The Cars

in the world of cars this album would be a ford focus. straight down the middle. not particularly fast, but not slow. not particularly good looking, but not hideous. not particularly economic, but not a gas guzzler. not particularly interesting, but not boring. not particularly cool, but not a ssanyong. just middle.

I mean, each track is a 5 star track, so what more can really be said about this album? Musically, The Cars nails The mix on Moving in Stereo is fun and meta as they play with the left and right channels. There's a high toned keyboard melody in All Mixed Up that punches out of the left speaker in such a delightful way.

Ok, so.... this is New Wave. BUT. It's also full of iconic tracks for a reason. The Cars might be the best of the new wave movement. Good Times Roll, My Best Friend's Girl, You're All I've Got Tonight, Just What I Needed... monsters of the era. It's synthy but not bloopy. And the guitar tones on You're All I've Got Tonight and Bye Bye Love are killer no matter the genre. It's got an edge and an energy that is just missing from the vast majority of new wave albums. I expected to hate it but didn't. Solid album.

I'm going to out on a limb and say that more albums have been ruined by off the rack synths than by any other single factor. And yet The Cars, on their debut album, managed to make off the rack synths sound not just funny, like Devo, but actually--gasp--cool! How the hell did they do it? Most importantly, they used synths for either single note contrapuntal lines or color, never chords. Secondly, guitarist Elliot Easton was almost always way up front in the mix. These are very guitar oriented tunes--the synths are generally secondary. The arrangements are like the interlocking gears of a watch, cunningly constructed. There are no extraneous lines or pieces. Everything fits together perfectly. It turns out that Roy Thomas Baker was the perfect producer for The Cars. There is a clarity in the production that encourages the listener to pick out the separate lines in the arrangements. The only way that Baker deviates from this plan is with the vocal choruses, which are big, full, and vibrant. It's a magical combination. Notice I haven't said a thing about the tunes themselves yet. That's because if the elements I mentioned hadn't been present, this album would have sucked big time. As it is, the music gods were smiling down on The Cars because every last tune is a knockout with strong melodies and big fat, rhythmic hooks, performed to perfection by the band, so that the album comes off as loose, hip, modern and most of all fun. And to top it all off, the lyrics are simple enough to understand on a first listen and yet sardonic and multi-layered. There are plenty of albums that are more complex, more ambitious, and more innovative than The Cars' debut, but it would be hard to find one more perfect.

One of my favorite albums of all time, perhaps my favorite pop album of all time. Just an absolute titan from beginning to end 5/5

Let the good times roll

Starts really slow in my opinion but closer to the end the better. Last two tracks (Moving in Stereo and All Mixed Up) are cherry on top of this record. Solid four stars.

I didn't realize how many classic rock songs came from this one album.

Wall to wall bangers.

Every track is a banger

Incredible. One of the best debut albums of all time.

This album is so good. No skips. Every song is so fun and iconic, this album is one of my favorites of all time

Hit after hit! If you had asked me to name a Cars album, I couldn't have done so, but it turns out I know half of these. Great stuff.

Great album from beginning to end. Some of the best power pop ever recorded. Sadly, The Cars never released another LP of this caliber.

Groundbreaking and fun. Perfect little album.

Another awesome selection from the generator. We do just what I needed in the band I’m in. Love the cars. Such feel good music

