Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s
by 
meccalecca 
After years of love and psychedelic drugs, music takes some dark turns. Self-indulgence and excess leads to some prog classics as well as the most bloated wankery the world had ever heard. Bands started building more tension into their songs, while exploring more serious and depressing themes. And Brian Eno had his hands all over everything.
- Chart updated: 06/23/2024 16:45
- (Created: 03/17/2013 19:13).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 13 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 30 votes). Please log in or create an account to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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[First added to this chart: 07/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,402
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Rank in 1970s:
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Average Rating:
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[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,197
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[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
40,448
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 08/11/2014]
Available from
[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,585
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,894
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Available from
[First added to this chart: 05/17/2014]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,627
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Available from
Available from
[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,978
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Available from
[First added to this chart: 03/19/2013]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,791
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1971 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1972 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1973 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1974 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1975 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1976 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1977 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1978 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1979 | 15 | 15% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Can | 3 | 3% | |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 3% | |
| Leonard Cohen | 3 | 3% | |
| David Bowie | 3 | 3% | |
| William Onyeabor | 3 | 3% | |
| The Clash | 2 | 2% | |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
34 | 34% | |
| |
30 | 30% | |
 |
8 | 8% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similar charts
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | chriskarman | 1970s decade chart | 2020 |  |
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| Top 100 Albums of the 1970s | Pitchfork | 1970s decade chart | 2004 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | dwils0891 | 1970s decade chart | 2012 | |
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  CellarDoor | 1970s decade chart | 2013 |  |
| Top 98 Music Albums of the 1970s |  HazeyTwilight | 1970s decade chart | 2016 |  |
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Other decade charts by meccalecca
meccalecca has shared 6 more decade charts with the community. Browse them all here.| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s | meccalecca | 2020s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | meccalecca | 2010s decade chart | 2024 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | meccalecca | 2000s decade chart | 2024 | |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this chart. | Show all 30 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/28/2025 07:17 |  Purplepash | 1,855 | 88/100 |
| ! | 02/06/2025 23:51 | BorderFreeAndrew | 118 | 82/100 |
| ! | 01/08/2025 20:33 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.7/100, a mean average of 91.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.1.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s favourites
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s forum mentions
This chart has been referenced 5 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.
From 
BestEverAlbums 01/08/2025 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4823): By meccalecca
BestEverAlbums 01/08/2025 09:00 in Chart of the day (#4823): By meccalecca“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by meccalecca () 1. Exuma by Exuma (1970) 2. 3rd by Big Star (1978) 3. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie (1972) 4. Atomic Bomb by William Onyeabor (1978) 5. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads (1979) 6.…”
(5 mentions across Chart of the Day topics)View latest topic →
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments
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From
ForegroundNoise 05/20/2020 19:48 | #251764
ForegroundNoise 05/20/2020 19:48 | #251764
Unlike so many of the '70s charts I see on this site this one is just bursting at the seams with personality. Will be sure to be surfing through for some undiscovered gems. Just some notes would top this off as the perfect chart for me! (Edited)
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From
AMS 05/21/2023 06:18 | #297130
I appreciate this individual, concept-based collection. A number of my personal favs as well (Edited)
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From
911Turbo 05/03/2020 01:45 | #250835
911Turbo 05/03/2020 01:45 | #250835
great list
what a nice surprise to see t-rex slider. dont see that to often and rated fairly high.
i only wish you could have given a personal description for each album.
thankyou for your effort
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From
Boo69 04/05/2013 20:58 | #71540
Great list. Good to see Magazine in there and some recognition for Television's 'Adventure'
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From
JoaoMoreira 01/07/2014 05:00 | #100075
JoaoMoreira 01/07/2014 05:00 | #100075
Nice to see Loaded in a chart! It was my first from Velvet.
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