The year 1977 yielded quite a few hits from bands across numerous rock subgenres, from hard rock to heavy metal to even synth-rock. And some of those songs still hit just right today, in my opinion.

In the late ’70s, country got a makeover—or perhaps, more aptly, a makeunder. For the last decade or so, the Nashville scene had brought a glitz and glamour that purists thought sullied the spirit of ...