Stevie Nicks Regrets Not Voting Until She Was 70

Stevie Nicks says she doesn't have many regrets in life, but one of them is not being an active voter until she was 70.

"I never voted until I was 70, but I regret that. I've told everybody that onstage for the last two years," she said in a new interview with MSNBC. "I regret that and I don't have very many regrets. There's so many reasons. You can say, 'Oh, I didn't have time. I was this and that.' In the long run, you didn't have an hour? You didn't have an hour of your time that you could have gone and voted."

The Fleetwood Mac singer has recently become much more vocal about her civic duty, encouraging her fans to make sure they are registered to vote in this year's presidential election and to make a plan to cast their ballots. "Your vote in this election may be one of the most important things you ever do," she wrote in a social media post in September.

Stevie Nicks' New Song

Nicks' newest song, "The Lighthouse," was one she penned shortly after the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that protected an individual's constitutional right to have an abortion.

READ MORE: How Stevie Nicks Almost Died Filming a Video for 'Stand Back'

"We have to find a way to bring back Roe vs. Wade," Nicks continued, citing various singer-songwriters who have used their music to advocate for causes in years past. "In the end of the '50s and '60s and into the '70s, everyone was writing protest songs. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills — it was lots and lots and lots. I would say to all my musical poets that write songs to write some songs about what's happening like I did."

45. 'Jeremy Spencer and the Children' (Jeremy Spencer, 1972)

Spencer's belated move away from blues covers and parody songs provided some intriguing new musical avenues, but the overly religious themes on Jeremy Spencer and the Children were either obvious or heavy handed – and the shoddy production was as clear as mud.

44. 'Gotta Band with Lola Thomas' (John McVie, 1992)

Put John McVie back together with his former Bluesbreakers bandmate (and future Rolling Stones guitarist) Mick Taylor, add Fleetwood Mac colleague Billy Burnette and the bright bluesy blasts of the Memphis Horns, then complete with a big-voiced unknown named Lola Thomas. Sounds like a recipe for success, right? Wrong. Mostly because it's all presented via a too-bright, too-careful production style that exposes just how flimsy these jazz-pop-blues hybrids really are. Thomas promptly disappeared without a trace, and McVie's solo career apparently ended.

43. 'Nightflight' (Bob Weston, 1980)

Weston filtered back into session work after his two-album stint with Fleetwood Mac in the early '70s, then emerged with an incongruent blues-rock curio as the MTV decade dawned. Neither Nightflight, which was released on an obscure French label, nor the single "Silver Arrow" charted.

42. 'The End of the Game' (Peter Green, 1970)

Credit Green for doing something decidedly un-Fleetwood Mac on his debut solo album, recorded just weeks after his departure. Debit him, however, for releasing a free-form album of edited, but still largely shapeless jams.

41. 'Flee' (Jeremy Spencer, 1979)

Spencer made a brave attempt at the more contemporary sound Fleetwood Mac assumed in his absence, but got swamped by another poor production choice: Nobody needed a Jeremy Spencer disco record. He'd later smartly rework the title track, which was dubbed "Refugees" for 2012's much better Bend in the Road.

40. 'Whatcha Gonna Do?' (Peter Green, 1981)

Three albums into his comeback, Green tried something a little different too: R&B. Green certainly possessed the instrumental chops, but Whatcha Gonna Do feels uncomfortable and standoffish. Here's why: Green, perhaps sensing how ill-suited he was, gave all of the writing duties to his brother Mike.

39. 'Shakin' the Cage' (Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, 1992)

This might have came off like a period-specific spinoff, since the title track was written by then-Fleetwood Mac member Billy Burnette, and Shakin' the Cage featured future band singer Bekka Bramlett, but for the presence of Billy Thorpe. The Australian wrote eight of this album's 10 tracks – and he co-wrote the other two. Unfortunately, there's nothing here on the order of Thorpe's 1979 classic-rock radio-favorite "Children of the Sun." Instead, Shakin' the Cage is dotted with overwrought, often over-sung arena-rock anthems – and that kind of thing was already totally over.

38. 'The Other One' (Bob Welch, 1979)

After a pair of strong solo entries, Welch suddenly – and inexplicably – ran out of creative juice. The Other One, which counted a pointless redo of the title track from Fleetwood Mac's 1971 album Future Games as perhaps its best moment, couldn't even break the Top 100. Welch ended up handing over coveted songwriting slots to his bandmates, as his third solo album coasted to a dispiriting conclusion.

