155) Pretenders

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After years of knocking around Ohio and England, writing record reviews and hanging with the Sex Pistols, Chrissie Hynde put together a band as tough as her attitude. The Pretenders' debut is filled with no-nonsense New Wave rock such as "Mystery Achievement" -- plus a cover of "Stop Your Sobbing," by the Kinks' Ray Davies (three years later, the father of Hynde's child). The biggest hit was "Brass in Pocket," a song of ambition and seduction. Hynde, however, wasn't so sure about the song's success. "I was embarrassed by it," she remembered. "I hated it so much that if I was in Woolworth's and they started playing it, I'd have to run out of the store."

Total album sales: 1 million

Peak chart position: 9

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