100 Greatest Albums of All Time

77. Back in Black, AC/DC, Atlantic, 1980

In the middle of album rehearsals, singer Bon Scott went on a drinking spree; he choked on his own vomit and was found dead in the back seat of a car. After two days of mourning, guitarist Malcolm Young thought, “Well, fuck this, I’m not gonna sit around mopin’ all fuckin’ year.” He called his brother, guitarist Angus Young, and they went back to work with replacement vocalist Brian Johnson and savvy producer Mutt Lange. The resulting album has the relentless logic of a sledgehammer. Back in Black might be the purest distillation of hard rock ever: The title track, “Hells Bells” and the primo dance-metal banger “You Shook Me All Night Long” have all become enduring anthems of strutting blues-based guitar heat.