UFO never got their due. They were too heavy for the mainstream and too melodic for the metalheads, existing in that weird, glorious no-man’s-land where rock ‘n’ roll is at its most dangerous. A band built for smoky clubs and cosmic highways, they fused bluesy hard rock with interstellar guitar firepower, thanks to the German wunderkind Michael Schenker. This was rock before it got processed, raw, and right in your face. And in the 1970s, they unleashed three albums that still rattle the walls today.

3. Obsession (1978)

UFO were teetering on the edge here—halfway between boogie-down bliss and the kind of desperation that only too many late nights and too many empty bottles can bring. It’s got hooks sharper than Schenker’s cheekbones, with “Only You Can Rock Me” acting as a rallying cry for the lost and the reckless. The production is glossy, but the soul is grimy. Obsession is the sound of a band pushing the limits, right before the inevitable crash.e abyss.

2. Phenomenon (1974)

This is where UFO stopped being just another space-rock oddity and became the band that every denim-clad rocker would worship in smoky basements for decades to come. Schenker had just joined, his guitar slicing through the cosmic murk like a starship breaking atmo. And the songs—oh shit, the songs! “Doctor Doctor” is an anthem for the permanently wasted, “Rock Bottom” is a six-minute guitar solo disguised as a song, and the whole album crackles with the raw, unfiltered energy of a band realizing their own power. You can hear the blueprint for ‘80s metal forming right here. Phenomenon is a thunderclap, and the world would never sound the same again.

1. Lights Out (1977)

Lights Out is an unstoppable beast, roaring through the night with anthems that demand fists in the air and drinks in hand. The title track is a straight-up riot, the kind of song that makes you want to tear down street signs and start a revolution. “Too Hot to Handle” is pure rock swagger, and “Love to Love” proves that even hard rockers have a soul—before ripping it apart with a solo that could melt steel. This is UFO at their peak: polished enough to be dangerous, reckless enough to be exciting, and powerful enough to level a city block.

UFO was the bridge between Led Zeppelin’s bluesy stomp and Iron Maiden’s galloping fury. They had the power, the melody, the chops, and just the right amount of self-destruction. These three albums showcase a band at its hungriest, its wildest, and its most innovative. If you’ve never cranked Lights Out on a long highway drive or lost yourself in the solos of Phenomenon, then, friend, you haven’t fucking lived. Get these records. Stream these albums. I don’t care, just play them loud. And remember—rock ‘n’ roll this pure doesn’t come around often.