Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by 
Tamthebam 
This is my favourite decade my chart is dominated by Bowie, Elton John & Stevie Wonder but hey its the 70's. Electric Warrior was the first album I ever owned, so it has a special meaning for me, I still have the original vinyl copies of 50% of these albums. I have included some iconic "Best Of" albums that are regarded very highly, I love all types of music and I loved exploring music recommended by others, I discovered Soul and Country-Rock during this decade.
- Chart updated: 03/22/2024 15:45
- (Created: 08/24/2013 13:28).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 16 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 31 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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The trio of Berlin albums (Low Heroes & Lodger) are the best set of concept albums ever recorded, by anyone. Low & Heroes were released in 1977 within 8 months of each other. Heroes is my favourite of these three it is rougher round the edges than Low, Side 2 (tracks 6-10) create an atmosphere that could be the soundtrack of a horror movie an amazing sound that is deeper than anything on Low and on top of that there is the title track and the forgotten classic Beauty & The Beast.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,723
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Comments:
79
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The first L.P. I ever owned. I still play it today a great album every track is good. Best tracks are Get It On, Jeepster, Life's a Gas & the closing track Rip Off, the opening track Mambo Sun would have been another great single. Marc Bolan was one of my first musical heroes and like a number of artists in my Top 100 now gone forever.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,091
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This was the first Bowie album I owned and still to this day a favourite. It was labelled as the "Ziggy Goes To America " album as the sound and atmosphere created was heavier and darker than anything he had done before. I unlike so many others like his reworking of Lets Spend The Night Together it fits this album. There are so many classic Bowie tracks here all of Side 1 (1-5) and Time ,The Jean Genie & Lady Grinning Soul make this a Classic must have album.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,964
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This was the first Elton John album I ever heard Caribou being the first I ever owned. It was a double album so a little more expensive back then in 1974. It is without a doubt the best album he has ever released smack in the middle of his golden period 1970-76. It contains a whole load of Elton standards but the "non singles" on this album are some of his best ever songs (Bernie Taupin supplied the lyrics) including Sweet Painted Lady, All the Girls Love Alice, Grey Seal, I've Seen That Movie Too & Harmony. On top of all that is the opening 15 mins Funeral For a Friend/Love lies Bleeding a haunting opening number followed by Candle In The Wind. A truly great album.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,856
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A break thru album this is the album that brought Bowie to a wider audience. The first 4 tracks are legendary especially Starman & Moonage Daydream, it then tails of a little before hitting you with the last 3 tracks Ziggy, Suffragette City & Rock n Roll Suicide. It is regarded as his best album rightly so, it is just not my favourite.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
49,977
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I only got into the Stones at around 18 when I bought a copy of Some Girls. After that I discovered this gem and it is still my favourite Stones album, the whole album is great but songs such as Bitch & Wild Horses along with Brown sugar deserve a special mention.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,146
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This is thee classic Joan Armatrading album, the one that put her on the map. Full of great songs Love & Affection, Save Me, Somebody Who Loves You & Down To Zero being the stand out tracks but all the tracks are 80/100 or better, she would never improve on this collection although Show Some Emotion, The Shouting Stage & To The Limit come close.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
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The debut album from the Banshees is still their best, it contains a brilliant cover of the Beatles Helter Skelter as well as the tracks Mirage and Switch both amazing songs. Carcass ,Suburban Relapse and Jigsaw Feeling are also great tracks The whole album has a punkish sound to it but it has certainly stood the test of time, unlike some of their albums in the 80's.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
904
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To The Limit is a looser collection of songs than her 2 previous albums (Joan Armatrading & Show Some Emotion).Let it Last, Wishing, You Rope You Tie Me, Barefoot & Pregnant & Bottom To The Top are all brilliant but Baby I and The Letter are top notch Armatrading songs that are the cream on the top here.
[First added to this chart: 10/23/2014]
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Another great Bowie album from the 70's (1971) this was the album before Ziggy and contains the standards Life On Mars, Changes & Oh You Pretty Things. But the album is more than that it shows Bowie progressing as a singer & songwriter Quicksand & The Bewlay Brothers are brilliant tracks and along with Queen Bitch & Andy Warhol make this a must have album.
[First added to this chart: 08/25/2013]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,990
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Comments:
Total albums: 51. Page 1 of 6
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1970 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1971 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1972 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1973 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1974 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1975 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1976 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1977 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1978 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1979 | 11 | 11% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| David Bowie | 8 | 8% | |
| Elton John | 8 | 8% | |
| Stevie Wonder | 5 | 5% | |
| T. Rex | 5 | 5% | |
| Pink Floyd | 5 | 5% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 5% | |
| Joan Armatrading | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 35th to 34th Back To The Night by Joan Armatrading |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 34th to 35th The Kick Inside by Kate Bush |
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Tamthebam (2024)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s ratings
88/100 (from 31 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 31 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 85/100  | 11/23/2023 11:45 |  Larcx13 | | 86/100 |
| 75/100 | 07/03/2023 17:29 | dukeboxkool | | 75/100 |
| 80/100 | 10/10/2022 01:49 | Moondance | | 84/100 |
| 95/100 | 10/10/2022 00:19 | Rm12398 | | 89/100 |
| 95/100 | 10/09/2022 10:27 | Johnnyo | | 80/100 |
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).
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This chart is rated in the top 7% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 88.3/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.0/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.9.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments
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75/100
From dukeboxkool 07/03/2023 17:30
Overall, this is a very good chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From Moondance 10/10/2022 02:06
We both have the 70's as our favourite decade and the number of exceptional albums to choose from is simply outrageous. That said, we have 25 albums in common ~ interestingly your #100: Dylan's Blood On The Tracks is my #1 ~ and that, better than anything, explains where our personal musical journey takes a different route. I was surprised to see some classic, in my mind, 70's UK artists missing ~ Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, The Who, The Clash (to name but a few). Overall a nice chart that I enjoyed wandering through.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From Rm12398 10/10/2022 00:19
Almost a third of the chart in common. Very good music taste in my opinion! Great list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From Johnnyo 10/09/2022 10:28
One of the best ‘70’s charts I’ve come across. Outstanding
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From 
seb7 12/14/2020 16:42
seb7 12/14/2020 16:42
simply a great list
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From vancevisuals 07/20/2020 21:18
could not agree with you more about the 70's
No Frank Zappa?
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
Boltzmann 03/13/2018 21:04
Boltzmann 03/13/2018 21:04
Nice list, I like that you put “Heroes” above all other Bowie albums. That one seems to get a lot of hate lately.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From SamNassiri98 03/13/2018 10:29
lovely!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Ulf 03/13/2018 08:02
very fine stuff would love to see some descriptions.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Ashmark 02/17/2018 00:04
This is a phenomenal list. Almost every album is deep on substance. Then there are some that are just great to listen to. Their substance comes from just how damn great they sound and make you feel (Rumours for example). Awesome.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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