Raspberries Albums Ranked Worst to Best

The term "power pop" gets tossed around an awful lot. It's tossed around so often in the music press and among fans of the genre, it seems to have lost all meaning. But if there's one band that defines the term, it's Cleveland's Raspberries, who delivered equal parts "power" and "pop." We rank all of their records from worst to best in the list below.

For the record, as great as they were, Electric Light Orchestra and R.E.M. are not, nor have they ever been, power pop. Even putting the beloved Big Star in that box is not an easy fit, truth be told.

But over the course of three albums, the Raspberries -- guitarists and singers Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, bassist Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti -- put together the perfect hybrid of Beach Boys' and the Beatles' melodic and harmonic sense, the power and punch of the Who and the Small Faces' crunch and stomp. (Smalley and Bonfanti were replaced, respectively, by Scott McCarl and Michael McBride, for the band's final record, 1974's Starting Over.)

From the opening riff of "Go All the Way" through to the last crash, bang and wallop of "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," you would be hard-pressed to find a better catalog of rock 'n' roll that combines those elements so effectively.

The Raspberries failed to hold onto their initial success, and lasted only a few years. The music has, thankfully, continued to live on. All four of their records are great, so check out the following list of Raspberries Albums Ranked Worst to Best.