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 53,000 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	2,040	260,326	Paranoid (54th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,137	329,133	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,176	260,297	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,063	267,601	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,951	139,644	Red (144th)by King Crimson
1975	2,105	226,214	Wish You Were Here (7th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,100	150,292	Songs In The Key Of Life (86th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,112	256,273	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,157	145,878	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (203rd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,086	212,902	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	20,927	2,248,559

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 Genesis.

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

991.

Spectres

Blue Öyster Cult

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

73 charts

Rank Score:

218

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

991

Overall Rank:

6,002

Average Rating:

75 (111 votes)

Comments:

992.

Elegant Gypsy

Al Di Meola

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

217

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

992

Overall Rank:

6,019

Average Rating:

79 (80 votes)

Comments:

993.

Slayed?

Slade

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

64 charts

Rank Score:

217

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

994.

Greetings From L.A.

Tim Buckley

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

79 charts

Rank Score:

216

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

995.

Live
Live

Genesis

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

216

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

996.

Quiet Life

Japan

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

74 charts

Rank Score:

216

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

996

Overall Rank:

6,048

Average Rating:

75 (93 votes)

Comments:

997.

The Six Wives Of Henry VIII

Rick Wakeman

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

69 charts

Rank Score:

215

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

998.

Estudando O Samba

Tom Zé

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

47 charts

Rank Score:

215

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

998

Overall Rank:

6,074

Average Rating:

75 (79 votes)

Comments:

999.

The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome

Van Der Graaf Generator

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

42 charts

Rank Score:

214

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

999

Overall Rank:

6,088

Average Rating:

74 (50 votes)

Comments:

1000.

All The World's A Stage
Live

Rush

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

43 charts

Rank Score:

214

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

1,000

Overall Rank:

6,093

Average Rating:

76 (74 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
...
98
99
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	107	11%
1971	100	10%
1972	102	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	90	9%
1977	91	9%
1978	107	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Wishbone Ash	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Yes	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	389	39%
	371	37%
	42	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	24	2%
	20	2%
Show all

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

Live?	Albums	%
No	940	94%
Yes	60	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	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.

Recent Member Charts
1. Top 25 Music Albums of 2010 by Jamie (2024)
2. Top 34 Music Albums of 2003 by Jamie (2024)
3. Top 22 Music Albums of 2002 by Jamie (2024)
4. Top 18 Music Albums of 2018 by cicadelic (2024)
5. Top 29 Music Albums of 2000 by Jamie (2024)
6. Top 100 Music Albums of 1982 by PAPPITUFO (2024)
7. Samplers by Liedzeit (2024)
8. Top 84 Music Albums of 2024 by WayneMC (2024)
9. Dylan covers 6: Irish artists by Moondance (2024)
10. Top 14 Music Albums of 2024 by jeremy9 (2024)
11. Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by drstuey (2024)
12. Dylan covers 6: Netherlands artists by Moondance (2024)
13. Dylan covers 6: Belgium artists by Moondance (2024)
14. Top 18 Music Albums of 2024 by Juneof44 (2024)
15. Top 100 Music Albums of 1999 by jeremy9 (2024)
16. Top 2 Music Albums of 1961 by Liedzeit (2024)
17. Top 16 Music Albums of 1991 by Liedzeit (2024)
18. Top 39 Music Albums of 1981 by joathome (2024)
19. Top 64 Music Albums of 1981 by PAPPITUFO (2024)
20. Top 81 Music Albums of 1980 by PAPPITUFO (2024)