The Hard Road is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. Released on 1 April 2006 by Obese Records, it debuted at number one on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart, and was the first album by Australian artists to achieve that position. It contains the top 20 single "Clown Prince". It achieved Gold status (35,000 units) on 8 April 2006, a week after release, and has now surpassed Platinum status (70,000 units).

At the J Award of 2006, it won the Australian Album of the Year. announced on 1 December. It was also nominated for four awards at the ARIA Music Awards of 2006, winning Best Independent Release and Best Urban Release.

Five of the album's songs placed on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 chart announced on 26 January 2007: "Recapturing the Vibe" (#77), "Stopping All Stations" (#56), "What a Great Night" (#41), "Clown Prince" (#23) and "The Hard Road" (#3). "An Audience with the Devil" samples the spoken parts (the interview between Suffa and the Devil) from the Millennium episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me".