37. 'Studio Picks' (Bob Weston, 1981)

Weston was still dabbling in throwback blues rock, but this time he expanded his musical palette (covering the Everly Brothers) and the lineup of his backing band (Mick Fleetwood sat in on "Ford 44"). Nevertheless, Studio Picks flopped too, and Weston lost his recording contract. His post-Fleetwood Mac career included sideman gigs with Steve Marriott and Murray Head. But Weston's only other album, issued in the late '90s, was a self-released home recording.

36. 'Something Big' (Mick Fleetwood Band, 2004)

Something Big was both misnamed and mis-credited. The Mick Fleetwood Band is really just a close collaboration with co-producer Todd Smallwood, who was everywhere on this record. He wrote or co-wrote the songs (except for a Jackson Browne cover), handled much of the non-Fleetwood instrumentation and mixed it all too. The results are competent but never compelling, to the point where Something Big isn't even roused during appearances by original Fleetwood Mac members John McVie and Jeremy Spencer ("No Borders") and Browne himself on his own "Looking Into You."

35. 'Eye Contact' (Bob Welch, 1983)

This synth-laden, soundtrack-ish project became the first by Welch that failed to chart – but by no means last. Like many figures from his era, he struggled to adapt to the decade's new sound. Worse, really, were Welch's attempts to fit in on MTV: See, or actually don't, the deeply uncomfortable video for Welch's flop single "I Dance Alone." Suddenly, Fleetwood Mac's forgotten savior – Welch wasn't even inducted with them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – saw his career in ashes. He wouldn't return until the late '90s, and by then Welch was dabbling in jazz.

34. 'Coventry Blue' (Jeremy Spencer, 2014)

This recording was sparked by a collaboration with Fleetwood Mac fan Brett Lucas, who brought along a sense of musical adventure but an often-uninteresting backing band. Still, Lucas opened things up for Spencer, who had walked away from Fleetwood Mac for life in a religious cult – and then walked away from music altogether. He played it safe initially, returning with 2006's more traditionally blues-focused Precious Little. Coventry Blue found Spencer building on those embedded influences rather than focusing on them exclusively.

33. 'Street Angel' (Stevie Nicks, 1994)

Nothing was going right for Stevie Nicks, personally (she was trying to kick an addiction to painkillers) or professionally (this album stalled at No. 45, and produced no hit singles). Street Angel was actually troubled from the start, as Nicks battled with original producer Glyn Johns. She ultimately decided to do a stint in rehab, which got her life back on track, then attempted – but ultimately failed – to get Street Angel back on track with second producer Thom Panunzio.

32. 'I'm Not Me' (Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, 1983)

This homey project is neither a solo effort nor a Fleetwood Mac knockoff. There are moments when I’m Not Me can sound like the drummer's main group – including "I Want You Back," a lost minor hit that Lindsey Buckingham co-wrote and shared lead vocals on; and three tunes that showcased Billy Burnette, who spent eight years in the band during a Buckingham hiatus. More often than not, however, this short-lived quartet has its very own feel — actually, a bunch of them. And that's the problem. You're left wondering who exactly Fleetwood is trying to be.

31. 'Jeremy Spencer' (Jeremy Spencer, 1970)

Spencer had already proven himself to be a gifted mimic, in particular on Fleetwood Mac's first post-Green album Kiln House, and he stayed in that comfort zone. This is a self-titled solo debut in name only, though. All the other members of the group are featured, as old-time blues meets '50s rockabilly meets (in a cool twist) surf rock.

30. 'Second Chapter' (Danny Kirwan, 1975)

The best example of Kirwan's tendency toward Paul McCartney's early-solo pastoralism, 'Second Chapter' is defined by its lost promise. Green is typically the only mentioned Fleetwood Mac casualty, but Kirwan's descent into homelessness and alcoholism was more devastating – if only because, unlike his former bandmate, he never really re-emerged. Still, Kirwan helped start Fleetwood Mac's turn toward more accessible pop, and this solo debut showed just how easily he could have fit into their new aesthetic, if things had gone another way.

29. 'Trouble in Shangri-La' (Stevie Nicks, 2001)

Nicks had spent years trying to come to terms with the Street Angel debacle when two things broke the creative logjam: some important words of encouragement from old friend and musical collaborator Tom Petty, and a surprise Fleetwood Mac reunion. Nicks wrote some of the transitional Trouble in Shangri-La while out on tour with her old bandmates, then completed the album with choice new originals and some music from the underrated Buckingham/Nicks era. It didn't add up to her best work, but Nicks finally got back on track.

