Tuesday 20th May 2014 by Andrew Trendell

20 May, 2014: On this day in 1997, Foo Fighters stormed their way into rock royalty by releasing their brilliant second album The Colour And The Shape. So to celebrate 17 years of that stone-cold classic, we've gathered the greatest second albums of all time. 

'The difficult second album' - it's a phrase that's been doing the rounds since pop music began, but thankfully there are some acts who make a laughing stock of this by following the the debut with an absolute belter. 

From the day artists can speak and play instruments, they are preparing for their debut. In theory, it should be the culmination of years of even decades of artistic output - but its that second LP that trips a lot of bands up and they fall by the wayside. 

As seen here, there are some who rise majestically to the challenge. A lot of bands regarded as the best of all time really hit their stride the second time around. It's can be a sign of longevity, and for all these artists it is definitely a sign of a top quality artist on top of their game.