Artist: Steely Dan · Album: Can’t Buy a Thrill · Year: 1972 · Label: ABC · Rank: 168 / 500
Can’t Buy a Thrill introduces Steely Dan as an unlikely pop phenomenon: a band with radio-ready hooks and an almost literary sense of detachment. The songs glide, but the lyrics often stare coldly at desire, failure, and self-deception. It’s smooth music with sharp edges hidden inside.
Pop Craft, Jazz Instinct
You hear it immediately in the harmony choices and chord movement — this isn’t standard rock vocabulary. Yet tracks like “Do It Again” and “Reelin’ in the Years” remain undeniable, built on grooves that feel casual while being carefully engineered. The album balances complexity and accessibility like it’s effortless.
Characters, Not Confessions
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen write like observers. The songs often feel like short stories: irony, decadence, and the faint outline of regret. That distance becomes part of the band’s identity — a cool stare behind the melody.
Legacy
Can’t Buy a Thrill helped define sophisticated rock for the FM era while still delivering hits. It’s the rare debut that already sounds like a worldview.