Cheap Trick became famous slowly and then all at once. Ironically enough, the 1978 triple-platinum At Budokan live album that suddenly hurtled them to arena-filling superstar status only represented one element of the complex musical foundation they’d poured over three previous studio albums.
At Budokan was sinewy, occasionally bare-knuckled and always in motion. That’s to be expected on an album reportedly recorded before 12,000 cheering Japanese fans on April 28 and 30, 1978, in Tokyo. (The tapes were actually from an appearance in Osaka, but that’s a story for another time.)
All of this was in keeping with their tougher, unjustly ignored self-titled 1977 debut. But Cheap Trick had since changed producers, moving from Jack Douglas to Tom Werman – and from hard-rock pop to power pop on the sleeker, perhaps too bright In Color. They finally found the right mix on 1978’s Heaven Tonight.
What is the Best Album by Cheap Trick?
The tougher brand of rock on At Budokan tilted expectations. Not for the last time, Cheap Trick decided to defy them on 1979’s far more experimental multi-platinum-selling Dream Police.
The group would wrestle with this for the rest of their career. Some Cheap Trick albums (1994’s Woke Up with a Monster, 1997’s Cheap Trick, and 2017’s We’re All Alright!) sharpened to a harder edge. Others were blatant pop moves, including 1986’s The Doctor and 1988’s Lap of Luxury, with platinum-selling results.
Cheap Trick could be perhaps surprisingly experimental, making bold excursions away from power pop on albums like Dream Police and 1980’s gold-selling All Shook Up. More often, however, their studio projects tried to mirror the balanced approach that made Heaven Tonight an early prototype.
READ MORE: Top 10 Cheap Trick Songs
It was a difficult mountain to climb. But Cheap Trick kept trying, finding purchase with later-career successes that included 2006’s Rockford, 2009’s The Latest, and 2025’s All Washed Up. None sold like their best-known albums once had, but that was no reflection of what was found inside.
Which one comes out on top? Here’s a ranked look back at Cheap Trick albums:
Ranking Every Cheap Trick Album
They became famous slowly and then all at once. Here’s how.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
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