On Saturday night, my mom and I were flipping through TV channels when we saw the movie “School of Rock” was on. Neither of us had ever seen it, so we decided to watch it. We both got sucked into the movie’s plot, humor and heart, and ended up watching it until the end.

There’s a scene in “School of Rock” where Dewey Finn (played by Jack Black), posing as a substitute teacher, finds out Rosaline Mullins (played by Joan Cusack), the principal of the school where he is substituting, is a fan of Stevie Nicks. Later on, when the two are in a restaurant, he plays “Edge of Seventeen” for her on a jukebox, trying to get her to remember how much she enjoys rock music.

After watching that scene, “Edge of Seventeen” ended up stuck in my head. So, the next day, I listened to it on Spotify while working on some homework (as one does). After listening to it, I decided to listen to some more of Nicks, so I went to Fleetwood Mac’s Spotify page and played some of its songs. While listening to some of the band’s obligatory hits, I noticed a trend — a whole lot of them were from an album called “Rumours.”

I had heard of “Rumours” before (mainly from the amazing “Glee” episode with the same name), and knew of the album’s backstory, but had never listened to it in full. So, as someone always looking to learn more about music, I pressed play on “Second Hand News” and started reading a bit more about “Rumours.” Little did I know, I had just stumbled upon one of the best records ever.

You can’t fully enjoy “Rumours” without knowing some background on the album. Fleetwood Mac had been going through a lot of drama — lead vocalist/keyboardist Christine McVie and bassist John McVie recently divorced, lead vocalist/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and Nicks were having relationship troubles of their own and drummer Mick Fleetwood learned his wife had cheated on him with one of his friends. Recording for the album was the only time when some of the members even talked with each other. The album’s title came from John McVie, as he felt the band was using the music on the album as a platform to talk about other members.

“Rumours” ended up being Fleetwood Mac’s most successful album, along with being one of the most successful of all time. It’s been certified double-diamond in the U.S., and is one of the top 10 best-selling U.S. albums ever. It won the Grammy for album of the year, and its 2013 reissue garnered a rare 10/10 rating from Pitchfork. Even now, it’s included on many lists of the best albums of the ‘70s, best albums of the 20th century and best albums of all time.

As I listened to the album, I realized what had made it so likable and popular. First, it contains a ton of emotion, evident in its lyrics and vocal performances. The interplay between Buckingham, Nicks and Christine McVie as vocalists is amazing, and it’s impossible to get tired of listening to Fleetwood Mac’s vocals when there are three people singing lead. Each vocalist has her or his own story to tell, and, only when you put all three together can you get a clear picture of what “Rumours” is about.

The album is mainly based in folk rock, with some pop and classic rock influences. Even though all 11 tracks fall under this umbrella, they’re also diverse in their own ways. Unlike most albums, “Rumours” doesn’t have any low points — in fact, it’s hard for me to pick out standout tracks because they’re all so amazing. I could tell you to listen to “Don’t Stop” because of its upbeat optimism, “Second Hand News” because it’s a great opening track, “Go Your Own Way” because of its anger and rawness, “Never Going Back Again” because of Buckingham’s powerful vocals, “Dreams” because Nicks gives the song an enchanting feel, “I Don’t Want to Know” because Nicks and Buckingham work well together or “The Chain” because it’s the best Fleetwood Mac song ever, but you’d still be sold short because you didn’t listen to the album in full.

In today’s music scene, “Rumours” has had a wide influence, giving further evidence of just how impactful of a release it is. Fleetwood Mac, and particularly “Rumours,” have clearly influenced artists like The Cranberries, the Goo Goo Dolls, Florence and the Machine and Death Cab For Cutie. In an interview with VEVO Lift, Lorde even called the album “a perfect record.”

I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. Not only is “Rumours” a great album, but it showed me how timeless music can actually be (after all, I’m writing about it 38 years after it was released). I’m so happy I stumbled across it, and would strongly encourage you to listen to “Rumours” if you haven’t already.