Seventeen Seconds is the second studio album by The Cure, released in April 1980 by Fiction Records. It is the only Cure album to feature keyboardist Matthieu Hartley, and was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album reached number 20 on the British album charts.

Kinda Kinks is the second studio album by the English rock band The Kinks, released in 1965. It was recorded immediately after the return of the group from an Asian tour, and was completed and released within two weeks. Consequently, the production was rushed and, according to Ray Davies, the band was not completely satisfied with the final cuts. Due to record company pressure, however, no time was available to fix certain flaws present in the mix.

The Soul Album is the fourth studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, released in 1966.

Stewart had all of the music and orchestration written and completely recorded before he even had a title of any of the songs. In a Canadian radio interview he stated that he has done this for 6 of his albums, and he often writes four different sets of lyrics for each song. The hit single Year of the Cat was originally going to be about a British comic who had committed suicide, but this was vetoed by his record company.

It was released at a time when the band were starting to grow as performers, both live and in the studio, finding their direction musically. There were some conflicts over whether the band should continue on their rawer, heavier direction. This caused turmoil, which was partially responsible for two of the members, Nick Simper (bass) and Rod Evans (vocals), being replaced. Commercially, this album was the least successful of the three Mark I era albums.

The album was a modest hit in the US, peaking at 28 on the Billboard album chart, although it failed to go gold, whereas the group's first two releases had platinum sales. It produced one minor hit single, "Muskrat Love" which reached 67 on the Billboard singles chart and 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Futuristic Dragon is the eleventh studio album and a UK-only release by T. Rex, released in 1976. Preceded by two UK Top 40 hits, "New York City" (#15) and "Dreamy Lady" (#30), Futuristic Dragon was released in January, reaching #50. It was T. Rex's first album to register in the charts since Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow in 1974. The album features some unusually dense production from Bolan, with hints that he had been listening to old Phil Spector records, especially "Chrome Sitar" and "Calling All Destroyers", which contained unusual musical embellishements such as sitar and other sonic sound effects.

Santana is the third studio album by Santana. The band's second self-titled album, it is often referred to as III to distinguish it from the band's 1969 debut album. The album was also known as Man with an Outstretched Hand. It was the third and last album by the Woodstock-era lineup, and it was also considered by many to be the band's peak commercially and musically, as subsequent releases aimed towards more experimental jazz and Latin music. The album featured two singles, "Everybody's Everything" (solo by Neal Schon), which hit #12 in October 1971, and "No One To Depend On" (again with solo by Schon), a staple in FM radio. This is the first album to feature 17-year-old Schon on guitar. In 1972, he and Gregg Rolie left the band to form Journey.

Typical of Morrison's music, the album draws on a variety of styles, from New Orleans R&B to Philly soul and Celtic folk, with featured soloists, saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and violinist Toni Marcus. On first release this album was hailed as a "comeback" after two lacklustre releases, charting at number twenty-one on the UK Album Charts in 1979. Its reputation has grown since release and it is often regarded as among Morrison's greatest albums.

Straight Shooter is the second studio album by British supergroup Bad Company. The album was released in April 1975, a month after the release of the single "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" and four months before the album's second single "Feel Like Makin' Love"

The In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP peaked at #4 on the Billboard charts and was given the distinction of being the first album to be awarded platinum status when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) began that achievement level in 1976. Today it is a multi-platinum album with sales of over 25 million copies. It was also Atlantic Records' biggest selling album until it was surpassed by Led Zeppelin IV.

Off the Wall was a massive success, spawning four Top Ten hits (two of them number ones), but nothing could have prepared Michael Jackson for Thriller. Nobody could have prepared anybody for the success of Thriller, since the magnitude of its success was simply unimaginable -- an album that sold 40 million copies in its initial chart run, with seven of its nine tracks reaching the Top Ten (for the record, the terrific "Baby Be Mine" and the pretty good ballad "The Lady in My Life" are not like the others). This was a record that had something for everybody, building on the basic blueprint of Off the Wall by adding harder funk, hard rock, softer ballads, and smoother soul -- expanding the approach to have something for every audience.

By 1983, with the new romantic movement they'd sprung from a rapidly fading memory, the members of Spandau Ballet showed they had no intention of traveling the same path. Always ambitious, the British quintet really got down to business: Gone were the kilts, frilly shirts, and makeup -- as well as the sometimes chilly electronics of their first two albums. Instead, after recording at Compass Point Studios in the sun-soaked Bahamas, the group turned up in smartly tailored suits, with a sleek and mainstream sound to match.

Presenting Isaac Hayes was Soul musician Isaac Hayes' debut album, issued in 1968. The LP was the first release on Stax Records' Enterprise label; Hayes had for several years served as one of Stax's key songwriters, producers, and studio musicians.

Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. They began as a psychedelic rock group whose early singles were influenced by The Beatles, and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards like the Mellotron, reed instruments, and by incorporating jazz and improvisational techniques in their music.