28. 'White Sky' (Peter Green, 1982)

Peter Green was still relying on his sibling Mike to compose all of the songs, but at least this time they were cooking with gas: White Sky was an unapologetic, straightforward rock record, released at a time when such a thing was desperately needed. Robin Trower drummer Reg Isidore gave the proceedings an added punch too.

27. 'Bob Welch' (Bob Welch, 1981)

Under pressure to deliver for a new label after two consecutive chart duds, Welch decided he'd made a huge mistake. "I was trying to please everybody," he later admitted, "and wound up pleasing nobody!" Not quite. Today, this self-titled project feels like a glancing return to form, with some of Welch's tightest, most focused late-period performances. "It's What Ya Don't Say," for instance, boasts a coiled, Tom Petty-ish groove. The single got to only No. 45 on the mainstream rock chart, however, and Bob Welch couldn't even crack the Top 200. His fans moved on a bit too soon.

26. 'The Other Side of the Mirror' (Stevie Nicks, 1989)

Nicks exited the '80s on another commercial high note. It's interesting because The Other Side of the Mirror often rejects her typically twirly, mystical persona. Instead, Nicks – who was on the cusp of a debilitating battle with the prescribed tranquilizer Klonopin – has never sounded more haunted. ("Ghosts," for instance, focuses on mistakes from the "past that you live in" and a "future you are frightened of.") Not all of it works, beginning with the synthy production and definitely including a reggae version of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone." Still, The Other Side of the Mirror became Nicks fourth consecutive platinum-selling album of the decade on the strength of the Top 20 hit "Rooms on Fire."

25. 'Bend in the Road' (Jeremy Spencer, 2012)

On one level, this album recalls the Elmore James-focused contributions Spencer made to Fleetwood Mac's first Peter Green-led recordings in the late '60s — a vibe that carried over to Spencer's comeback recording Precious Little, as well. He plays slide throughout Bend in the Road, and includes James tracks like "The Sun Is Shining" and "Stranger Blues." But Spencer actually crafted an album that moves confidently from blues into Americana and rootsy pop; even "Stranger Blues" is given a notable new Spanish tinge.

24. 'Hello There Big Boy!' (Danny Kirwan, 1979)

When Kirwan, then just 18, was recruited into Fleetwood Mac, he played with such shy seriousness that he had to self-medicate with alcohol to get through the shows. By the end of the following decade, he'd been unceremoniously fired and then all but drowned himself in the bottom of a brown bottle. That's perhaps why Kirwan sometimes seemed like such a bit player on Hello There Big Boy!: Five of the nine tracks were written or co-written by somebody else, and one of his originals is actually an update of an old Fleetwood Mac song. The presence of fellow band alum Bob Weston also makes it unclear how much of the guitar work was actually Kirwan's. He never released another studio record.

23. 'Christine Perfect' (Christine McVie, 1970)

If this always felt like a lost little Fleetwood Mac gem, that's because it was: McVie, recording under her maiden name, is joined by Danny Kirwan and her future husband John McVie for a set of songs that deftly blends British blues and soulful pop, echoing the group's competing early-'70s musical impulses. "Tell Me You Need Me," a song she later sang with Fleetwood Mac, encapsulates every great thing about the dreamy and expressive, impossibly romantic McVie. Elsewhere, she does a credible job with Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" then simply owns Kirwan's "When You Say," originally from Fleetwood Mac's Then Play On. McVie later played "I'm on My Way" with her new band too.

22. 'Man Overboard' (Bob Welch, 1980)

Welch switched to a New Wave pose, and it somehow worked – principally because he'd written a group of throwback story-focused songs that fit so well within this then-hip genre. Welch covers all the bases on Man Overboard, making room for both a guitar-focused song that seemed aimed at radio ("Don't Rush the Good Things") and a far more experimental track ("B666"). But the focus is on nervy, synth-driven sounds. In keeping, multi-instrumentalist Marty Jourard of the Motels – perhaps unsurprisingly – is the album's ace in the hole.

