As the 70s came to a close, disco was still in the mix and Stan Barrett broke the sound barrier on land for the first time, these were the top 10 rock albums on MGK’s Thursday Top 10 Countdown from December 15, 1979.

• 10. Candy-O - The Cars

  Noted pin-up artist Antonio Vargas had been retired when he was asked to design the cover for the Cars’ second album. His niece, who was a fan of the band, talked him into it and the cover, along with the rest of the Candy-O, was a big hit, even topping their debut. It’s #10 on this week’s countdown.

• 9. Regatta De Blanc - The Police

  According to Police drummer Stewart Copeland, the band entered the studio for their second album without one lick of rehearsal. They just all presented their songs, dug up some discarded tracks, worked on the ones they liked and, over the course of six months, made Regatta De Blanc, the #9 rock album on December 15, 1979.

• 8. Breakfast In America - Supertramp

  Supertramp’s unique look at the USA was their biggest selling album, and one of the biggest sellers of the year!  It also earned them two Grammy awards!  Breakfast In America, after hitting #1 and staying there for six weeks, dropped to #8 on December 15, 1979.

• 7. Freedom At Point Zero - Jefferson Starship

  After both Grace Slick and Marty Balin left the band, Jefferson Starship recruited the lead singer of Elvin Bishop’s band, Mickey Thomas, to fill the void, and fill it he did with Freedom At Point Zero, the #7 rock album on the Thursday Top 10 Countdown.

• 6. Head Games - Foreigner

  After incredible success producing the likes of Queen, The Cars and Journey, Roy Thomas Baker gave Foreigner a crack, producing their third album, Head Games. It peaked at #5, and drops a space to #6 on December 15, 1979.

• 5. Damn The Torpedoes - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

  Taking the title partly from a civil war quote, Tom Petty saw his breakthrough with this, his third studio album called Damn The Torpedoes.  It spent seven weeks at #2, being kept from the top spot by The Wall and, on its way there, it slips to #5 on this week’s countdown.

• 4. Tusk - Fleetwood Mac

  It took over a year, and over one million dollars to produce, 5 million in today’s dollars, and more than any other album in history, but why not?  It was the follow up to Rumours, for goodness’ sake!  The wildly experimental Tusk, didn’t make it all the way to #1, but peaked here at #4.

• 3. In Through The Out Door - Led Zeppelin

  Led Zeppelin hoped to have their eighth album out in time for their appearance at the August, 1979 Knebworth Festival, where they were headlining.  Due to the intricate cover art, though, the album was delayed by two weeks.  In Through The Out Door, their final studio work, was the #3 rock album on December 15, 1979.

• 2. Cornerstone - Styx

  Peaking here at #2 is the first album by Styx to earn a Grammy nomination.  Cornerstone also gave the band their first and only #1 single, “Babe.”

• 1. The Long Run - Eagles

  Topping the chart on our countdown this week is the sixth studio album by the biggest selling American band of all time.  It was an album that was marked by a lot of tension within the group, with sessions spreading out over a year and a half, and the band not recording another studio album for 28 years!  #1 on December 15, 1979 was The Long Run by Eagles.

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