Badfinger, No Dice (side A)

In 1970, when Badfinger released No Dice, the hit single was "No Matter What". Harry Nilsson's 1972 cover of the previously-buried album cut "Without You" was a marginally bigger hit than the "No Matter What" single. By now, "Without You" has become a canonical song featured everywhere up to American Idol, all far closer in style to Nilsson than Badfinger. The song's presence at the end of side A drastically changes the experience of listening to No Dice. Crazily recontextualized hit aside, it's a great power-pop album in every way—singing, musicianship, songwriting, and sound. The album cover predates Bowie and Roxy Music's androgynous gatefolds, but fits with the music less than their cover art did.