21. 'The Visitor' (Mick Fleetwood, 1981)

Mick Fleetwood was joined by friends both old (Peter Green and George Harrison) and new (the Adjo Group, the Accra Roman Catholic Choir and Ghana Folkloric Group) in the distinctive setting of Ghana for his aptly named first solo album. They plug into the area's rambunctious native rhythms and soaring vocal styles to utterly transform familiar titles, including Green's old Fleetwood Mac favorite "Rattlesnake Shake," Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" and Lindsey Buckingham's "Walk a Thin Line" from Tusk – then complete things with more recent discoveries. It's a pulse-quickening adventure.

20. 'Midnight in San Juan' (Danny Kirwan, 1976)

Kirwan retains both his connection to Fleetwood Mac (fellow alum Dave Walker appears, and a couple of the songs could have been leftovers from 1972's Bare Trees) and his occasional penchant for Paul McCartney-isms (there's a cover of "Let It Be"). But this may be Kirwan's most surprising release, as he boldly swerves into country-rock. Elsewhere, the Beatles song is also given an impish reggae-influenced lilt. Kirwan decided to take a more pop-focused turn next, and only pianist John Cook returned for 1979's Hello There Big Boy!

19. 'Rock a Little' (Stevie Nicks, 1985)

She actually does rock a little. But the principal focus on this third solo album was solidifying Nicks' spot as a pop star in her own right. It worked. The lead single "Talk to Me" went to No. 4, and "I Can't Wait" reached No. 16. The album also produced "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?," which became a regular concert encore, and key deep cuts like the zippy "I Can't Wait" and beautifully wistful "Some Become Strangers." Nicks' voice, however, seemed to deepen all at once and that made some of her tics at the microphone more obvious. The studio gloss was starting to pile up too, as a gang of producers began trying every '80s-era trick in the book.

18. 'Three Hearts' (Bob Welch, 1979)

Welch's sophomore album only went gold, perhaps because he hewed too closely to the sleek, hooky vibe of his solo debut: Same producer, so same disco-fied strings. Another reclaimed song from his days in Fleetwood Mac and guest shots by his former bandmates. But, in truth, that was a sturdy formula, and it should have worked. Yet the incredibly catchy "Precious Love" somehow became the album's only Top 40 single. The terrific "Church" disappeared without a trace. Welch also reworked a leftover from Fleetwood Mac's Mystery to Me era to create the superlative "Don't Wait Too Long." There's a lot to love here, save for a slightly misguided pair of cover songs.

17. 'Little Dreamer' (Peter Green, 1980)

This is the album where Peter Green's brother Mike began to take a more central role. Little Dreamer also hinted at the funk-related missteps to come. Yet the album still often represented Peter Green at his confident, varied best. He tore through some flinty blues rock, of course, but the title track also recalled the wow-man joys of the Fleetwood Mac-era "Albatross." Meanwhile, "Loser Two Times" and "Mama Don't You Cry" ranked among the very best of Green's decidedly spotty attempts at R&B.

16. 'In Your Dreams' (Stevie Nicks, 2011)

Dave Stewart helped Stevie Nicks find herself again. They wrote, with ink on a page – and they recorded at her house, in the manner of her best moments with Fleetwood Mac. In Your Dreams ended up turning on the rediscovery of an unfinished 1980 song called "Secret Love" that appeared on the internet before it ever got properly recorded. Nicks became determined not to just rekindle the feeling of her best days, but to bring that feeling — and that sound — into a new space for a new generation. The result is her most adventurous album. The success of her "Secret Love" reclamation project also led Nicks to dig still deeper into the vault.

15. 'Go Insane' (Lindsey Buckingham, 1984)

A triumph of modern production in its era, Go Insane can come off as gimmicky today – the work of a too-smart studio nerd trying out new things on his off day. Dig deeper, however, and a rich vein of sadness runs just below the album's sky-bright veneer. Buckingham uses that weird juxtaposition to create a remarkable, album-length sense of emotional tension. The title track couldn't quite crack the Top 20, while the album finished at No. 45 before departing to local record-store cutout bins. But Go Insane is worth another listen, if only for the closing "D.W. Suite," a darkly ambitious meditation on his recently deceased friend Dennis Wilson.

14. 'Christine McVie' (Christine McVie, 1984)

The ultimate bandmate, McVie hadn't released a solo album since before she officially joined Fleetwood Mac at the turn of the '70s. Apparently, she saved up a couple of Top 40 hits along the way, including the No. 10 smash "Got a Hold on Me." There are times, however, when this still feels very much like a Fleetwood Mac record, thanks to regular appearances throughout by Buckingham and Fleetwood. Here's how you know it isn't: The album's unceasing focus on passionate reverie. It's typical of the subject matter McVie has always tended toward, but there are usually other voices to balance things out. So, an occasional sense of sameness remains this small complaint about a very sweet record.

