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Song of the Day #3,402: ‘Even the Losers’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

On the final day of my Tom Petty tribute week, I reveal my favorite of his albums.

#1 – Damn the Torpedoes – 1979

It felt right to go with a Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album in my top spot, and Lord knows there is no better Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album than Damn the Torpedoes.

This was the band’s third album and the first where they sound like they have truly mastered their craft. Songwriting, performance and production come together in way that makes Damn the Torpedoes not just the best Tom Petty album but one of the best rock albums of all-time, period.

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Song of the Day #3,401: ‘Alright For Now’ – Tom Petty

[Continuing my countdown of favorite Tom Petty albums, in honor of the late, great musician.]

In my #2 spot is Tom Petty’s first, and best, solo album.

#2 – Full Moon Fever (1989)

Though I was familiar with several of Tom Petty’s singles with The Heartbreakers, Full Moon Fever was the first full-length album of his I owned. It was also one of the first CDs I purchased for myself as I transitioned to that new digital format.

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Song of the Day #3,400: ‘Crawling Back To You’ – Tom Petty

[Continuing my countdown of favorite Tom Petty albums, in honor of the late, great musician.]

My top three Tom Petty albums are all so good in so many different ways that I can make a case for any one of them as #1.

These are also the three albums that show up in the top spots of just about every Tom Petty ranking I could find online. That’s because Petty has generally been more of a singles artist than an album artist, but also because these three albums are just that good.

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Song of the Day #3,399: ‘Square One’ – Tom Petty

Continuing my countdown of favorite Tom Petty albums, in honor of the late, great musician.

Tom Petty released three solo albums over the course of his 40-year career, and on their face they don’t differ all that much from his work with The Heartbreakers. In fact, almost every band member appears on each of those three records.

But there must be something to the distinction because (spoiler alert) all three of those solo albums show up in my top five.

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Song of the Day #3,398: ‘Dogs On the Run’ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

I’ve been promising a Tom Petty tribute since the rock legend passed away unexpectedly on October 2, and this week I will deliver it in the form of a countdown of my five favorite Petty albums.

I recently listened to a podcast called ‘The Great Albums,’ on which the hosts do track-by-track reviews of their favorite records. They were discussing a Tom Petty album (one I’ll feature this week) and wondered why it was that Petty’s name didn’t automatically come up when people discuss the giants of rock-n-roll.

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