180: STRANGER IN TOWN | BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND
It me against the world on this one. Literally every list has this second or third and ALL list have Night Moves above it. I know, Stranger.. has possibly his worst song of that era "Old Time Rock n Roll". But, my favorite Beatles album, the celebrated Revolver (#2), has my least favorite Beatles song "Here There and Everywhere" on it. It is so excusable on Stranger in Town because the level of songwriting and it has one of the greatest all time opening tracks "Hollywood Nights". Yes Night Moves has "Mainstreet" but it has weak opening and closing tracks. Stranger.. wins on the bookends by far. It's just an all around better album.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine @ AllMusic: Night Moves was in the pipeline when Live Bullet hit, and wound up eclipsing the double live set anyway, so Stranger in Town is really the record where Bob Seger started grasping the changes that happened when he became a star. It happened when he was old enough to have already formed his character. Even as celebrity creeps in, as on "Hollywood Nights," Seger remains a middle-class, Midwestern rocker, celebrating "Old Time Rock & Roll," realizing old flames are still the same, and still feeling like a number. Musically, it's as lively as Night Moves, rocking even harder in some places and being equally as introspective in the acoustic numbers. If it doesn't feel as revelatory as that record, in many ways it does feel like a stronger set of songs. Yes, musically, it doesn't offer any revelations, but it still feels impassioned, both in its performances and songs, and it's still one of the great rock records of its era.
Stranger in Town is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Bob Seger and his second with the Silver Bullet Band, released by Capitol Records in May 1978 (see 1978 in music). Like its predecessor, the Silver Bullet Band backed Seger on about half of the songs and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section backed Seger on the other half.
The album became an instant success in the United States, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Americaless than a month after the album's release, and, like its predecessor Night Moves, it would later go 6× Platinum. It was also his first album to chart in the UK, where limited editions were released on silver vinyl and in picture disc format as well as standard black vinyl. Full article