13. 'Under the Skin' (Lindsey Buckingham, 2006)

Buckingham went 14 years between solo albums, focusing first on Fleetwood Mac's late-'90s reunion and then helping to construct their 2003 album Say You Will. He returned with a low-key, mostly acoustic album that only rarely – as with the soaring "Down on Rodeo," which featured Mick Fleetwood and John McVie – rose above a whisper. Lean in, and a sadness over thwarted dreams permeates almost everything. It makes sense. After all, there was a reason for this long hiatus: He'd once again cannibalized solo projects in order to complete a Fleetwood Mac album instead.

12. '24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault' (Stevie Nicks, 2014)

Filched copies of poorly recorded sessions work initially inspired 24 Karat Gold, which found Nicks — as the title suggests — returning to officially unreleased songs for inspiration. She was born anew. "Twisted," which had taken a suitably circuitous route, was one of several tracks that finally found their true voice. Then there were moments like "Lady." A starkly emotional piano-driven ballad known to her deepest fans as the demo "Knockin' on Doors," it made clear that Nicks had hidden for too long behind effects — be they electronic, sartorial or otherwise. Stripped of artifice, Nicks connected on an elemental level that she simply couldn't while swaddled in synths or shawls.

11. 'In the Meantime' (Christine McVie, 2004)

Out of Fleetwood Mac, and thus out of the limelight, McVie probably didn't have a chance at chart success with this intimate, largely forgotten project. (The single "Friend" actually reached No. 29, but only on the Adult Contemporary side; the album didn't chart at all.) Her failure to tour behind In the Meantime certainly didn't help either. It's a shame, because McVie had quietly released some of her best work. Emphasis on "quietly." The record included contributions from Mac-related folks like Billy Burnette, Robbie Patton (who co-wrote 1982's "Hold Me") and George Hawkins from Mick Fleetwood's Zoo. But In the Meantime still had the homey, deeply confidential feel of a personal recording that somehow saw wide release. It's like a secret only a few people know.

10. 'Law and Order' (Lindsey Buckingham, 1981)

This album mirrored the broad musical complexity of Fleetwood Mac's most recent double album Tusk, as Buckingham blended pre-war songs into his signature style, like-minded originals and a batch of '50s- and '60s-inspired rock and pop. Perhaps only Buckingham, with his patented sense of wild-hair studio modernity, could hold all of that together. He also scored an early Top 10 solo Billboard single with "Trouble," which included a brief loop of Mick Fleetwood's drumming. Even then, a rugged sense of individuality remained: All additional fills and cymbal crashes were completed by Buckingham, who elsewhere ended up handling almost all of the album's instrumentation.

9. 'In the Skies' (Peter Green, 1979)

Green embraced his strengths again for a second turn-of-the-'80s comeback album after a bout with mental illness. Five of the nine songs on In the Skies were instrumentals, providing a comfy atmosphere for Green to re-establish himself. And he did, emerging from an awful period defined by electroconvulsive-therapy sessions with his best rock-infused album. Green revealed a sign of lingering uncertainty by adding another guitarist in Snowy White, who played with Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy, but that became a thrillingly tangled triumph too.

8. 'The Wild Heart' (Stevie Nicks, 1983)

Nicks' double-platinum second solo album featured an appropriately named song: "Nothing Ever Changes." She played to her strengths on The Wild Heart – and, in keeping with her status as one of the '80s' biggest stars, sold millions. If there's a complaint to be made, it's that so many of the songs were determinedly radio-ready, without the quirky mannerisms that often surrounded her work with Fleetwood Mac. The exception is "Stand Back," this project's biggest hit and biggest risk. It feels like a bolt out of the blue, so inventive that it made everything else – even the underrated "If Anyone Falls," a moody synth-driven cut that explores the emotions surrounding an unrequited love – sound a little pedestrian.

7. 'Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie' (Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, 2017)

Much is typically made of the link (musical and otherwise) between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Yet Fleetwood Mac recordings prominently featuring Buckingham and Christine McVie – "World Turning," "Don't Stop," "Think About Me," "Hold Me" and a trio of co-written songs from Tango in the Night, including "Mystified" – provided plenty of musical sparks after their careers first intersected in the mid-'70s. Same here, on a flinty album that should have been released under the Fleetwood Mac banner. Buckingham's songs tend to be the best of the lot, but it's fascinating the way this collaboration brings out so much darkness in McVie.

