Patti Smith's stunning 1975 debut Horses is a landmark album, credited for helping kick-start punk rock in New York. Smith, along with her band featuring guitarist Lenny Kaye, created music that was equal parts ecstatic, angry, and melancholic, with an emphasis on poetic lyrical turns. Her biggest hit was a '78 co-write with Bruce Springsteen, which went Top 20. After retiring in the '80s to raise her family, Smith triumphantly returned in '88 with Dream of Life and then again in '96, and has remained active since. She won the 2010 National Book Award for Just Kids.