Boston is the first album released by American rock band Boston on August 25th, 1976, through Epic Records. The album was produced by Tom Scholz and John Boylan.

Scholz, a multi-instrumentalist and engineer who had been active in the Boston music scene since the late 1960s, began writing and recording demos in his basement apartment with singer Brad Delp. Despite facing many rejections from major record labels, Epic Records, owned by CBS, eventually signed the band in 1975 after hearing their demo tape.

Despite Epic Records’ insistence on recording the album professionally in Los Angeles, Scholz and Boylan deceived the label into thinking that the band was recording on the West Coast when, in fact, the bulk of the album was being tracked solely by Scholz in his Massachusetts home.

The album is a faithful recreation of the band’s demo tape, featuring songs that were written and composed many years prior. The “Boston sound,” which the album is often associated with, was created through Scholz’s love for classical music, melodic hooks, and early guitar-heavy rock groups like the Kinks and the Yardbirds.

Additionally, Scholz used a number of analogue electronic effects that he developed in his home studio.

Scholz played most of the instruments on nearly all of the tracks, and Delp provided vocals. Other musicians, such as drummers Jim Masdea and Sib Hashian, guitarist Barry Goudreau, and bassist Fran Sheehan, also appeared on the album. All except Masdea became full-time band members.

Boston was released by Epic Records in August 1976 and quickly broke sales records, becoming the best-selling debut LP in the US at the time. It also won the RIAA Century Award for Best Selling Debut Album. The album’s singles, “More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” and “Foreplay/Long Time,” were major hits on AM and FM radio, and the entire album continues to receive constant airplay on classic rock stations. 

The album is often considered a staple of 70s rock and has been included on numerous lists of essential albums. It has sold at least 17 million copies in the United States alone and at least 20 million worldwide, making it one of the best-selling debut albums of all time.