6. 'Seeds We Sow' (Lindsey Buckingham, 2011)

You were somehow expecting Lindsey Buckingham, the old rebel, to soften into middle-aged acceptance? This wasn't that record, which steadfastly refused to trade true emotion for easy sentiment. Seeds We Sow is as hard-eyed as it is musically ambitious – and that makes perfect sense. In a move that belied the era, Buckingham's best-known music never settled for cheap thrills, quick answers or something so obvious and easy as nihilism. Seeds We Sow showed that it still didn't.

5. 'French Kiss' (Bob Welch, 1977)

Welch once said his intent with this solo debut was to write hits. Mission accomplished: "Sentimental Lady," a polished improvement over the Fleetwood Mac original on 1972's Bare Trees that featured Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood, went to No. 8. "Ebony Eyes," the follow-up, got to No. 14. "Hot Love, Cold World" also made the Top 40. Bob Welch had not only arrived, he'd seemingly built a new musical template for success by thumbing his nose at the usually guitar-shy genre of soft rock, then stirring in the beats and orchestral elements that were then defining the disco craze. Unfortunately, we now know that all of it would soon fall completely out of favor. Still, French Kiss remains Welch's most complete album.

4. 'Gift of Screws' (Lindsey Buckingham, 2008)

A long-gestating project, Gift of Screws began life in the '90s, fed a few songs into Fleetwood Mac's Say You Will and then finally emerged later in the same decade as a reworked solo album. It happened only because Buckingham finally asked for space to complete and release Under the Skin and Gift of Screws. They became quite complimentary, as the first album's acoustic stillness set the stage for this project's plugged-in vibe. Buckingham isn't in search of catharsis here – though "The Right Place to Fade" seems to directly reference the madness of Fleetwood Mac – so much as his most familiar persona: the oddball rock guy. To perhaps no one's amazement, the delightfully accessible Gift of Screws emerged as the first Buckingham solo album to crack the Top 50 since 1984's Go Insane.

3. 'Buckingham Nicks' (Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, 1973)

This fledgling duo had recently located to Los Angeles, and they boasted a newly signed deal with Polydor. But the resulting self-titled album went nowhere, leaving a desperate Nicks to take a job as a waitress to pay the rent. She has said she was mere weeks away from returning to Phoenix when Mick Fleetwood made a fateful call. Buckingham and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, and then Buckingham Nicks – despite its template-forging mix of soaring California pop-rock ("Crying in the Night," "Without a Leg to Stand On"), edgy asides ("Don't Let Me Down Again," "Long Distance Winner"), picker's showcases ("Stephanie") and weird musical side roads ("Frozen Love") – promptly went out of print. They'd later return to "Crystal" for the first album with Fleetwood Mac.

2. 'Bella Donna' (Stevie Nicks, 1981)

With nearly two dozen collaborators, you had to wonder if Stevie Nicks would get lost on the four-times-platinum Bella Donna. Instead, she acts as a sort of witchy-woman conductor for her songs, leading a strikingly talented crew through their paces on a tour-de-force solo debut. She wrote or co-wrote all but one of the tracks, save for the No. 3 Tom Petty collaboration "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," during a period of remarkable productivity. Then Petty's producer Jimmy Iovine gave Nicks a spacious, rootsy space to flourish. "Leather and Lace," a duet with Don Henley, went to No. 6, before her career-defining "Edge of Seventeen" finished at No. 11. The result wasn't just the best solo debut of any member of her band; it was one of the best first albums of the '80s.

1. 'Out of the Cradle' (Lindsey Buckingham, 1992)

For some reason, Lindsey Buckingham's initial solo project after a very public breakup with Fleetwood Mac didn't do much on the album charts, and produced no Billboard Hot 100 singles. Maybe fans had grown tired of his experimentalism outside of the main group. Maybe they were still angry about his departure. But that split led directly to the broad creative rebirth heard on Out of the Cradle. Buckingham finally let himself inhabit the entire musical space he'd already created as the pop-genius sonic architect of Fleetwood Mac's platinum era. He held nothing back here, either in terms of the songs their projects usually pilfered away or the emotions he'd been keeping in check. Sure, it's the album he should have made from the first. But Out of the Cradle was worth the wait.

Next: Revisiting Stevie Nicks’ 1983 ‘Saturday Night Live’ Performance