Eagles - Hotel California

This album marked a major leap for The Eagles from their earlier work, as well as a stylistic shift toward mainstream Rock. An even more important aspect, however, is the emergence of Don Henley as the band's dominant voice, both as a singer and lyricist. In the early part of their career, The Eagles never seemed to get a sound big enough for their ambitions; but with the release of "Hotel California" came the unveiling of a seemingly whole new band. It was a band that could be bombastic, but one that made music worthy of the later tag of "Classic Rock," music appropriate for the arenas and stadium's the band was playing. The result was The Eagles' biggest selling regular album release and one of the most successful Rock albums ever.