Jim Beviglia

The Eagles were kicking into overdrive when they made One of These Nights . Their previous album ( On the Border ) had included their first chart-topping single (“Best of My Love”). These driven guys weren't about to let go of that brass ring and this 1975 album, which spawned three Top-10 singles, solidified them as superstars.

The Kinks could get it done in many different ways when it came to their albums. They could give you one where every song played into some all-encompassing theme. Or they could simply deliver a crackerjack set of songs unified by nothing other than their excellence.

If you're a Ron Sexsmith fan, you probably want to tell every music fan you know about him. The Canadian artist is a ridiculously talented songwriter, and he's been doing it at a high level ever since he was self-releasing his stuff in the ‘80s.

Joel partially derived his 1978 hit “My Life” from a friend's decision to try something new in his life, something that wasn't guaranteed to bring him success. From that specific story, Joel managed to create a song that spoke to the need for people to take hold of their own personal autonomy, regardless of the opinions of others around them.

Leonard Cohen was gifted with rare songwriting talents. Still, like all top writers, he received more than a little help along the way from the people he encountered who ended up inspiring his work. Call them muses, if you will.

Making a drastic change to your musical style in the middle of a successful career isn't always the best idea. Joe Jackson did just that in 1982 with the album Night and Day , and he ended up with the biggest hit of his career, thanks to the single “Steppin' Out.”

But to McCartney, the “Mull of Kintyre” is a special place indeed, as it's the location of his longtime farm estate that's always allowed him to get away from it all when needed. The song honoring it, released in 1977, proved to be the biggest single of Wings' career in the UK.

The Lovin' Spoonful delivered a batch of hits in the '60s notable for their variety. This band could turn out modern sounds when so inclined, but they also possessed the ability to reach back to another era with their sound, just as they accomplished with their 1966 smash hit “Daydream.”

'80s fans can probably summon up Talking Heads ‘ “Road to Nowhere” in their imagination with no problem: The solemn chorale opening, followed by Tina Weymouth's bass notes that sound like a lawnmower starting up, followed by Chris Frantz's rat-a-tat beat and, out of the blue, a swirling accordion. It's the perfect beginning to an incredible track.

Bruce Springsteen didn't write often about romance much on his early records, in part because he seemed laser-focused on his career at the expense of long-term relationships at that point. When he wrote about it on “The River,” released on the album of the same name in 1980, he concentrated on the realities of a young couple trying to make it, instead of the romantic aspects of it.