10 Rock Artists With Multiple Classics Under Their Belt

From the moment that he picked up a guitar, Tom Petty always saw playing rock and roll music more like a calling than an actual job. Just like people get hooked on religion and have to go out preaching the good word, Petty's reverence towards all things rock led him out of Gainesville with the Heartbreakers in tow, willing to convert every listener into a believer. Conversion is always difficult though, and Petty was willing to lay his livelihood on the line for Damn the Torpedoes.

Working in secrecy while getting sued by his record company, much of what turns up on Torpedoes is pure magic, talking about the simple things in life from underdogs catching a break on Even the Losers or having to fight for what you know is right on Refugee. Once Tom was on stable ground in the '90s though, Wildflowers was a much different beast when Rick Rubin got involved.

Whereas Torpedoes may have come from years of grueling work, Petty always described the band being in a really good place when they made Wildflowers, with each song sounding more organic and actually holding up surprisingly well in the days when grunge was king like on tracks like You Wreck Me or To Find a Friend. It took a long time to get there, but you can hear a certain journey that was taken on both of these records, from the rough kid trying to make things his way to finally finding peace on the other side.