6 Albums That Saved a Band's Career

There are plenty of records that nearly killed the career of one of rock's biggest artists, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Sometimes, the right album at just the right time can do wonders.

In our rundown of albums that saved a band's career, we'll actually be exploring more than one type of career resurrection.

On the one hand, you have bands like Aerosmith who lost everything and were forced to make drastic changes to get it back.

“Seeing some of these bands come up, like Whitesnake and Guns N’ Roses, the whole climate was changing and we had to step up to the plate or move on,” Joe Perry has said. “We stepped up to the plate. Adapting to the new climate and the whole video thing, I have to say, we probably had a little lipstick on, but, you know” — he laughs — “just for the cameras.”

Then there were artists such as Kiss and Bruce Springsteen, who nearly ran out of chances before breaking through to a mass audience.

These career-saving albums are indelible for just that reason. For instance, when Springsteen listens to his breakthrough record Born to Run decades later, “I hear my friends," he once said, "and I hear my hopes and my dreams and what I thought my life was going to be like as a 25-year old kid."

As the following list of career-saving albums demonstrates, if you've got talent and dedication there's always hope for big success. So, let's get stated on the road to redemption, shall we?