Yet another of Rock’s (and music’s in general) greatest bands has ended its holdout on having their music be available on iTunes. This time around it’s AC/DC that have released their entire catalog to the digital market.
With a band as great as this, a true fan wouldn’t mind buying the complete studio collection for $99.99 and for superfans of the group there’s the complete collection (containing all 16 studio albums, plus four live albums and two compilations) for $149.99. Since many may not want/need an entire collection from these Aussie’s catalog, we’ve compiled a list of 5 essential AC/DC albums that are a must-have for any music fan’s collection.
Look for the top 5 essential albums from these collections after the jump.
5. Live At River Plate
The band’s latest release was recorded in 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina’s River Plate Stadium when the band was out on a world tour in support of their release of the chart-topping Black Ice. The band played a 3-night set in the 64,000 capacity stadium with songs spanning the band’s entire illustrious career. AC/DC is seen in full form with great live renditions of hit songs like “Back In Black,” “Thunderstruck,” and “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)” among others making it an excellent live album in itself.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/live-at-river-plate/id575663793
4. Let There Be Rock
In this ’77 release, the band continues with its simplistic brand of blues-based heavy Rock. In true AC/DC fashion, Let There Be Rock is chock-full of songs that are packed with raw power, killer guitar work from the Young brothers and Bon Scott’s signature sadistic, snarly voice. Songs like “Problem Child,” “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be,” Whole Lotta Rosie” and the title track are a great testament to the band’s need to rock hard.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-there-be-rock/id574124483
3. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
In the first of the band’s ’76 releases (the other being the next album on this list) the band continues to bring on the heavy riffs that don’t skimp out on the innuendos and jokes while building on the tradition of finishing off the album with a blues number. The opening number (and title track) is a classic tune for the band about sweet revenge. “Big Balls” is just plain ridiculous and features the lines “and my balls are always bouncing, and my ballroom always full, and everybody comes and comes again” that you can’t help but laugh, enjoy and sing along to. “Problem Child” is another of the band’s classic songs that boasts a great guitar lick and infectious chorus with a killer solo.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dirty-deeds-done-dirt-cheap/id575306275
2. High Voltage
In one of Bon Scott’s last efforts with the band, AC/DC deliver on the theme identified on the title by giving us yet another badass album. We can find some now-legendary AC/DC songs like “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock N’ Roll)” and “T.N.T.” appear on High Voltage. Some great deep cuts like the 50s rock & roll-stylings of “Can I Sit Next To You Girl” to the bluesy “The Jack” and the snarl of “Live Wire” help make this a very complete album.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/high-voltage/id574124734
1. Back In Black
This is the quintessential AC/DC album. Right when many believed the band was done for after lead singer Bon Scott dies, the band went right back to work with new lead singer Brian Johnson and they came up with a true Rock masterpiece. Every song on this album rocks and kicks ass; from the eerie opener “Hells Bells,” to an ode to American ladies in “You Shook Me All Night Long” to the one Rock’s most recognizable guitar riffs in the title track, there’s nothing on this album that won’t get you headbanging.
