Back in the 1970's and early 1980's there was this great music magazine called
Trouser Press. It featured penetrating interviews, great writing, and
insightful record reviews.
Even the letters column was more intelligent and interesting than the writing
found in rival rock rags.
TP combined enthusiasm for the most interesting developments in
late 1970's new-wave/punk without
disdaining the accomplishments of the "dinosaurs" of the early 1970's. I
always felt that this was a fair and sensible attitude, and is one of the reasons I
enjoyed reading TP.
In the January 1980 issue, Trouser Press listed the vital albums of the period 1970 to 1978, plus the top ten albums of 1979. This list is recreated below.
| 1970 | |
| Argent | Argent |
| David Bowie | Man Who Sold The World |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | Cosmo's Factory |
| Derek and the Dominoes | Layla |
| Kinks | Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround |
| John Lennon | Plastic Ono Band |
| MC5 | Back in the USA |
| Rod Stewart | Gasoline Alley |
| Move | Shazam! |
| Velvet Underground | Loaded |
| 1971 | |
| David Bowie | Hunky Dory |
| Alice Cooper | Love It To Death |
| Doors | L.A. Woman |
| John Entwistle | Smash Your Head Against the Wall |
| Flamin Groovies | Teenage Head |
| Led Zeppelin | IV |
| Move | Looking On |
| Rolling Stones | Sticky Fingers |
| Rod Stewart | Every Picture Tells A Story |
| Who | Who's Next |
| 1972 | |
| Big Star | #1 Record |
| David Bowie | Ziggy Stardust |
| Electric Light Orchestra | No Answer |
| Genesis | Foxtrot |
| Kinks | Muswell Hillbillies |
| Move | Message From the Country |
| Rolling Stones | Exile On Main Street |
| Roxy Music | Roxy Music |
| Todd Rundgren | Something/Anything? |
| Sparks | Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing |
| 1973 | |
| David Bowie | Aladdin Sane |
| John Cale | Paris 1919 |
| Eno | Here Come The Warm Jets |
| Elton John | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road |
| Mott the Hoople | Mott |
| Mike Oldfield | Tubular Bells |
| Queen | A Night At the Opera |
| Roxy Music | For Your Pleasure |
| Stooges | Raw Power |
| Stories | About Us |
| Roy Wood | Boulders |
| 10CC | 10CC |
| Who | Quadrophenia |
| 1974 | |
| Big Star | Radio City |
| Jackson Browne | Late for the Sky |
| John Cale | Fear |
| Ducks Deluxe | Ducks Deluxe |
| New York Dolls | New York Dolls |
| New York Dolls | Too Much Too Soon |
| Queen | Sheer Heart Attack |
| Roxy Music | Country Life |
| Roxy Music | Stranded |
| Slade | Sladest |
| Sparks | Kimono My House |
| 1975 | |
| Bad Company | Bad Company |
| Be Bop Deluxe | Futurama |
| The Dictators | Go Girl Crazy |
| Bob Dylan | Blood on the Tracks |
| Sweet | Desolation Boulevard |
| Who | Who By Numbers |
| 1976 | |
| Kevin Ayers | Yes We Have No Mananas |
| Boston | Boston |
| David Bowie | Station To Station |
| Flamin Groovies | Shake Some Action |
| Modern Lovers | Modern Lovers |
| Graham Parker | Howlin Wind |
| Graham Parker | Heat Treatment |
| Ramones | Ramones |
| Thin Lizzy | Jailbreak |
| Dwight Twilley | Sincerely |
| 1977 | |
| Blondie | Plastic Letters |
| Cheap Trick | Cheap Trick |
| Cheap Trick | In Color |
| Clash | Clash |
| Elvis Costello | My Aim Is True |
| Ian Dury | New Boots and Panties |
| Dave Edmunds | Get It |
| The Jam | This Is the Modern World |
| Kinks | Sleepwalker |
| Ramones | Rocket To Russia |
| Sex Pistols | Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols |
| Television | Marquee Moon |
| 1978 | |
| Blondie | Parallel Lines |
| Boomtown Rats | Tonic For The Troops |
| Cars | Cars |
| Cheap Trick | Heaven Tonight |
| Clash | Give Em Enough Rope |
| Elvis Costello | This Year's Model |
| Devo | Are We Not Men? We Are Devo |
| Dave Edmunds | Tracks On Wax 4 |
| Generation X | Generation X |
| Nick Lowe | Pure Pop For Now People |
| XTC | White Music |
| 1979 | |
| Cheap Trick | Dream Police |
| Elvis Costello | Armed Forces |
| Dave Edmunds | Repeat When Necessary |
| John Hiatt | Slug Line |
| Joe Jackson | I'm the Man |
| The Jam | All Mod Cons |
| Iggy Pop | New Values |
| Records | Shades in Bed |
| Sex Pistols | The Great Rock and Roll Swindle |
| Wire | 154 |