Top 43 Music Albums of 1971
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 12/01/2025 16:45
- (Created: 04/11/2012 18:16).
- Chart size: 43 albums.
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Produced by Jimmy Miller. The best years of The Rolling Stones were the years that Mick Taylor was the lead guitarist. Sticky Fingers is the best of that period, the best album of the Stones career. And that's saying a lot. "Brown Sugar", "Bitch", "Sway", "Dead Flowers", "Sister Morphine"...this album has it all. It's got a variety of sounds, it rocks, and outside of the ill-conceived jazzy end of "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'", it's absolutely perfect. Sticky Fingers is why The Stones are called the greatest band in the world. They do not disappoint.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,897
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1971-MCA
Produced By THE WHO
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Bargain
3. Love Ain't For Keepin'
4. My Wife
5. The Song Is Over
6. Gettin' In Tune
7. Goin' Mobile
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won't Get Fooled Again
To say that The Who were ambitious in the late sixties to early seventies would be an understatement. After the dizzying heights of Tommy and the extensive touring that went along with it, Pete Townshend immersed himself into another rock opera called Lifehouse. The concept was eventually abandoned, but the seeds for The Who’s greatest album were sown. Who’s Next, only their fifth album, is great from start to finish, without an ounce of filler. Townshend’s writing is at its peak, and the band is so good after the Tommy tours that it’s almost unfathomable that this is a four piece band.
The opening (“Baba O’Riley”) and closing (“Won’t Get Fooled Again”) tracks may be the strongest on any rock album. Townshend’s use of synthesizers on those songs is downright revolutionary. Roger Daltrey sings his ass off as usual, and John Entwistle and Keith Moon stake their place as rock’s greatest ever rhythm section. But it’s the songs more than anything…even Entwistle’s “My Wife” is great. With “Bargain”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, “The Song Is Over”…Who’s next is simply greatness. A great band peaking in every way. A true masterpiece. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Produced By THE WHO
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Bargain
3. Love Ain't For Keepin'
4. My Wife
5. The Song Is Over
6. Gettin' In Tune
7. Goin' Mobile
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won't Get Fooled Again
To say that The Who were ambitious in the late sixties to early seventies would be an understatement. After the dizzying heights of Tommy and the extensive touring that went along with it, Pete Townshend immersed himself into another rock opera called Lifehouse. The concept was eventually abandoned, but the seeds for The Who’s greatest album were sown. Who’s Next, only their fifth album, is great from start to finish, without an ounce of filler. Townshend’s writing is at its peak, and the band is so good after the Tommy tours that it’s almost unfathomable that this is a four piece band.
The opening (“Baba O’Riley”) and closing (“Won’t Get Fooled Again”) tracks may be the strongest on any rock album. Townshend’s use of synthesizers on those songs is downright revolutionary. Roger Daltrey sings his ass off as usual, and John Entwistle and Keith Moon stake their place as rock’s greatest ever rhythm section. But it’s the songs more than anything…even Entwistle’s “My Wife” is great. With “Bargain”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, “The Song Is Over”…Who’s next is simply greatness. A great band peaking in every way. A true masterpiece. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
21,161
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Produced by Jimmy Page. You may think I have this ranked too low...you may be right. It's not that I don't love this album (technically untitled, dammit), it's just that I don't hear it a lot. It's one of those special albums that I don't like to spoil with repeated listenings, because I want it to always be as special as it always has been. This may not make sense to you, but it really does, with this album especially, for me. Every song here is special to me, and I plan to keep it that way.