Gee whiz, what’s that zipping along the highway, clearing the road in 35 minutes flat with 9 bangers? It’s only “The Cars”! Har har har! WITTY. “The Cars” represents a combination of all the up-and-coming alternative music in 1978. There’s catchy power-pop, various jagged punk stylings, quirky oddball vocals ala Bryan Ferry or David Byrne, and a prominent focus on new-wave-leaning lead synth lines. The album’s three singles all burst out one after the other at the very beginning of the album: “Let The Good Times Roll” is more of a saunter than a galloping start, but immediately boasts excellent chorus vocals and good prominence of analog lead synth lines. But then, “My Best Friend’s Girl” is pure pop perfection: I wouldn’t have thought twice if I’d read it was originally by Buddy Holly, or the Beatles, or Tom Petty, or Ramones. It has a guaranteed place in rock history, with a glorious melody, obligatory handclaps and a lovely trebly fingerpicking accompaniment to boot. And everything you’ve heard about “Just What I Needed” is true: it’s a classic with a killer chorus that digs into my brain the more I listen to it. Nothing else quite matches the opening stretch, but there’s no shortage of very good tracks across the rest of the record. “Moving in Stereo” is a fantastic gear shift towards new-wave, with programmed drums, whistling synths and an enigmatic, mid-tempo hook. “Bye Bye Love”, all chugging verses and then clicking into place with a restless staccato chorus, could have been another hit. “Don’t Cha Stop” may be a little lightweight, but it does have an excellent outro with more exhilarating guitar work. The others are admittedly more of a mixed bag (particularly the off-piste “I’m in Touch with Your World” and the fairly generic “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”) but they’re always spirited and sprightly, not allowing anything to become too bogged down. If it all comes across as a relentlessly assured, effortless selection of tracks, it’s perhaps because this was not Ric Okasek’s first rodeo. Aged 34 at the time of the album’s release (but lying to Rolling Stone and claiming he was 29), Okasek had met bassist Benjamin Orr in 1965 and played in various bands throughout the intervening years. They were relatively old hands by “The Cars”, surrounded by younger band mates and newly emerging trends to hop on. The songwriting is matched by great production by Roy Baker, known (by me) for some stellar work on the first four Queen albums: here, he establishes The Cars as a sharp, crisp and tight new wave band. It’s shiny, pristine and sleek as a brand new car: all sharp edges, perfect clarity and separation, well-rounded sound. There’s the perfect amount of space left for the harmonies and jangly guitars (see “My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Bye Bye Love”) to come leaping from the mix. And there’s some liberal use of effects (flange in “Don’t Cha Stop”, gimmicky panning and rotary in “Moving in Stereo”) for some extra spice. They’d have flashes of the same success in subsequent albums, but “The Cars” has really impressed me as a great debut from a band who arrived fully-formed out of the box.

Best debut album ever. The invention of top 40 radio rock. Let the good times roll. So its only 1978(!) and new wave rock already never sounded better than on this Cars album full of catchy songs, all played in their typical highly effective style - somehow they managed to get it right, right from the start. The first three songs are winners and is hard to imagine why one would not instantly like this album very much. And its massive influence is obvious. Think New Pornographers, Weezer, Urge Overkill, the Strokes etc etc

Fantastic rock album. Each song in the first half can be a hit in its own right, with the second half more experimental. The synth and harmonies paired up with their straight rock n roll sound makes this such a classic and it many way timeless as almost a first pop punk album, closer to early 2000s rock than contemporary albums.

Great album start to finish. The Cars have a certain sound and a certain formula that can be heard across most of their songs, but it just WORKS. The beginning of Good Times Roll is such a great opening and the song is simply cool all the way through. In fact, the first three tracks (GTR, My Best Friend's Girl", and "Just What I Needed") are such classics I'd call this a 5 just on those tracks alone, but the rest keeps me interested and wanting to hear this album again and again (and of course "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Bye Bye Love" are also classics). I'll also point out that this is a great pairing with Blondie's Parallel Lines which we randomly got a few days back. Perfect one-two punch of new wave.

The Cars fait partie de ces groupes formés de l'article "The" et d'un nom commun au pluriel (exemple: The Doors et son imperturbable organiste Manzarek). Pour autant, ce n'est pas aux Doors que le style des Cars nous fait penser mais bien à celui de Queen. L'album s'ouvre en effet sur une introduction intitulée "We Are The Winners" suivie du titre "Don't Block Me Now". Quelques pistes plus tard apparaît soudain le titre "Nonconformist Rhapsody". Pas assez flagrant pour vous peut-être ? Alors comment expliquez-vous que le dernier morceau s'appelle "We Will Move You" et que l'on voit dans son clip le batteur taper deux fois ses mains sur ses cuisses avant de les taper une fois entre elles ? Rendez-vous à l'évidence..

enjoyed this - wee bit dated, but good tunes and tight band.

