10 Albums That Defined Rock And Roll

When you break down any genre of music, it all tends to be subjective. Even though some bands are more likeable than others, there are always those few albums that you are able to hang your hat on as a rock fan and enjoy at any moment. What's even stranger is how diverse that this little genre called rock and roll can really be.

For as many times that disgruntled parents like to define this as just party music, these are the album experiences that went beyond just the celebration songs and into something a little more cerebral. While not every one of these albums has necessarily the best that these artists can offer, they do have the building blocks of what made rock and roll so invigorating in the first place.

Whether it's the way that they play their instruments or the attitude that they bring across, you can tell that each of these artists have rock and roll spirit flowing through their veins when they were composing these songs. You might not respect the musicianship, but you have to respect the characters behind it. As far as rock music is concerned, this is your Mount Rushmore.

The hidden beauty behind rock and roll is perseverance. As much as the road might be a tough life and your personal life can get hectic, it's all about how much you can overcome adversity and still come out on top. And AC/DC, they had a damn mountain to climb during the production for Back In Black.

After coming off of the amazing success of Highway to Hell, people were thinking that these Aussies were dead in the water once Bon Scott passed away from alcohol poisoning. Instead of fading into the background of the '70s, Angus Young figured that the best way to get over their fallen bandmate was to pay tribute to him in song. Hiring Brian Johnson from the band Geordie, AC/DC were reborn out of the ashes of Bon's death with this album, which became some of the greatest rock and roll ever made.

Granted, it's not like there's too much different than the usual AC/DC formula here. This is still the same band that you got to know from High Voltage, only with their teeth out way more and their heart on their sleeve. Even if Bon was only going to be there in spirit, this is a worthy sendoff and the kick in the ass that the band needed to survive.