Top 20 Triple Albums

If there was a golden era for three-disc releases, it was clearly the ’70s. Half of the items in the following list of Top 20 Triple Albums arrived in that decade.

Some artists have been more apt to release triple albums: Frank Zappa could almost have his own with highlights like 1979’s Joe’s Garage, 1981’s Shut Up ‘n Play Yer Guitar and 1984’s Thing-Fish, among others. Rush issued two of them, as did Paul McCartney.

There’s no set timeframe for when rock acts decide that neither a single-disc nor double-disc package could contain their music. George Harrison officially launched his solo career with one, while Emerson Lake and Palmer issued another at roughly the mid-point of their classic era. But then 2017’s Triplicate was Bob Dylan‘s first-ever triple album, arriving after 37 previous releases.

Rock has seen plenty of three-disc studio efforts, from acts as different as Nine Inch Nails (1999’s The Fragile) and Iron Maiden (2015’s The Book of Souls). Proper overviews of legacy acts may require compilations to push past a second disc, as they did with Electric Light Orchestra‘s Flashback and Tom Waits‘ Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards.

Most often, however, triple albums showcase rock acts on stage. Some focus on specific events, including 1970’s Woodstock, 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh and 1978’s The Last Waltz, but most document individual acts during a specific touring era.

Often most intriguing of all is when a three-disc concert release captures these groups at a turning-point moment: Santana‘s Lotus followed the band’s new shift toward fusion. The Who issued a triple album in celebration of their late-’80s reunion. King Crimson‘s Heavy ConstruKction found the group suddenly without their long-time rhythm section of Bill Bruford and Tony Levin.

Here’s a ranked look back at the Top 20 Triple Albums: