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

261.

Natty Dread

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

275 charts

Rank Score:

1,369

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

261

Overall Rank:

1,285

Average Rating:

78 (326 votes)

Comments:

262.

Going For The One

Yes

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

227 charts

Rank Score:

1,361

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

262

Overall Rank:

1,287

Average Rating:

76 (364 votes)

Comments:

263.

Jack Johnson (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Soundtrack

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

217 charts

Rank Score:

1,354

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

263

Overall Rank:

1,290

Average Rating:

82 (264 votes)

Comments:

264.

Ladies Of The Canyon

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

251 charts

Rank Score:

1,345

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

264

Overall Rank:

1,300

Average Rating:

80 (296 votes)

Comments:

265.

Transa

Caetano Veloso

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

141 charts

Rank Score:

1,340

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

265

Overall Rank:

1,306

Average Rating:

80 (158 votes)

Comments:

266.

Teaser And The Firecat

Cat Stevens

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

261 charts

Rank Score:

1,338

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

266

Overall Rank:

1,309

Average Rating:

80 (339 votes)

Comments:

267.

Lodger

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

330 charts

Rank Score:

1,322

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

267

Overall Rank:

1,319

Average Rating:

77 (612 votes)

Comments:

268.

Leave Home

Ramones

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

218 charts

Rank Score:

1,314

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

268

Overall Rank:

1,330

Average Rating:

78 (283 votes)

Comments:

269.

Give 'Em Enough Rope

The Clash

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

278 charts

Rank Score:

1,306

Rank in 1978:

Rank in 1970s:

269

Overall Rank:

1,337

Average Rating:

77 (497 votes)

Comments:

270.

Katy Lied

Steely Dan

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

240 charts

Rank Score:

1,306

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

270

Overall Rank:

1,338

Average Rating:

79 (352 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
26
27
28
...
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 27 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.

Best Albums of 1962
1. Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music by Ray Charles
2. Howlin' Wolf by Howlin' Wolf
3. Waltz For Debby by Bill Evans Trio
4. Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
5. Green Onions by Booker T. & The M.G.'s
6. Go by Dexter Gordon
7. Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles by Françoise Hardy
8. Tijuana Moods by Charles Mingus
9. Jazz Samba by Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd
10. The Bridge by Sonny Rollins
11. Oh Yeah by Charles Mingus
12. Takin' Off by Herbie Hancock
13. Crying by Roy Orbison
14. Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard by John Coltrane
15. Mosaic by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
16. Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys
17. Peter, Paul And Mary by Peter, Paul And Mary
18. Coltrane by John Coltrane Quartet
19. Sentimentally Yours by Patsy Cline
20. The Original Telstar: The Sounds Of The Tornadoes by The Tornados