A stone cold classic. One of those rare (debut!) albums that plays like a greatest hits comp

Overall: 10/10 :) :) :) :) :) :) After ending 2024 with a 1 star album, 2025 is off to a good start cause this is one of my all time favourite albums. When I was in high school I decided I wanted to get into records and my mom gave me all of her old records since she didn't listen to them anymore. I remember looking through her records and being intrigued by this album cover. There's something about it that just instantly felt iconic to me. It ended up being the first album I ever listened to on vinyl and I think it's an understatement to say that it was life changing for me. As soon as the opening chords of Good Times Roll came in I was entranced. You might think I'm crazy for saying this but it's a core memory for me. To this day (about 12 years since I first heard it) I still listen to it at least once a month. Every single song is a banger and Benjamin Orr was such a rockstar 😍 Ugh, gonna go listen to it 20 more times today Fav Song: Moving in Stereo Least Fav Song: ????? Impossible, are you nuts?

A new wave masterpiece

A classic. Ocasek and the boys did a phenomenal job on this album. This also has my all-time favorite Cars song "Moving in Stereo". IYKYN.

Every song on this album is a banger! Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one.

This made me realize how many singles from the Cars I actually knew. That being said it does make the album a little top heavy, but the rest of the tracks are pretty great too. I wish I found this sooner.

It always blows my mind to go back and see how many great songs came off the first album of classic bands. The Cars is no exception. This album makes me love the Cars al over again. I can’t imagine anyone not liking it.

Pretty much a perfect pop-rock album. I frequently make the mistake of thinking it a key album of the 80s but, of course, it pre-dates the 80s - which speaks even more highly of its achievement, I think, in setting a strong tone for many other releases that followed it. It's not an album I turn to very often, but every time I do I'm reminded that it's just so damn good!

-S Tier- Good Times Roll My Best Friend’s Girl Just What I Needed I’m in Touch with Your World Don’t Cha Stop You’re All I’ve Got Tonight Bye Bye Love Moving in Stereo -A Tier- All Mixed Up AVG SCORE: 4.89 / 5.0 - - - Not only is there not a single skippable song on this album, this is one the closest albums to musical perfection as far as I’m concerned. Absolutely transcendent.

Perfect timing, since I was fantasizing about a smokin' Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool and removing her top. So I guess you could say this was...just what I needed.

Heartbeat City was one of my absolute favorite albums when I was a teen. I was less familiar with this one, but many of its songs are well known classics to me. I really enjoyed this trip to their origin point! It does feel like they helped create the sound of the 80s by going beyond guitar-bass-drum rock. "Moving in Stereo" really feels like we're there already.

Love this album. The first 3 tracks are absolute gold and it doesn't really drop off too far from there. I've loved Just What I Needed for years and can't believe it's taken this long to give the rest of the record a run. Amazing.

I love the cars, but it's one of those bands I never know it's them until someone points it out. It helps that I love the first song on the album. OOOOOO I know the 2nd one too. Yeah no doubt, I like this album a lot.

Already listened! A personal favorite

Straight jams back to back.

A great one from my youth.

Classic. Great songs and sounds.

I had heard this album a few times before, and don’t know why I didn’t purchase it back in the day. I really like it, and it takes me back to my old college days. The only reason that I don’t give it 5 stars is because I seem to tire of it somewhat quickly. But all in all, it’s excellent.

I went in with pretty low expectations, figuring that Just What I Needed, a song I adore, would be the only real highlight, but to my shock and pleasure this is really fucking good! To begin with, I forgot about Good Times Roll and My Best Friend's Girl, two songs I don't frequently play but still dig a lot. Those, combined with the aforementioned brilliance of JWIN, made for a severely underrated opening three track run. The deeper cuts didn't disappoint either; I'm In Touch With Your World and You're All I've Got Tonight were splendid, and the groove on Moving in Stereo (not a deep cut based on YTM play counts but still one I forget about often) is absolutely amazing. The only track that didn't really click on first listen was Don't Cha Stop, and I wouldn't be surprised if that changed with time. Very impressive listen. Several classic hitters of the early new wave scene, a song that scratches my favorites list, and a VERY tight runtime make me a very happy camper. I might have to poke around some more of the group's work sometime.

Love the hits on this album!

Pretty close to a 5.

I love the Cars. This is a tremendous (debut) album, chock full of hits. Punchy pop, immediately puts me in a good mood. Rock on.

for me, The Cars are probably the definition of a Greatest Hits band, classic singles but the sound is so characteristic that the album tracks become a bit samey. Probably unfair on this album as it's their debut and 2/3 of the tracks are played to death on the radio but there you go. Great album, buy the Greatest Hits!

