An article from American Songwriter argues that Billy Joel's finest songwriting came in the short but prolific period between 1977 and 1980, spanning the albums The Stranger and Glass Houses. The piece highlights how, despite a decades-long career encompassing thirteen studio albums and more than eighty singles, this narrow window produced some of his most enduring and thematically sharp work, contrasting them with later, more dated hits.

The list picks out four songs as evidence: "Vienna" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" from 1977's The Stranger, both cautioning against burning out chasing success too young; "Big Shot," reportedly inspired by a dinner with Mick and Bianca Jagger; and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" from 1980's Glass Houses, which became Joel's first US number one single and pushed back at critics who tried to pigeonhole his sound.