Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers third studio album, Damn the Torpedoes, was released on October 19, 1979 by Backstreet Records, a subsidiary of MCA Records. The album was co-produced by Jimmy Iovine, who helped the band refine their sound and craft catchy songs with classic hooks. The album title was inspired by a famous quote by Admiral David Farragut during the American Civil War: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".

The album was a breakthrough for Petty and the Heartbreakers, reaching #2 on the Billboard album chart and selling over three million copies in the US. It spawned four singles, including "Don't Do Me Like That", "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl" and "Even the Losers". The songs reflected Petty's personal and professional struggles at the time, such as his legal battle with MCA over his contract, his bankruptcy declaration, and his relationship with his wife. The album also showcased the band's musical versatility, ranging from hard rock to folk rock to power pop.

Damn the Torpedoes is widely regarded as one of the best albums of Petty's career and one of the greatest albums of all time. It received rave reviews from critics, who praised its songwriting, production, and performance. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #313 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and in 2020, it moved up to #231 on a revised list. The album has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.