Devo for people who wear pea coats. Excellent synths on this record, though.

I dig this so much...in spots. No one swallows his histrionics the way Ric Ocasek does. To me, this music is all the updated swing and swagger of 50s rock for the contemporary new wave crowd. This must be one of the earliest examples of power pop, and it's all just so pure. Yep. "Moving in Stereo" would be the perfect song to strip to.

car

This is good fun, but not necessarily essential. It is fun new wave catchy singalong pop. Good driving (no pun intended) rhythms with occasional proper long guitar solos! The vocal hooks are bubblegum! A very high 3, maybe a 4 with more familiarity.

The Cars' debut album was one of the first albums to get the "New Wave" genre name. It therefore was incredibly influential as New Wave became one of the biggest and most important genres of 80's. But did it age good if it was so big and "ground breaking" to begin with? No, in fact, it aged horribly. It's a bland and one dimensional listen full of boring moments that leave you more uninterested than before. Even the "good" songs this has to offer are boring to a point of exhaustion that leaves the desire to sleep rather than listen to more. The album starts with the annoying and downright stupid 'Good Times Roll'. It tries so hard to be Rocky and "cool" but ends up being the same thing that MGK tries with his "Rock" stuff today. It is stupid, useless, annoying and just not a good song. The chorus is weak, the synths annoy the whole time, the verses so bland that boiled chicken reminds you of spicy Mexican food and the songwriting feels so repetitive that some Techno feels like the most dynamic music of all time. It sounds like they took some Billy Joel, some Boston, some Television and some Blondie, mixed it and decided to take the things that didn't work and applied them to the nonsense they made thus far. If you haven't realised it yet, I do not like this song. It's not terrible, it doesn't make my ears bleed but it is so basic in comparison to what similar music from a similar time sounded like. It's just a bad song, that's it. Hopefully, the second song 'My Best Friend's Girl' does things better, right? No, it's the same thing but with verses that feel forced and weird rather than funny and quirky. It's not as dreadful but it is as bad. Just take the same thing I said for the first song and apply it here. What is different is that the guitar bridge isn't totally bad but the synths in there just destroy the whole thing. Most people point to 'Just What I Needed' as THE song from the album and I do think that it is a fairly good song in comparison to the rest of the album. In fact, it is the best song. It's quite enjoyable and not as annoying, the verses are passable and the chorus is okay. It's still not good but it's an okay song that I don't mind listening to even if it does strech towards the end which isn't a good thing when the song isn't even 4 minutes. 'I'm in Touch With Your World' goes a little "Experimental" and "Post-Punk" and I do like what they were going for BUT this type of music has to be done right and with enough edge to it. When it's turned overly Pop, it is turned into something that is simply bad and doesn't work. The sound they tried to do here isn't fitting with the style they end up doing. It's like if the Talking Heads decided to go full on Madonna in the middle of Remain in Lights. Not a good idea. If you want an example of a song like this to be done right, go and listen to 'Mother' by The Police. Luckily, 'Don't Cha Stop' tunes the Post-Punk a little bit more back and lets more of the Power Pop shine through. The result is a fairly okay song, maybe a little over the top and it definitely tries way too hard but it's alright. It's got some nice energy throughout and it isn't annoying except for the hook but you cannot ask for everything, right? An alright ending to the albums first half. Side 2 is opened with 'You're All I've Got Tonight' which interestingly features some quite "Hard Rock" sounding guitars even if they sometimes sound very, very dissonant and not in a good way. The song is mainly boring with a listenable chorus which overall doesn't really make the song much better. It's just there, a little bit hard to get through because it streches the moment the first chorus ended but alright. 'Bye Bye Love' keeps sonically a lot from the song before and it actually sounds pretty much the exact same. If the chorus was removed you could replace them and noone would notice. The song's boring without anything interesting, not even the chorus, that makes this somewhat listenable. It's just not good, like genuinely terrible, just dreadful. At least 'Moving in Stereo' is a slight even if its a very slight step up to the previous song. The artistic approach with some Post-Punk elements are done much better than on Track 4 even if it turns out as boring as that. It's a song you don't mind. It's definitely not good but it isn't terrible either. For every moment that is okay to listen to, there is a moment that just sucks but it evens out into a bad but not truely terrible song. The album closes with 'All Mixed Up' which is quite interesting in comparison. The synths are quite passable and the performances as well are okay. The song is nearly good. It would've needed some added work but it isn't totally off. I am happy that the album at least ended with an okay song and not another downright dreadful piece. favourites: Just What I Needed, All Mixed Up, Don't Cha Stop least favourites: Bye Bye Love, I'm in Touch With Your World, Moving in Stereo, Good Times Roll, My Best Friend's Girl Rating: decent 3 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

