Iconic Albums

30 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Which iconic album is Pink Floyd's 1979 double concept album about a rock star's isolation?
- A. In the Court of the Crimson King
- B. The Wall
- C. Automatic for the People
- D. Horses
Show answer
The Wall
Did you know? The album was adapted into a 1982 feature film.
2.Which iconic album is Michael Jackson's 1982 blockbuster with Vincent Price cameo?
- A. Appetite for Destruction
- B. Blue
- C. Rumours
- D. Thriller
Show answer
Thriller
Did you know? Thriller's video helped launch MTV's golden age.
3.Which iconic album is the Eagles' 1976 desert-motel masterpiece?
- A. The Wall
- B. Hotel California
- C. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- D. The Dark Side of the Moon
Show answer
Hotel California
Did you know? The album's cover photo was taken at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
4.Which iconic album is Alanis Morissette's 1995 confessional blockbuster?
- A. Pet Sounds
- B. Jagged Little Pill
- C. Back in Black
- D. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Show answer
Jagged Little Pill
Did you know? You Oughta Know made the album a generational touchstone.
5.Which iconic album is the 1977 Fleetwood Mac breakup masterpiece?
- A. Dummy
- B. Nevermind
- C. Rumours
- D. Abbey Road
Show answer
Rumours
Did you know? Rumours won the Album of the Year Grammy.
6.Which iconic album is the Beatles' 1969 album named for the crossing on its cover?
- A. In the Court of the Crimson King
- B. Automatic for the People
- C. Born in the U.S.A.
- D. Abbey Road
Show answer
Abbey Road
Did you know? The cover made the Abbey Road crossing a tourist landmark.
7.Which iconic album is the Beatles' 1967 concept album with the crowd cover?
- A. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- B. Horses
- C. Appetite for Destruction
- D. OK Computer
Show answer
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Did you know? The cover gathered a guest list chosen by the band themselves.
8.Which iconic album is Pink Floyd's 1973 prism-covered concept album?
- A. Thriller
- B. Slanted and Enchanted
- C. The Dark Side of the Moon
- D. In the Court of the Crimson King
Show answer
The Dark Side of the Moon
Did you know? The album stayed on the Billboard chart for nearly a thousand weeks.
9.Which iconic album is the 1971 untitled album with the four symbols cover?
- A. Songs in the Key of Life
- B. Abbey Road
- C. Thriller
- D. Led Zeppelin IV
Show answer
Led Zeppelin IV
Did you know? The album's actual title is the four symbols themselves.
10.Which iconic album is Nirvana's 1991 underwater-baby blockbuster?
- A. In the Court of the Crimson King
- B. Songs in the Key of Life
- C. Nevermind
- D. Thriller
Show answer
Nevermind
Did you know? Nevermind displaced Michael Jackson at the top of the Billboard 200.
11.Which iconic album is AC/DC's 1980 all-black-cover tribute to Bon Scott?
- A. Born in the U.S.A.
- B. Automatic for the People
- C. Songs in the Key of Life
- D. Back in Black
Show answer
Back in Black
Did you know? Back in Black is one of the best-selling albums ever recorded.
12.Which iconic album is Bruce Springsteen's 1984 seven-top-ten blockbuster?
- A. The Dark Side of the Moon
- B. Born in the U.S.A.
- C. Marquee Moon
- D. OK Computer
Show answer
Born in the U.S.A.
Did you know? The title track is often misheard as purely patriotic.
13.Which iconic album is R.E.M.'s 1992 orchestral melancholy album?
- A. OK Computer
- B. Graceland
- C. Born in the U.S.A.
- D. Automatic for the People
Show answer
Automatic for the People
Did you know? The album's title comes from an Athens diner slogan.
14.Which iconic album is Guns N' Roses' 1987 debut with the robotic skull cover?
- A. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- B. Jagged Little Pill
- C. Appetite for Destruction
- D. Automatic for the People
Show answer
Appetite for Destruction
Did you know? The original cover art was rejected by label retailers.
15.Which iconic album is Paul Simon's 1986 South African collaboration album?
