The Clash - London Calling (Expanded Edition) (1979)

Just two years after the group was playing simple three-chord punk rock, the Clash created one of the greatest rock album of all time-the complex, diverse, and musically omnivorous London Calling. On this near-perfect 1979 album, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon were at their creative peak. Taking their cues from pop ("Lost in the Supermarket"), dub ("Rudie Can't Fail," "The Guns of Brixton"), and everything else they could get their ears around, the quartet creates punk-rock magic. There's still an edge to the title track, "Death or Glory," and "Clampdown," but the real fun happens when the group breaks new ground and melds genres, as on "I'm Not Down," "Spanish Bombs," and the massive hit "Train in Vain."