Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s
by 
Hayden 
This list is very silly because it could be 500+ albums and I'd still be missing stuff.
- Chart updated: 4 days ago
- (Created: 12/04/2011 22:40).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 12 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 33 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from United States. (Remove this filter)
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,791
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 06/14/2019]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 05/04/2021]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 03/04/2018]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 03/04/2018]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
474
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 03/30/2012]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,502
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,003
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 03/18/2018]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,144
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 08/15/2012]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,233
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
[First added to this chart: 12/18/2011]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,101
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 42. Page 1 of 5
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 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1971 | 16 | 16% | |
| 1972 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1973 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1974 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1975 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1976 | 4 | 4% | |
| 1977 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1978 | 13 | 13% | |
| 1979 | 12 | 12% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Jorge Ben | 2 | 2% | |
| Gil Scott-Heron | 2 | 2% | |
| Steve Reich | 2 | 2% | |
| Tom Waits | 2 | 2% | |
| Don Cherry | 2 | 2% | |
| Nick Drake | 2 | 2% | |
| Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Africa '70 | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
42 | 42% | |
 |
11 | 11% | |
 |
9 | 9% | |
 |
8 | 8% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
| |
4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 10 from 80th to 70thDrumming (1971/Live) by Steve Reich |
| Up 9 from 63rd to 54thForça Bruta by Jorge Ben |
| Up 8 from 66th to 58thFear Of Music by Talking Heads |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 43 from 48th to 91stThe Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend by Baby Huey |
| Down 26 from 55th to 81stGambian Griot Kora Duets by Alhaji Bai Konte / Dembo Konte / Ma Lamini Jobate |
| Down 21 from 56th to 77thBill Fay by Bill Fay |
| New entries |
|---|
| The Call (Conducting The Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra) by Horace Tapscott |
| 20 Palavras Ao Redor Do Sol by Cátia De França |
| Comienzo El Día by Noel Nicola |
| Animals Garden by Miyasaka + 5 |
| Leavers |
|---|
| Fully Qualified Survivor by Michael Chapman |
| King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo |
| Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame by Eduardo Mateo |
| Bilder by Turid |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Hayden | Overall chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | brun027 | 1970s decade chart | 2017 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | juanr1096 | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  Jimmy Dread | 1970s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Albums Of The 1970s, 1-100 | saacsquatch | Custom chart | 2021 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  alelsupreme | 1970s decade chart | 2016 | |
| Top 96 Music Albums of the 1970s |  baystateoftheart | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Jamie | 1970s decade chart | 2024 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  Norman Bates | 1970s decade chart | 2025 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  flamingyesdept | 1970s decade chart | 2025 | |
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Other decade charts by Hayden
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s | Hayden | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s | Hayden | 2010s decade chart | 2025 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s | Hayden | 2000s decade chart | 2026 | |
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 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 33 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/19/2024 14:30 |  LedZep | 1,105 | 84/100 |
| ! | 01/11/2024 09:55 | Norman Bates | 150 | 96/100 |
| ! | 01/09/2024 10:46 |  Tamthebam | 649 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/09/2024 10:23 | Johnnyo | 2,566 | 80/100 |
| ! | 05/07/2021 13:29 | jackq | 273 | 92/100 |
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 89.5/100, a mean average of 90.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.6.
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s favourites
Showing all 2 members who have added this chart as a favourite
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 12 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From Johnnyo 01/09/2024 10:23 | #301014
Very cool chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
NJ 12/09/2020 02:20 | #262318
NJ 12/09/2020 02:20 | #262318
Great list! A lot I still have to check out. Unfortunately I kind of skipped over the 70s.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Thad 12/11/2018 19:30 | #226795
Great chart -- acknowledges classics, makes unexpected picks, incorporates sometimes-overlooked genres and countries of origin. Probably my favorite 70's chart, leaves me with a lot to check out.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 12/11/2018 09:18 | #226770
ForegroundNoise 12/11/2018 09:18 | #226770
Really love this chart; great mix of the classics with underground favourites, great to see The Sinking Of The Titanic and Pavilion Of Dreams both so high. I think the chart greatly benefits from your international diversity; far too often do I see 'Best of the 70s' charts that fail to have anything not from US/UK/Canada. Would love to see some notes (à la your overall chart) for a perfect score!!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Boltzmann 03/04/2018 21:18 | #210107
Boltzmann 03/04/2018 21:18 | #210107
Interesting list, can't blame ya for putting Unknown Pleasures on the #1 spot (I should put it on my list too actually, totally forgot about that album). I hope I remember checking out the stuff from here I don't know yet.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Ulf 03/04/2018 20:23 | #210101
Very nice 70s chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From SamNassiri98 03/04/2018 11:16 | #210070
Lovely chart! (Maybe check out mine?)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
Antonio-Pedro 10/27/2013 18:04 | #89470
Antonio-Pedro 10/27/2013 18:04 | #89470
I f you are looking for a musical vision of the 70s that is one of these
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
sssvnnn 09/30/2013 21:12 | #87272
sssvnnn 09/30/2013 21:12 | #87272
Great
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From armoury 04/05/2012 14:23 | #39445
anything which has loaded deserves a decent rating
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
