Top 5 - Greatest Album Closers in Classic Rock

There are a ton of great albums with brilliant songs all the way through. And while it’s true some songs on albums are filler, those, almost, throw away material that makes it on an album to fill it out, pushed to the end, there are some albums that save, maybe, the best for last!

Here are my Top 5 greatest songs to end an album on in classic rock history!

5. You Can’t Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones from the album Let It Bleed 1969. One of their best albums, behind Beggar’s Banquet and Exile on Main Street, has one of their best songs to cap it off. I would argue, best song on the album.

4. Fight the Power ('Fear of a Black Planet') - Public Enemy from the album Fear of a Black Planet in 1989. I think my introduction to this song was from watching Do the Right Thing, the Spike Lee movie, Radio Raheem walking the streets blasting this powerful song from a 24 D-Cell boombox. Who didn’t want to raise a fist and then jump around to the infectious yet poignant grooves?

3. Here Comes a Regular - Replacements from the album Tim in 1985. The song was written about south Minneapolis bar that became a frequent hangout for the band, right near a record store named Oar Folk which was a huge part of the Minneapolis rock music scene, including Husker Du and Soul Asylum. This was also the last album with original guitarist Bob Stinson and the first to be almost completely written by Paul Westerberg. Coincidentally, Bob’s was the only face to be featured on the cover art. I’ve always thought of Norm from Cheers with the song, but it is about being lonely and striving to find a place to fit in and be recognized. “You're like a picture on the fridge that's never stocked with food/I used to live at home, now I stay at the house.”

2. Won’t get Fooled Again - The Who from the album Who’s Next 1971. Everyone was in absolute true form. One can picture Pete Townsend doing his signature windmill guitar motion. That infamous primal Daltrey scream. Maybe it is overplayed, but it still is the quintessential Who song in the catalog.

1. Purple Rain - Prince from the Motion Picture Soundtrack of the same name in 1984. Price is in his brilliant true form throughout this album and especially so on this track. The guitar work, the voice, all an emotional juggernaut to say the least. Who the hell doesn’t sing along when this song comes on, and isn’t transported to another place and time? No one.

How about you? What is your top album closer?