The Stranger is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 29, 1977, by Columbia Records. It was the first of Joel's albums to be produced by Phil Ramone, with whom he would work for five subsequent albums.

Joel's previous album, Turnstiles (1976), had sold modestly and peaked low on the US charts, prompting Columbia to consider dropping him if his next release sold poorly. Joel wanted the new album to feature his touring band, formed during the production of Turnstiles. The band consisted of drummer Liberty DeVitto, bassist Doug Stegmeyer, and multi-instrumentalist Richie Cannata, who played the saxophone and organ. Seeking out a new producer, he first turned to veteran Beatles producer George Martin before coming across and settling on Ramone, whose name he had seen on albums by other artists such as Paul Simon. Recording took place over three weeks, featuring DeVitto, Stegmeyer, and Cannata. Other studio musicians filled in as guitarists on various songs.

Spending six weeks at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, The Stranger was Joel's critical and commercial breakthrough. Four singles were released in the US, all of which became Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Just the Way You Are" (No. 3), "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "She's Always a Woman" (both No. 17), and "Only the Good Die Young" (No. 24). Other songs, such as "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Vienna", have become staples of his career and are frequently performed in his live shows. The album won two awards at the 21st Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Just the Way You Are". It remains his best-selling non-compilation album to date and surpassed Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) to become Columbia's best-selling album release, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 70 in its 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", repositioned to number 169 in a 2020 revision. In 2008, The Stranger was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Name	Status	Rating	Review
Julia McNeill		5/5 stars
Linn Sc		5/5 stars
ABC		4.5/5 stars
Sam Greenberg		3.5/5 stars
toph
voltereta
Howard
Casey Kolderup
Thomas Meijer
Chris Downer
CJ Kihlbom
Jez Burrows
henoury
Mattias Hinderson