There's only one good Cars song (Drive) and it's not on this album. L +

Basic. Boring. This is really not a great album. It doesn't belong on this list. Nothing of any real interest going on here. Sounds and feels hollow.

Sounds like the very definition of american FM rock. Kinda sounds bland to me.

Classic.

The Cars were great and this album is pretty damn good too. Also brings back some wonderful 80s memories.

Amazing album. Feels like i'm going to an unknown family cabin to be murdered in a cool slasher

Baller status

This is great. Kind of proto pop/punk/new wave and in a good way. Lots of songs I'm coming back to. A great listen. Maybe this is a low 5. Like 4.7. But I haven't had a really really good album for a while so this is a 5. Best songs: Moving in stereo My Best Friend's Girl (some superb little guitar licks here) Just What I Needed

this is definitely one of my all time favourite albums, one hit after another, pure gold and the 2016 mastering gets even more out of it

This album is only 9 songs long, and 4 of them are bonafide classics, and that's not including Good Times Roll, Bye Bye Love and All Mixed Up. Seriously, inject that saxophone at the end of All Mixed Up straight into my veins. Just What I Needed is in the conversation for the best pop song of all time. This is new wave. 5 Stars.

I love The Cars. I love this album. Every song is catchy, fun, and a hit. No notes.

Leading the way of “Cool Rock” skirting the edge of comical, but laying down such intricate tracks mixed with the subtle synth, and backed by tasty guitar riffs and paired with exquisite production value and mastering. Perhaps the vocals push this the farthest into atypical territory and cast a bit of light on the comical tones. However, when considering other cool bands ala Cake or Devo, the Cars feel like the format to construct around. This album being the blue prints for jovial and tight rock mastery. It is in a class of its own, and stands today as music made for the sole purpose of having fun.

Excellent songs all around. Ric Ocasek has such a penchant for perfect power pop. Love this album.

LOVE THIS ALBUM!!! It has something really special about it. It was technically released in the seventies but it sounds quintessentially “80s” which says a lot about how influential the album was at the time. It’s wildly catchy and fun. The production is excellent, and it’s definitely dated but in the best possible way. Nearly everything on the album is a “hit” song. This is probably The Cars best album (the two following this one are both great) so definitely worth your time. Oh and it’s like the perfect length, does not overstay it’s welcome at all, not bloated just to pad the run time. Perfect album!

10/10 album, hands down. I’ve owned this for years and it’s one I can go back to over and over again. So far ahead of its time. The entire album is like a greatest hits collection as far as I’m concerned.

Loved it

- the number of great songs on this release is frightening. The arrangements and production are perfect. The writing great and the guitar work is beautiful. Another perfect album. -

Thinking I can review this without even listening to it. When you're 12 - 13 years old, you don't have much money, so any album you buy is going to need to be really really good. Imagine spending a month's salary on something like an April Wine album because you like the one song they play on the radio. It's a big investment for a little kid. Record store guys were no help either, they kind of just wanted you out of the store and knew you could only buy one album. So they'll recommend it just to get the transaction over with. Once you get it home, the album has the song you like and 8 or 9 other COMPLETE DOGS! One's only recourse was to tell all your friends not to buy it themselves, at the risk of embarrassing yourself. This happens often enough, and you start to recognize from a cover alone (sometimes, this is not foolproof) whether or not the disc is going to come home with you. For a 13 year old, that Cars cover looks very promising. And the songs of their's that you have heard were strikingly new-sounding. Enough New Wave to stand out, enough guitar to not leave the well-tread rock 'n' roll path (reducing your risk!). Beginning to end, The Cars did not disappoint me. Every song killed. No dogs at all. And, they flowed, one into the next. I'm pretty sure I have this memorized - every drum fill, every guitar solo, every synth line, every word. The type of album I would come back to time and time again. And it worked so well because my tastes weren't all that sophisticated back then (are they now?), and this was music that, as I said, rode the edge of novel without being overly alienating. I'd give this 5 for Elliot Easton alone. But everyone else is equally (almost) as adept. Greg Hawkes' keyboards and Ric Ocasek's vocals season the rock undercarriage with an oddness that is appealing to a gawky teenager. I might not be this effusive if I never heard The Cars before, but it has been one of my ten favorite albums since it came out, and after listening to thousands of others, this still stands up.

