In 1978, Bob Dylan made the best album of his career. It has since been streamed over 40 million times

Bob Dylan’s *Street-Legal*, released in 1978, is presented as a deeply personal account of the pain following his divorce from Sara. The article argues that it completes a “divorce trilogy” with *Blood on the Tracks* and *Desire*, and that its ornate, unusual sound can obscure how directly its songs confront heartbreak.

Recorded live at Rundown Studios in Santa Monica in less than a week, the album drew on songs Dylan had already performed in Japan and Australia. He played 115 shows worldwide that year, while critics derided the tour as “The Alimony Tour” and gave the album poor reviews after the success of its predecessors. Dylan, however, said in a December 1978 interview that he thought it was his best album; the headline reports that it has since been streamed more than 40 million times.