Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s
by CharlieBarley

I took a long time with this because when I did a poll of my 100 greatest albums I found out that the 1970s was my favourite decade for albums. So after hours of deliberation and making lists here is my top 100 albums of the 1970s, the decade I was born in will always be a special one for me.
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[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
44,787
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (91/100 - 4056 votes)  91 (4,056 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
597
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 09/04/2017]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,011
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1951 votes)  85 (1,951 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,145
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,365
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (87/100 - 2446 votes)  87 (2,446 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 03/17/2017]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,655
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1365 votes)  85 (1,365 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/20/2017]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,206
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
60,155
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (92/100 - 5331 votes)  92 (5,331 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/07/2016]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
43,371
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (90/100 - 3543 votes)  90 (3,543 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/20/2017]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,375
Rank in 1975:
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 12 12%
1971 14 14%
1972 9 9%
1973 11 11%
1974 2 2%
1975 10 10%
1976 8 8%
1977 14 14%
1978 9 9%
1979 11 11%
Artist Albums %


Pink Floyd 6 6%
David Bowie 6 6%
Stevie Wonder 3 3%
Bruce Springsteen 3 3%
Neil Young 3 3%
Led Zeppelin 2 2%
Lou Reed 2 2%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 43 43%
United Kingdom 38 38%
Mixed Nationality 8 8%
Canada 3 3%
Sweden 2 2%
Jamaica 2 2%
Germany 1 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%
Live? Albums %
No 97 97%
Yes 3 3%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 98 98%
Yes 2 2%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 3 from 10th to 7th
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
by Bruce Springsteen
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 3 from 7th to 10th
Born To Run
by Bruce Springsteen
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CharlieBarley has created 4 other 1970s decade charts - click here to explore them all.

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s ratings

Average Rating: 
91/100 (from 17 votes)
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05/16/2024 13:02 C0NB9NN   2085/100
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06/17/2023 14:30 Tamthebam   64985/100
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03/11/2023 11:46 KineticEchoes02   11188/100
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03/11/2023 09:57 Moondance   47685/100
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95/100
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09/08/2022 14:54 Johnnyo   2,55880/100

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This chart is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 90.7/100, a mean average of 93.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 93.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 4.5.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments

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From 09/09/2022 11:52 | #289528
Thanks Moondance. Good to hear.
Yes I like CSNY but I prefer that solo David Crosby album.
Good to see we have so many albums in common
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Rating:  
95/100
From 09/08/2022 22:34 | #289509
Yes, Charlie ~ the 70's are also my favourite decade by a long shot ~ and in that decade I have '70 & '71 as the standout years of my lifetime musical journey. You have a terrific chart and I enjoyed looking at our common albums (28); common artists (30), but also where are tastes go down different pathways. I was surprised to see that CSNY 'Deja Vu' is not on the list but equally delighted to see Crosby's 'If Only I Could Remember My Name'.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/08/2022 16:56 | #289501
thanks Larcx
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From 09/08/2022 15:57 | #289500
Thanks Johnny!
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Rating:  
95/100
From 09/08/2022 14:54 | #289498
A great chart for a great decade. Love it
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From 11/03/2020 23:37 | #260156
47 is a lot!
cool
it's healthy to disagree
Get Stoned (the Rolling Stones comp you mentioned) means a great deal to me.
I'm surprised you heard of it. It's not very well known and it's deleted/never issued on CD or re-issued, I believe.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/03/2020 23:04 | #260151
47 albums in common!!
but i disagree with that rlling stones compilation :(
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Rating:  
85/100
From 03/16/2020 14:30 | #248788
Great to see how many people like Animals ! Such a great underrated album
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Rating:  
95/100
From 07/16/2018 16:02 | #218337
Great list, I have 48 of these albums. 70's is my favorite decade.
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Rating:  
100/100
From 05/20/2017 19:43 | #191127
I was born in the seventies too, so it will always be a special musical decade for me. Turns out we had a similar take on the decade--I'm especially happy to see London Calling (I know everybody loves that one, but it's for good reason), Innversions, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Exodus, and Big Star's 3rd represented here. I appreciate the depth and breadth you've offered here; obviously a lot of thought went into this chart. Well done.
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Best Albums of the 1980s
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Doolittle by Pixies
3. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
4. Disintegration by The Cure
5. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
6. The Joshua Tree by U2
7. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
8. Thriller by Michael Jackson
9. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution
10. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
11. Closer by Joy Division
12. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
13. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
14. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
15. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
16. Graceland by Paul Simon
17. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
18. Murmur by R.E.M.
19. Back In Black by AC/DC
20. Ride The Lightning by Metallica
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