Low Budget is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock group, The Kinks, released in 1979. Following the minor success of their 1978 album Misfits, the band recorded the majority of the album in New York rather than London. Unlike the more nostalgic themes of many Kinks albums prior to Low Budget, the album contains many songs that appeal to current events of the time. Musically, the album is a continuation of the band's "arena rock" phase, resulting in a more rock-based sound and more modern production techniques.

Despite being a relative failure in the UK, Low Budget was a great success for the group in the US, not only becoming their best-selling non-compilation album but also peaking at #11 on the American album charts. The lead single, "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" was also a minor hit in the US, reaching #41. The album was also praised by many critics in the US, although reception was more mixed in the band's native UK.

After spending the majority of the 1970s focusing on lofty concept albums, such as the two-part Preservation album, The Kinks began to lose the commercial success they had regained with their 1970 hit single, "Lola." However, upon switching from RCA Records to Arista Records in the summer of 1976, the band gradually began to regain commercial success in America. Abandoning the conceptual work they had created during their RCA years, the band's 1976 album Sleepwalker and 1978 album Misfits were both modest hits in the United States, as were their respective first singles, "Sleepwalker" and "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy."

However, throughout this period, the band's lineup began to fluctuate, not only with both bassist John Dalton (and short-term replacement Andy Pyle) and keyboardist John Gosling departing from the band, but founding drummer Mick Avory also considered leaving. Avory eventually agreed to stay, while ex-Argent bass player Jim Rodford, and keyboardist Gordon John Edwards were recruited, the latter having played with The Pretty Things on their album Silk Torpedo. Edwards was shortly afterwards fired from the group for failing to show up to sessions for Low Budget, being replaced with Ian Gibbons following the album's release.

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