You can really hear and appreciate how this album influenced the growth of what became so popular in the 1980s, as well as what continued to grow in popularity in the later alternative rock and indie genre of music.

Classic new wave-y power pop, with handclaps, harmonies, and hooks galore. And just great songwriting, to boot. I must’ve been skipping around when I last listened, because I don’t recall “I’m in Touch with Your World” which is mostly a bunch of cartoonish sound effects, kind of a waste of time time. I’m giving this album five stars nonetheless. Favorite Tracks: "My Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I Needed" I tried to choose one, but I am a sucker for handclaps in pop songs.

Until quite recently I assumed "Just What I Needed" was a song from about 2004. Obviously it isn't though. Because it isn't shit.

This album bangs. So many hits on this self titled album. Favorite song has to be "Moving in Stereo". The riff, the beat is hard.

I dare say this is an underrated group and album. I've always been a Cars greatest hits fan but never really listened to the albums. But this is a great album. There are a couple of lesser tracks in the middle but man people should be talking about this album more often. The first 3 tracks are classics. Then I heard some songs that reminded me of the Talking Heads and Queen in there. A couple of more songs that are awesome and then the end of the album with "Moving in Stereo" which blends right into "All Mixed Up". Great couple of tracks to end the album with. I should be listening to this one more often and people should bringing this up as an all-time classic album more often.

Bye Bye Love

BOSTON represent. We just hired Vrabel what do you want from me, we're tribal. All of the synth/key sounds are new wave perfection. This is a classic debut album having all the hits because they've had a lifetime to write them. But you don't deduct points for that...a debut album that sounds like a fully formed band. Also shout out to Ben (don't call him Bobby) Orr for being the better vocalist and general hot guy.

Boston guys have already spoken about the Cars legendary status here. As a result we’ve all heard almost all of these songs 1000 times before. But I still love the precision and intricacy of the parts, and how tight every song fits together( the opposite of the formless slog of the last album. Seriously fuck the Verve). Every component is important and adds to a much greater whole. Ive never been more mad at another musician than when palantoni and I’s shithead keyboard player in college didn’t bother to master the synth line in Just What I Needed and thought he could just wing it. Just completely misunderstanding the whole point of the Cars and why we wanted to play them. What a dumb fuck. On the other hand, I’m sure my completely blacked out attempt at recreating the guitar solo in the bridge was FLAWLESS.

My Dads first album If you only knew how many times my Dad told me the story of him buying his first album. My brothers and I eventually made a game out of it - who could call a Car’s song out the fastest and make the quote before my Dad could “tHIs WAs tHE fiRST aLBum I eVeR BAhT” 😂😂 This album is actually great. Moving In Stereo still gives me special thoughts reflecting on Fast Times At Richmond High. Bye Bye Love, Let The Good Times Roll, Youre all Ive Got… hits on hits

The perfect companion album to another great debut new wave proto punk album from this process - Go Gos Beauty and the Beat. Both albums offer a lot beyond the hits. The front half of this album is a greatest hits, and the back half delivers on depth. I love Ocasek’s voice, the vocal melodies, the guitar high in the mix with the synth adornments. It’s kind of a kitchen sink of styles that somehow works perfectly. I’ve heard Bye Bye Love but not listened closely - such a tight and punchy climax to the album - a new favorite.

One of my all time favorites. Musically advanced

A serious classic anyone should enjoy.