- A. OK Computer
- B. Hotel California
- C. In the Court of the Crimson King
- D. Graceland
Show answer
Graceland
Did you know? The sessions drew both acclaim and boycott debates.
16.Which iconic album is Lauryn Hill's 1998 solo debut?
- A. Automatic for the People
- B. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- C. Paul's Boutique
- D. The Joshua Tree
Show answer
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Did you know? It was the first hip-hop album to win Album of the Year.
17.Which iconic album is Joni Mitchell's 1971 confessional folk classic?
- A. In the Court of the Crimson King
- B. Paul's Boutique
- C. The Wall
- D. Blue
Show answer
Blue
Did you know? Blue was recorded in the era's Laurel Canyon scene.
18.Which iconic album is Marvin Gaye's 1971 soul statement on war and ecology?
- A. What's Going On
- B. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- C. In the Court of the Crimson King
- D. Graceland
Show answer
What's Going On
Did you know? Motown at first resisted releasing the album.
19.Which iconic album is Janet Jackson's 1989 socially charged concept album?
- A. Rhythm Nation 1814
- B. Hotel California
- C. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- D. The Joshua Tree
Show answer
Rhythm Nation 1814
Did you know? The 1814 references the year the Star-Spangled Banner was written.
20.Which iconic album is Stevie Wonder's 1976 double-album summit?
- A. Jagged Little Pill
- B. In the Court of the Crimson King
- C. Songs in the Key of Life
- D. Rumours
Show answer
Songs in the Key of Life
Did you know? The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
21.Which iconic album is U2's 1987 America-inspired desert album?
- A. Automatic for the People
- B. Thriller
- C. The Joshua Tree
- D. Jagged Little Pill
Show answer
The Joshua Tree
Did you know? The cover tree stood in the California desert.
22.Which iconic album is Radiohead's 1997 technology-anxiety landmark?
- A. Appetite for Destruction
- B. Horses
- C. OK Computer
- D. Abbey Road
Show answer
OK Computer
Did you know? The album was recorded mostly in a converted mansion.
23.Which iconic album is Television's 1977 twin-guitar art-rock album?
- A. Marquee Moon
- B. Abbey Road
- C. OK Computer
- D. What's Going On
Show answer
Marquee Moon
Did you know? The album was recorded in New York in 1976.
24.Which iconic album is the Beach Boys' 1966 studio invention album?
- A. The Wall
- B. Slanted and Enchanted
- C. Rumours
- D. Pet Sounds
Show answer
Pet Sounds
Did you know? Paul McCartney named God Only Knows one of his favorite songs.
25.Which iconic album is the Beastie Boys' 1989 sample-dense follow-up?
- A. Nevermind
- B. Marquee Moon
- C. Born in the U.S.A.
- D. Paul's Boutique
Show answer
Paul's Boutique
Did you know? The album initially sold far below its debut.
26.Which iconic album is Patti Smith's 1975 poetry-punk debut?
- A. Dummy
- B. Horses
- C. Rumours
- D. Marquee Moon
Show answer
Horses
Did you know? The Robert Mapplethorpe cover photo became iconic.
27.Which iconic album is My Bloody Valentine's 1991 guitar-texture landmark?
- A. Loveless
- B. Abbey Road
- C. Dummy
- D. Rhythm Nation 1814
Show answer
Loveless
Did you know? The album's mixing nearly bankrupted its label.
28.Which iconic album is King Crimson's 1969 progressive-rock debut?
- A. What's Going On
- B. In the Court of the Crimson King
- C. Rumours
- D. The Wall
Show answer
In the Court of the Crimson King
Did you know? The cover's screaming face became prog's icon.
29.Which iconic album is Pavement's 1992 lo-fi debut?
- A. Paul's Boutique
- B. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- C. Led Zeppelin IV
- D. Slanted and Enchanted
Show answer
Slanted and Enchanted
Did you know? The album was recorded on a four-track at home.
30.Which iconic album is Portishead's 1994 trip-hop debut?
- A. What's Going On
- B. Born in the U.S.A.
- C. Thriller
- D. Dummy
Show answer
Dummy
Did you know? The album carried the Bristol sound worldwide.

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