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 56,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

summaryThe 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

21.

Born To Run

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,591 charts

Rank Score:

16,454

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

83 (1,958 votes)

Comments:

132

22.

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,281 charts

Rank Score:

15,839

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,347 votes)

Comments:

23.

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,571 charts

Rank Score:

15,640

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,769 votes)

Comments:

129

24.

Close To The Edge

Yes

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,179 charts

Rank Score:

14,311

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

25.

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

1,203 charts

Rank Score:

13,023

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,310 votes)

Comments:

26.

Harvest

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,365 charts

Rank Score:

12,908

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,704 votes)

Comments:

27.

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,216 charts

Rank Score:

12,868

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

28.

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,350 charts

Rank Score:

12,737

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

29.

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,084 charts

Rank Score:

12,648

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

103

Average Rating:

85 (1,535 votes)

Comments:

30.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,273 charts

Rank Score:

12,560

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

107

Average Rating:

84 (1,522 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
4
...
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	109	11%
1971	98	10%
1972	99	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	96	10%
1975	100	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	94	9%
1978	108	11%
1979	101	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Yes	9	1%
Jethro Tull	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	382	38%
	377	38%
	43	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	26	3%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	97%
Yes	26	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	60	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	13	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.

Popular Charts
1. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
3. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
4. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
5. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
6. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
7. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
8. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
9. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
10. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
11. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
12. The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time (1-100) by Paste (2024)
13. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
14. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
15. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
16. Los 48 mejores discos de la historia by Esquire España (2022)
17. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
18. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
19. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
20. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)