The Velvet Underground made their most commercially accessible album in 1970, during a summer of triumph and stress. They were playing their first New York shows in three years (at Max's Kansas City) while slowly falling apart. Drummer Maureen Tucker was on maternity leave; singer-guitarist-songwriter Lou Reed quit in August before the record was done. But Reed left behind a pair of FM-airplay hits ("Sweet Jane," "Rock 'n' Roll"), two of his finest ballads ("New Age," "Oh! Sweet Nuthin' ") and a record that highlights the R&B/doo-wop roots and Sun Records crackle deep inside the Velvets' noir-guitar maelstrom. (Rolling Stone)

Total album sales: Under 500,000