10 Greatest Debut Albums Of The 1970s

After punk music started to wane from the public eye, much more artsy rock found its way into the mainstream. This "new wave" movement often featured artists who had a more nervy approach to their sound, from the off-the-wall weirdness of Devo to the experimental sounds of the Talking Heads. Many great bands found their footing at the time, but no one reached higher than one power trio from England.

With Outlandos D'Amour, The Police created an album that didn't have to rely on its quirkiness to garner success. While it still had its outlandish moments like "Peanuts" and "Be My Girl," the singles like "So Lonely" and "Roxanne" already showed Sting's knack for writing classic pop tunes. As opposed to the rudimentary playing by other acts, these guys also had serious chops on display from Stewart Copeland's maniacal drum fills to Andy Summers' brilliant use of effects and technical finesse.

Once the band got their foot in the door, they had the entire music world at their feet. With this as their launching pad, the band went on to expand their sound even further across future records and became one of the most fascinating bands of the 70's. This record may look a bit rough in retrospect, but lying underneath is a bottomless well of classic material.