Feels like The Cars is going into the party, and everything that happens in with confidence, and the way its meant to be. Funnily enough, I find majority of hooks to be predictable, but it just makes me want to sing along with it more. It doesn't feel like it's trying to be grand, or great, but it executes its confidence perfectly. Granted, probably won't be my favourite for a long time, but it's so fun now, and it's so listenable, and you can sing along with it, and I just feel like it's very well executed.

For anyone wanting to mistake The Cars as some empty pop outfit that just produced radio fodder, this (debut!) album should be a lesson that this band was awash in everything that makes great music. Creative songs, lyrics with odd poetic angles, melodies galore, excellent musicianship, sneaky good lead and backing vocals... And it's all presented in a detached, fully imagined package that somehow sparkles with personality. And damned if my favorite tunes aren't the radio hits ("Bye Bye Love," "You're All I've Got Tonight," and "All Mixed Up"). But the radio hits are timeless. This is just a fantastic record. I'm a psilocybin pony, you're a flick fandango phony You got your nuclear boots and your drip dry glove It's such a wavy midnight and you slip into insane You don't have to make believe it's you If the illusion is real let them give you a ride It's so easy to play up your breakdown Your rhapsody is blowing my cool It doesn't matter where you've been as long as it was deep She's always out the window when it comes to makin' dreams

This album is practically flawless and perfectly encapsulates the transition in sound that we'd start to hear from all bands in the 1980s. "I'm in Touch with Your World" and "Don't Cha Stop" make for a weaker middle because they're completely overshadowed by the incredibly strong opening tracks and the ending which perfectly crescendos with "Moving in Stereo" and "All Mixed Up." A masterpiece of a debut album and definitely one of the best albums of 1978.

To me, this is a timeless album that will never get old. The Cars really found the perfect balance between new wave and rock, appealing to a wide audience ever since I can remember. This album is one of my go-to choices whenever I’m looking for something easy, light, familiar, and uplifting.

Not a single miss on the whole album

This album is a classic 70s banger. Not What I Needed is such a classic. This album was ahead of its time. Kicks ass.

миша я люблю тебя

Possibly one of the best debut albums? "Just What I Needed" is an all-time classic, and this album is full of other hits. I was a little disappointed with "I'm in Touch with Your World", but the rest is filled with songs I've liked for years, so this still gets a 5 for me. Very deserving to be on this list

Favorite!

Another one I’ve been listening to almost my entire life. No skips. One of the best debut albums ever.

bingo!

Top notch

I have never paid attention to The Cars until last year. But it happened one song at a time, due to references, movies, and so on... slowly, i have ended up with several of this album's songs added to many different of my playlists. I think it became obvious that i love the album!! It is one of these albums that have some sort of "overall vibe" that it is undeniably fun to go through. The sound of the guitar is incredibly great, easy to hook on. The melodies, riffs... all. Perfect album i would say.

own

I'm embarrassed to admit how much I love this album. The Cars was the first love concert I ever attended so there's a lot of nostalgia here. After all these years, I knew I'd like it but didn't know I'd want to listen to it straight through 3 times in a row! Does that mean I'm about to give this a 5?? Yep, I guess it does.

The Cars are synonymous in my mind with that ever so gentle and utterly polished with 80s smudge Drive you home song. I knew there was more to them from how others have spoken of them in glowing terms. Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't glam infused post punk.. I recognise My Best Friends Girl of course, and Just What I Needed. The latter especially as Car Seat Headrest were particularly light-fingered with it on Not What I Needed, from Teens of Denial (a cracking album). These backing vocals are straight out of Fox on the Run by Sweet. Guitars and production are straight out of many post -punk bands of this era too numerous to mention. A perfect bridge between the two. Hmm, this is banger after banger isn't it. Yep. On second listen this is an absolute classic.

This record has to be one of the greatest debut records from any band ever. It is filled with high energy and style, and each song is as memorable as the last. Special shout-out to the incredible guitar solo on "Don't Cha Stop".

You think it has one great titty song, but really every track is a great titty song.

Oh, dang. I can’t remember the last time I listened to this entire thing. It starts out STRONG. The quality drops off a bit, but not enough to drag this down to a four for me. What a nice surprise. I thought this would be a 3, maybe a 4.

What a great timeless album. Do you like fun? You'll like this.