Best Albums of the 1970s

« View best albums of the 1960sView best albums of the 1980s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1970s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1970	2,088	255,317	Paranoid (53rd)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,184	324,221	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,247	255,874	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (8th)by David Bowie
1973	2,132	261,559	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	2,036	138,409	Red (140th)by King Crimson
1975	2,163	220,569	Wish You Were Here (5th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,177	149,228	Songs In The Key Of Life (83rd)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,179	252,121	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,231	145,300	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (209th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,154	208,728	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	21,591	2,211,325

The best artists of the 1970s were Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, The Who and Stevie Wonder.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

211.

Band Of Gypsys
Live

Jimi Hendrix

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

298 charts

Rank Score:

1,801

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

211

Overall Rank:

991

Average Rating:

81 (479 votes)

Comments:

212.

The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

320 charts

Rank Score:

1,801

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

212

Overall Rank:

992

Average Rating:

76 (433 votes)

Comments:

213.

New York Dolls

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

336 charts

Rank Score:

1,798

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

213

Overall Rank:

994

Average Rating:

76 (395 votes)

Comments:

214.

Young Americans

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

405 charts

Rank Score:

1,796

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

214

Overall Rank:

995

Average Rating:

77 (728 votes)

Comments:

215.

154

Wire

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

256 charts

Rank Score:

1,773

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

215

Overall Rank:

1,002

Average Rating:

79 (307 votes)

Comments:

216.

Singles Going Steady
Compilation

Buzzcocks

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

271 charts

Rank Score:

1,761

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

216

Overall Rank:

1,008

Average Rating:

80 (339 votes)

Comments:

217.

Rocks

Aerosmith

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

323 charts

Rank Score:

1,754

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

217

Overall Rank:

1,014

Average Rating:

78 (517 votes)

Comments:

218.

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

313 charts

Rank Score:

1,753

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

218

Overall Rank:

1,015

Average Rating:

78 (436 votes)

Comments:

219.

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Richard & Linda Thompson

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

281 charts

Rank Score:

1,711

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

219

Overall Rank:

1,027

Average Rating:

79 (299 votes)

Comments:

220.

The Man Who Sold The World

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

431 charts

Rank Score:

1,696

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

220

Overall Rank:

1,036

Average Rating:

78 (845 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
21
22
23
...
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 22 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	107	11%
1971	97	10%
1972	102	10%
1973	109	11%
1974	100	10%
1975	100	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	90	9%
1978	110	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Elton John	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	387	39%
	369	37%
	43	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	24	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	979	98%
Yes	24	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	60	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	12	1%

« View best albums of the 1960sView best albums of the 1980s »

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Recognised Year Charts (2023)
1. The 50 Best Albums of 2023 by Billboard (2023)
2. Top 10 Albums of the Year 2023 by Bleep (2023)
3. Top 40 Albums of 2023 by Decibel (2023)
4. The 100 Best Albums of 2023 by Rolling Stone (2023)
5. Albums Of The Year 2023 by Rough Trade (2023)
6. Les Inrocks Albums of the Year 2023 by Les Inrocks (2023)
7. The 27 best albums of 2023 by The A.V. Club (2023)
8. Top 55 Albums of 2023 by The Alternative (2023)
9. Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2023 by Under The Radar by Under The Radar (2023)
10. The Best Albums of 2023 by The Ringer (2023)
11. Best Albums of 2023 by Northern Transmissions (2023)
12. Albums of 2023 by God is in the TV (2023)
13. Uncut Best 75 Albums Of The Year 2023 by Uncut (2023)
14. 30 Best Albums of 2023 by Revolver (2023)
15. The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2023 by The Needle Drop (2023)
16. Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2023 by Gorilla vs. Bear (2023)
17. Top 50 Albums of 2023 by The Wire (2023)
18. Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 by The Quietus (2023)
19. Best Albums of 2023 by Norman Records (2023)
20. Loud And Quiet Albums of the Year 2023 by Loud And Quiet (2023)