20 extraordinary albums turning 50 this year

9. Second Helping by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Can a hit song be a curse instead of a blessing? The opening track on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s sophomore effort, “Sweet Home Alabama.” became the band’s anthem. And with good reason. It is an anthemic burst of pride drawn right out of the country tradition that has seen Johnny Cash praise Tennessee and countless others glorify Texas.

The problem is that it tended to overshadow an album full of great southern rockers, from “Don’t Ask Me No Questions” to the rocking “Call Me the Breeze.” It has the portentous “The Needle and the Spoon” along with the sensational blues tribute “The Ballad of Curtis Loew.” “Sweet Home Alabama” helped carry Second Helping into the top ten, but the other songs never really got their due.

8. In For the Kill! by Budgie

Budgie was a seminal power trio who helped build metal into a viable genre, without ever achieving great commercial success. Burke Shelley played bass and sang. Tony Bourge accented Shelley’s pounding bass on guitar. In For the Kill! found Pete Boot on drums, having replaced original drummer Ray Phillips shortly before recording.

Boot wouldn’t last very long, but he contributes mightily to their fourth album. They hit the ground running with the title track and never let up. By the time they get to the titanic “Hammer and Tongs,” which lets Bourge run wild, we realize that just because Led Zeppelin took 1974 off, there was still massive rock & roll being created.

7. Sheer Heart Attack by Queen

Queen had flirted with what they would become on their first two albums, but on Sheer Heart Attack it all came together. “Brighton Rock” exploded out of the gates and then “Killer Queen” sealed the deal. By the time you got to “Stone Cold Crazy,” it was obvious that this band was here to stay.

The theatricality – Freddie Mercury’s acrobatic vocals combined with Brain May’s scale-trotting guitar runs - always meant high energy. Mercury used all his prowess to make sentimental songs like “Lily of the Valley” and “Dear Friends” compelling but was clearly at his best when the band shifted into high gear. Mid-level rockers like “Now I’m Here”, “Bring Back That Leroy Brown” and the title track got that special Queen treatment and became a lot more fun than they had a right to be. “Bohemian Rhapsody” was just a year away.