Album of the Day

A well-oiled hitmaking machine if ever there was one, The Cars worked their way up through Boston clubs but kept their ears open to music on rock's fringes. With one foot in the mainstream and one in new wave, the quintet (frontman Ric Ocasek, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, bassist Ben Orr and drummer Dave Robinson) delivered such high-powered singles as “Just What I Needed,” “My Best Friend's Girl” and “Good Times Roll,” driving their eponymous 1978 album to multi-platinum status. One of the all-time great debuts, THE CARS sounds just as exciting 40 years after its release, and we'll take it out for another spin now in honor of #nationalcarsday.