Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s
by 
dihansse 
These were my formative years in music although upto 1974 I didn't really experience rock music consciously.
I really started to listen to pop/rock music around 1975 but mainly via pop shows on tv and radio not via buying albums. Although around the years that punk broke I started taping cassettes from my small radio. I still remember the first song that I taped was Lust for Life and the second one was Hey Jude and that song is still marked in my head with the tingling of a glass because I suppose I must have touched a glass in the neighborhood of my radio.
That was also the period I was very heavy into hard rock which very much driven by a very good hardrock show on Dutch radio called "Beton" (in English: Concrete).
In fact this must be about the most interesting decade in music (in the real meaning of interesting because the best decade to me are still the nineties) because can you think about another decade in which so many styles of music originated and blossomed? From glam to hard rock to prog to soul and disco (sorry I need to get some Earth, Wind & Fire in this chart) to punk to ska to new wave and I forget with this all the good plain classic rock records being made in this decade like Rumours, Pink Floyd classics, etc etc.
- Chart updated: 09/22/2025 19:45
- (Created: 11/05/2015 22:10).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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[First added to this chart: 02/08/2016]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,360
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 11/28/2015]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,536
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 11/30/2015]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,385
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 07/03/2018]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
576
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/02/2015]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,427
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2015]
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,673
Rank in 1979:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,538
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Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 11/06/2015]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,499
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 06/07/2018]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,485
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 12/31/2017]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,645
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1972 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1973 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1974 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1975 | 7 | 7% | |
| 1976 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1977 | 17 | 17% | |
| 1978 | 14 | 14% | |
| 1979 | 15 | 15% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Pink Floyd | 5 | 5% | |
| Roxy Music | 5 | 5% | |
| AC/DC | 4 | 4% | |
| David Bowie | 4 | 4% | |
| Status Quo | 4 | 4% | |
| Electric Light Orchestra | 4 | 4% | |
| Deep Purple | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
60 | 60% | |
 |
25 | 25% | |
 |
7 | 7% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 2 from 86th to 88thCan't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan |
| Down 2 from 87th to 89thStation To Station by David Bowie |
| Down 2 from 88th to 90thUnknown Pleasures by Joy Division |
| New entries |
|---|
| Powerage by AC/DC |
| London Calling by The Clash |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Wave by Patti Smith Group |
| Aja by Steely Dan |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similar charts
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Kettwig | 1970s decade chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | pdapperens | 1970s decade chart | 2014 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Manso | 1970s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  elo269megv | 1970s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  Daydreamer | 1970s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | xhitmanx | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | JeffN999 | 1970s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  BasdeWit97 | 1970s decade chart | 2016 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | jon5417 | 1970s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | bertdepoortere | 1970s decade chart | 2026 | |
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Other decade charts by dihansse
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s | dihansse | 2020s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | dihansse | 2010s decade chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | dihansse | 2000s decade chart | 2025 | |
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).
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N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 7 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/27/2025 23:32 | mrmcrook | 812 | 92/100 | |
| 06/21/2020 22:24 |  Larcx13 | 1,139 | 86/100 | |
| 02/28/2020 00:32 | DJENNY | 4,337 | 100/100 | |
| 03/15/2019 01:15 |  mickilennial | 715 | 77/100 | |
| 08/15/2018 15:10 |  Rhyner | 1,452 | 99/100 |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s favourites
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments
Showing all 2 comments |
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From mrmcrook 08/27/2025 23:32 | #310724
32 in common. The highest amount I've come across out of all the lists I've checked out. Good stuff.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Larcx13 06/21/2020 22:24 | #254078
Larcx13 06/21/2020 22:24 | #254078
Cool list
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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| Best Artists of 1963 | |
|---|---|
| 1. Charles Mingus | |
| 2. Bob Dylan | |
| 3. The Beatles | |
| 4. James Brown | |
| 5. Sam Cooke | |
| 6. Thelonious Monk | |
| 7. The Thelonious Monk Quartet | |
| 8. The Beach Boys | |
| 9. Duke Ellington & John Coltrane | |
| 10. Duke Ellington / Charlie Mingus / Max Roach | |
| 11. Jorge Ben | |
| 12. John Coltrane | |
| 13. Kenny Burrell | |
| 14. Oscar Peterson Trio | |
| 15. Oscar Peterson | |
| 16. Roy Orbison | |
| 17. John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman | |
| 18. John Coltrane Quartet | |
| 19. Herbert Von Karajan / Berliner Philharmoniker | |
| 20. Jimmy Smith |
