Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by buzzdainer

I was born and raised in a New England mill town that had seen better days. The textile mills and shoe factories had mostly closed down, and the river that passed through town was rated by the EPA as one of the seven most polluted in the country. My neighborhood was rough by Maine standards: a working-class French Canadian community where teenagers wielding knives roamed the streets looking for trouble. Especially during the summer, though, I spent most of my time outside, building forts in the woods, playing pickup baseball in the sandlot, and swinging like Tarzan on a makeshift rope swing somebody had rigged to a high limb behind the school.

When I was cooped up indoors, I remember playing my parents' records on my own little record player in the basement. My favorite was the Beach Boys, but I also distinctly remember listening to Fleetwood Mac, Boston, Stevie Wonder, the Everly Brothers, Doobie Brothers, Meat Loaf, Jim Croce, America, the Association, Paul Simon, Elton John, the Eagles, Electric Light Orchestra, the Beatles, and many others. I didn't fully develop my own individual musical tastes until I was older, but it's actually quite amazing to me how much of that stuff stuck. With the benefit of hindsight, I've added great artists like Nick Drake and Big Star, whom I never heard at the time, as well as lots of great funk, country, folk, proto-punk, and reggae. I'm a little less enamored of the so-called classic rock from this period, as I think I've been oversaturated with it, thanks to the local radio station, WBLM, the Rock and Roll Blimp, that was wall-to-wall seventies rock. You'll see Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin in my year charts, but I can't get quite excited enough about them to include them here.

• Chart updated: 11/07/2022 20:15
• (Created: 02/16/2016 17:23).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 23 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 23 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

• Summary
• Composition
• Ratings
• Favourites
• Comments
• Your feedback

View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.

Sort by

• Overall Rank
• Num. Charts
• Avg. Rating
• Num. Ratings
• Release Date
• Title
• Artist
• Date Added

91. (=)

Exile On Main St. 

 The Rolling Stones

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 02/17/2016]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,910 charts

Rank Score:

22,542

Rank in 1972:

2

Rank in 1970s:

12

Overall Rank:

44

Average Rating:

 85 (2,295 votes)

Comments:

209

92. (=)

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight 

 Richard & Linda Thompson

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/10/2017]

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

268 charts

Rank Score:

1,653

Rank in 1974:

18

Rank in 1970s:

228

Overall Rank:

1,070

Average Rating:

 80 (293 votes)

Comments:

10

93. (=)

Just Another Diamond Day 

 Vashti Bunyan

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/02/2016]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

255 charts

Rank Score:

1,757

Rank in 1970:

29

Rank in 1970s:

214

Overall Rank:

1,012

Average Rating:

 80 (258 votes)

Comments:

15

94. (=)

Hejira 

 Joni Mitchell

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 11/17/2019]

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

361 charts

Rank Score:

3,705

Rank in 1976:

9

Rank in 1970s:

112

Overall Rank:

485

Average Rating:

 80 (430 votes)

Comments:

25

95. (=)

Safe Mode: On Certain images on this site may contain adult content and are flagged as 'unsafe'. BestEverAlbums.com does not display these images by default, but you may choose to show or hide these images from your profile page. If you choose to hide these images, you'll see an image with a warning message instead of the actual image. If you choose to show them, you'll see these images no differently than regular (safe) images.

Houses Of The Holy 

 Led Zeppelin

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/02/2016]

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

1,296 charts

Rank Score:

12,901

Rank in 1973:

3

Rank in 1970s:

32

Overall Rank:

111

Average Rating:

 85 (2,000 votes)

Comments:

116

96. (=)

The B-52's 

 The B-52's

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 04/01/2017]

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

398 charts

Rank Score:

2,204

Rank in 1979:

14

Rank in 1970s:

183

Overall Rank:

814

Average Rating:

 78 (489 votes)

Comments:

34

97. (=)

Paul Simon 

 Paul Simon

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/03/2016]

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

321 charts

Rank Score:

1,694

Rank in 1972:

23

Rank in 1970s:

221

Overall Rank:

1,046

Average Rating:

 78 (342 votes)

Comments:

21

98. (=)

Sunflower 

 The Beach Boys

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/03/2016]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

243 charts

Rank Score:

1,266

Rank in 1970:

37

Rank in 1970s:

276

Overall Rank:

1,377

Average Rating:

 78 (424 votes)

Comments:

27

99. (=)

Blues For Allah 

 Grateful Dead

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/02/2016]

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

71 charts

Rank Score:

300

Rank in 1975:

79

Rank in 1970s:

789

Overall Rank:

4,623

Average Rating:

 74 (122 votes)

Comments:

3

100. (=)

Déjà Vu 

 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Buy album

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• #Sponsored

[First added to this chart: 06/03/2016]

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

730 charts

Rank Score:

5,452

Rank in 1970:

15

Rank in 1970s:

84

Overall Rank:

332

Average Rating:

 83 (864 votes)

Comments:

54

• « prev
• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 8
• 9
• 10
• next »
• Goto Page: 

Total albums: 100. Page 10 of 10

Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%
1970	9	9%
1971	10	10%
1972	13	13%
1973	12	12%
1974	9	9%
1975	10	10%
1976	10	10%
1977	8	8%
1978	10	10%
1979	9	9%

Artist	Albums	%
Stevie Wonder	4	4%
David Bowie	4	4%
Neil Young	4	4%
Willie Nelson	3	3%
Big Star	3	3%
Tom Waits	3	3%
Fleetwood Mac	3	3%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	53	53%
	25	25%
	11	11%
	6	6%
	5	5%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similar charts

• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by Sean (2017)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by bertdepoortere (2023)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by JeffN999 (2021)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by mjbreuer (2016)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by imimesis (2021)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by Finky (2023)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by junodog4 (2021)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by RFNAPLES (2012)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by Pastiche (2023)
• Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s by Droophus (2020)

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similarity to your chart(s)

Other decade charts by buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

buzzdainer

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 23 ratings for this chart.

Sort ratings

• Rating
• Date updated
• Member

Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
100/100	11/07/2022 02:25	Larcx13	1,092	86/100
100/100	11/06/2022 20:47	adbrack1988	26	97/100
90/100	11/06/2022 20:34	Johnnyo	2,015	80/100
95/100	11/06/2022 17:07	Rm12398	99	89/100
85/100	11/06/2022 11:05	Moondance	455	84/100

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 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 91.2/100, a mean average of 93.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.7.

• Related links:
• Top charts

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s favourites

Showing all 2 members who have added this chart as a favourite

Tamthebam

pa

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 23 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

From buzzdainer 04/22/2024 15:48

Thank you, Larcx13! Glad to hear there's another Toots fan out there!

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Larcx13 11/07/2022 02:31

Damn that's some gnarly picks in that top 10. Maytals, The clash, Tom waits, marquee moon & Mothership Connection! Good stuff. This whole list is great.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From Johnnyo 11/06/2022 20:35

Top notch chart with great notes. Very enjoyable read

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From buzzdainer 11/06/2022 15:30

Thank you, Moondance and JoeyBones1986, for those generous comments. It's been a little bit since I've looked at this chart as a whole, and although I'm pretty happy with the first 40 selections or so, I feel like there are some omissions from the second half of the chart that would make it a little more varied and interesting. Like most things in life, it remains a work in progress.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

85/100

From Moondance 11/06/2022 11:14

Always enjoy checking out your charts & reading how the albums connect to your life journey. The 70's were such a rich period of music ¬ I sometimes think my top 101-200 is as good as my top 100. We were very fortunate to live that period of music in real time.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From JoeyBones1986 03/10/2022 17:03

Great selections, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your personal notes

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From buzzdainer 12/16/2020 20:58

Thanks for your comment and rating, Larcx13! I'm not so sure my lack of interest in Pink Floyd has to do with not getting them so much as being oversaturated with them during my formative years. For many of my generation, it was an unquestioned truth that Dark Side of the Moon is the greatest album of all time. These days I just have little interest in it. I will say I love the song "Wish You Were Here" and think of it as one of the great songs of the seventies. But I'm not so sure I need 25+ minutes of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

100/100

From Larcx13 12/05/2020 15:58

I love Closing Time! Im disappointed you dont get Pink Floyd, but good list.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From buzzdainer 06/04/2017 16:18

I think we basically agree that the seventies was a really fun decade for music, as evidenced by both of us selecting Tusk (which has some pensive moments, but the title track is a pretty wild ride), Innervisions, Ziggy Stardust, and the B-52's self-titled debut for our seventies charts. But I'll concede that my chart has a fair amount of what Jack Black's character in High Fidelity calls "sad bastard" music. Nick Drake, to be sure. Maybe early Tom Waits too, although I think Closing Time is a beautiful meditation on a wide array of human emotional experience. And then there's stuff on my chart like Parliament's Mothership Connection--we're not calling that grim, are we? It's some of the most unabashedly goofy funk ever made, in my opinion. But maybe that just illustrates how very distinctly two different music lovers can experience the same album.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

90/100

From bobbyb5 06/04/2017 09:17

Really thoughtful chart and well-condidered, obviously. But you'd never know from it that the 70s was an unbelievably FUN decade for music. Its a little grim considering how raucous and wild and full of variety the 70s was. But people today have an image of the 70s as being depressing, but it was actually a hoot. 70s made music proves this.

Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s

Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!