Doobie Brothers - "China Grove"
Marvin Gaye - "Let's Get it On"
Bob Seger - "Turn the Page"
John Lennon - "Mind Games"
Ike & Tina Turner - "Nutbush City Limits"
Brownsville Station - "Smokin' in the Boys Room"
Roger Daltrey - "One Man Band"
Harry Chapin - "W.O.L.D."
Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Caravan - "The Dog, the Dog, He's at It Again"
Steely Dan - "Bodhisattva"
Paul Simon - "Kodachrome"
Daryl Hall/John Oates - "She's Gone"
Faces - "Ooh La La"
Aerosmith - "Dream On"
ZZ Top - "La Grange"

Sean Westergaard
Gato Barbieri - Chapter One: Latin America
Billy Cobham - Spectrum
Dick Curless - Tombstone Every Mile
Embryo - Steig Aus
Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop
Don "Sugar Cane" Harris - Sugar Cane's Got the Blues
Hawkwind - Space Ritual
Henry Cow - Leg End
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Bright Moments
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music - Stranded
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
Rick Wakeman - Six Wives of Henry VIII
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo
ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

Matthew Garbutt [Spotify]
Al Green - Call Me
Big Youth - Screaming Target
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Fela Kuti - Gentleman
Free - Heartbreaker
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Irma Thomas - In Between Tears
Joao Gilberto - Joao Gilberto
John Martyn - Solid Air
Kevin Coyne - Marjory Razorblade
Kool & the Gang - Wild & Peaceful
Loleatta Holloway - Loleatta
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music - Stranded
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Syl Johnson - Back for a Taste of Your Love
The Dramatics - Dramatic Experience
The Faces - Ooh La La
The Isley Brothers - 3+3

Al Green - "Let's Get Married"
Ann Peebles - "I Can't Stand the Rain"
Ann Sexton - "You're Losing Me"
Candi Staton - "Love Chain"
Creative Source - "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?"
Denise LaSalle - "A Man Size Job"
Eddie Kendricks - "Keep on Truckin'"
James Brown - "The Payback"
Lyn Collins - "Take Me Just as I Am"
Robert Knight - "Love on a Mountain Top"
Roxy Music - "Pyjamarama"
Sisters Love - "Give Me Your Love"
Slade - "Cum On Feel the Noize"
Swamp Dogg - "Sam Stone"
The Carstairs - "It Really Hurts Me Girl"
The Chairmen of the Board - "Finders Keepers"
The JB's - "More Peas"
The Wailers - "Get Up, Stand Up"
T. Rex - "20th Century Boy"
Vinegar Joe - "Proud to Be (A Honky Woman)"

James Wilkinson
Neil Young - Time Fades Away
Gram Parsons - GP
The Beach Boys - Holland
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
The Kinks - Preservation: Act 1
John Martyn - Solid Air
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
Judee Sill - Heart Food
Jackson Browne - For Everyman
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstasy
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Tom Waits - Closing Time
Can - Future Days
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Iggy & the Stooges - Raw Power
Bruce Springsteen - Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
John Cale - Paris 1919

David Bowie - "Life on Mars"
Focus - "Hocus Pocus"
Clifford T. Ward - "Wherewithal"
Bettye Swan - "Today I Started Loving You Again"
Wizzard - "See My Baby Jive"
America - "Only in Your Heart"
Bob Dylan - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
The Rolling Stones - "Angie"
Todd Rundgren - "Hello It's Me"
Paul McCartney & Wings - "Live and Let Die"
Slade - "Cum On Feel the Noize"
John Lennon - "Mind Games"
Ringo Starr - "Photograph"
10cc - "Rubber Bullets"
Genesis - "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"
Lou Reed - "Satellite of Love"
T. Rex - "20th Century Boy"
David Bowie - "Sorrow"
The Sweet - "Block Buster"
America - "Don't Cross the River"

Tim Sendra
Big Youth - Screaming Target
Donald Byrd - Black Byrd
John Cale - Paris 1919
David Essex - Rock On
The J. Geils Band - Bloodshot
Frederick Knight - I've Been Lonely for So Long
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Montrose - Montrose
New York Dolls - New York Dolls
Gram Parsons - G.P.
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
The Stooges - Raw Power
The Wailers - Catch a Fire
We All Together - We All Together