Best Albums of the 1970s

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
YearAlbums 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.
19702,088255,317
19712,184324,221
19722,247255,874
19732,132261,559
19742,036138,409
Red (140th)by King Crimson
19752,163220,569
19762,177149,228
19772,179252,121
19782,231145,300
19792,154208,728
Total21,5912,211,325

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.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
376
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
375
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
375
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
375
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
374
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
374
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
372
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
372
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
371
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
369
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 68 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 %


United Kingdom 387 39%
United States 369 37%
Canada 43 4%
Germany 37 4%
Mixed Nationality 36 4%
Brazil 24 2%
Jamaica 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%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
3. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
4. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
5. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
6. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
7. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
8. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
9. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
10. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
11. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
12. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
13. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
14. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
15. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
16. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
18. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
19. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
20. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
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