2010s
The Petty Archives

Editor's Note: This is Classic Rock's list of 150 greatest debut album. The other 149 are included in the PDF, which is about 35 pages.

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Download the PDF!

The 150 Greatest Debut Albums Of All Time
Classic Rock - October 2010

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS | TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS | Shelter, 1976
Who leaves a song as enduring as American Girl to be the last track on their debut album? Well, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, for one. American Girl might be the album's best known song, but TP&HB is packed full of rootsy, anthemic numbers such as The Wild One, Forever and Breakdown. Unusually, considering how all-American this debut sounds, it was successful on this side of the Atlantic first.