100 Greatest Albums of All Time

26. Rumours, Fleetwood Mac, Warner Bros., 1977

On Rumours, Fleetwood Mac turned private turmoil into gleaming, melodic public art. The band’s two couples ”“ bassist John and singer-keyboard player Christine McVie, who were married; guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks, who were not ”“ were in the midst of breakups during the album’s protracted sessions. This lent a highly charged, confessional aura to songs like Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way,” Nicks’ “Dreams,” Christine’s “Don’t Stop” and the group-composed anthem to betrayal, “The Chain.” The Mac’s catchy exposés, produced with California- sunshine polish, touched a nerve: Rumours became the gold standard of late-Seventies FM radio and the seventh- bestselling studio album of all time.