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 55,000 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	2,100	253,028	Paranoid (51st)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,197	320,779	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (11th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,265	251,166	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (7th)by David Bowie
1973	2,146	256,969	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	2,052	137,090	Red (141st)by King Crimson
1975	2,181	217,698	Wish You Were Here (6th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,203	147,758	Songs In The Key Of Life (80th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,193	248,238	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,252	143,281	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (213th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,173	205,090	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	21,762	2,181,096

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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991.

Greetings From L.A.

Tim Buckley

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

81 charts

Rank Score:

212

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

991

Overall Rank:

6,183

Average Rating:

74 (112 votes)

Comments:

992.

Tim Maia (1971)

Tim Maia

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

211

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

992

Overall Rank:

6,190

Average Rating:

77 (37 votes)

Comments:

993.

Between The Lines

Janis Ian

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

67 charts

Rank Score:

211

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

993

Overall Rank:

6,193

Average Rating:

73 (74 votes)

Comments:

994.

Paêbirú

Lula Côrtes & Zé Ramalho

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

39 charts

Rank Score:

211

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

995.

Anima Latina

Lucio Battisti

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

210

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

995

Overall Rank:

6,230

Average Rating:

77 (62 votes)

Comments:

996.

Swaddling Songs

Mellow Candle

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

210

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

997.

Timeless

John Abercrombie

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

39 charts

Rank Score:

210

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

998.

Christmas And The Beads Of Sweat

Laura Nyro

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

51 charts

Rank Score:

210

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

999.

Luxury Liner

Emmylou Harris

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

209

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

999

Overall Rank:

6,247

Average Rating:

74 (78 votes)

Comments:

1000.

Cold Spring Harbor

Billy Joel

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

48 charts

Rank Score:

208

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

1,000

Overall Rank:

6,263

Average Rating:

70 (115 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	109	11%
1971	98	10%
1972	101	10%
1973	107	11%
1974	98	10%
1975	101	10%
1976	85	9%
1977	94	9%
1978	108	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	382	38%
	376	38%
	42	4%
	37	4%
	35	4%
	24	2%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	974	97%
Yes	26	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	941	94%
Yes	59	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	13	1%

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

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Best Albums of the 1980s
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Doolittle by Pixies
3. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
4. Disintegration by The Cure
5. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
6. The Joshua Tree by U2
7. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
8. Thriller by Michael Jackson
9. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
10. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution
11. Closer by Joy Division
12. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
13. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
14. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
15. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
16. Graceland by Paul Simon
17. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
18. Back In Black by AC/DC
19. Murmur by R.E.M.
20. Moving Pictures by Rush