Having started out as darlings of the interesting-but-kinda-tiny British Blues scene, Fleetwood Mac morphed their sound over a period of years. When they hit their stride, the result was some of the most delectable pop-rock every committed to vinyl. Just take a look at that discography, not least during their peak run in the ’70s. There’s obviously Rumours, with its litany of go-to breakup anthems and dreamy bops. The second self-titled album Fleetwood Mac brought with it the additions of vocalist Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, and all of the musical alchemy they created. But there are earlier cuts worth praise, too: 1968’s first self-titled debut, a cornerstone of British Blues, while the following year’s Then Play On saw the band continue to reinvent themselves on the road to musical legend.
Amid a lineup whose many members have shifted around over the course of six decades in response to artistic differences, religion-and-drug-fueled epiphanies, and, of course, good old affairs, Fleetwood Mac are in some ways a distillation of everything you think about when someone says rock ‘n’ roll. There’s the drama, there’s the debauchery, but pushing it all along is the sublime musical talent.
Everyone knows the hits, but there’s a sizable back cataloge equally worth digging through. Below, our ranking of the best of Fleetwood Mac.
10. Mystery to Me (1973)
A sort of hazy cloud of an album that sometimes succeeds as a channeling of hippyish psychedelia (“For Your Love”, “Hypnotized”) but otherwise feels a little lackluster in places. It acts as evidence of the progress early guitarist Bob Welch was making in dragging the band toward their eventual star-making interpretation of contemporary pop music. In that sense, it’s an interesting and worthwhile historical document of sorts—and make no mistake, the two aforementioned singles are absolutely worth your time. But otherwise, it’s a work of promise more than one of achievement.
9. Fleetwood Mac in Chicago (1969)