[First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,825
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,794
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 08/03/2016]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,251
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1971-EPIC
Produced by RON RICHARDS & THE HOLLIES
1. What A Life I’ve Led
2. Look What We’ve Got
3. Hold On
4. Pull Down The Blind
5. To Do With Love
6. Promised Land
7. Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress
8. You Know The Score
9. Cable Car
10. A Little Thing Like Love
11. Long Dark Road
The Hollies showed up in 1965, and built a legacy of singles that has always suggested that they were a much better band than their seemingly endless string of lackluster albums would indicate. The number of greatest hits packages made by The Hollies speaks volumes, and if you want to appreciate this band, that’s going to be the best way for you to go. By 1971, Graham Nash had long since departed for the much greener pastures of Crosby, Stills and. The band was left with the also soon to leave Allan Clarke, and they still couldn’t put together a full albums worth of quality material to save their lives. Distant Light is one of the below average efforts that kept their string of hits alive in the early seventies, with “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress” joining the likes of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and “The Air That I Breathe”. Like most of the Hollies records, everything here sounds very dated…except for the hit. (“Long Dark Road” was also a minor, and long forgotten, hit as well).
Throughout the album, Clarke’s vocals sound as if they were piped in through a tin can. The songs here are not terrible, just completely unmemorable and very dated. It’s listenable, but just barely, and there’s not really any good reason to have this, unless you’re a big fan of the band. Get one of the many, much better, greatest hits packages instead. The Hollies would continue on…their next album, Romany (with the exact same album cover only in a winter setting) was a dud, but that didn’t stop them…The Hollies would make 10 more albums over the next decade before calling it a day. They never did make a really good album, though, and their legacy as one of the great bands of the 60’s and early 70’s is built solely on the fact that they had some hit singles. Distant Light is not highly recommended: there were much better bands in the era to hang your hat on, without having to endure too much of these guys. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2012]
Produced by RON RICHARDS & THE HOLLIES
1. What A Life I’ve Led
2. Look What We’ve Got
3. Hold On
4. Pull Down The Blind
5. To Do With Love
6. Promised Land
7. Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress
8. You Know The Score
9. Cable Car
10. A Little Thing Like Love
11. Long Dark Road
The Hollies showed up in 1965, and built a legacy of singles that has always suggested that they were a much better band than their seemingly endless string of lackluster albums would indicate. The number of greatest hits packages made by The Hollies speaks volumes, and if you want to appreciate this band, that’s going to be the best way for you to go. By 1971, Graham Nash had long since departed for the much greener pastures of Crosby, Stills and. The band was left with the also soon to leave Allan Clarke, and they still couldn’t put together a full albums worth of quality material to save their lives. Distant Light is one of the below average efforts that kept their string of hits alive in the early seventies, with “Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress” joining the likes of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and “The Air That I Breathe”. Like most of the Hollies records, everything here sounds very dated…except for the hit. (“Long Dark Road” was also a minor, and long forgotten, hit as well).
Throughout the album, Clarke’s vocals sound as if they were piped in through a tin can. The songs here are not terrible, just completely unmemorable and very dated. It’s listenable, but just barely, and there’s not really any good reason to have this, unless you’re a big fan of the band. Get one of the many, much better, greatest hits packages instead. The Hollies would continue on…their next album, Romany (with the exact same album cover only in a winter setting) was a dud, but that didn’t stop them…The Hollies would make 10 more albums over the next decade before calling it a day. They never did make a really good album, though, and their legacy as one of the great bands of the 60’s and early 70’s is built solely on the fact that they had some hit singles. Distant Light is not highly recommended: there were much better bands in the era to hang your hat on, without having to endure too much of these guys. [First added to this chart: 10/26/2012]
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Produced by Rod Stewart. Before he sold his soul to the devil for God only know what, Rod Stewart was the coolest singer on the planet. And he was never better than he was here, the pinnacle of his solo career...his entire career. This album boasts not only his finest material in "Maggie May", "Mandolin Wind" and the title track, but also shows that he used to have great taste in covers. 5 years later, Stewart was courting the realms of really bad music and taste, but here, he's at his exceptional best.
[First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,669
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 11/02/2014]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,415
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/21/2012]
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[First added to this chart: 10/14/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
710
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 40. Page 1 of 4
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Top 43 Music Albums of 1971 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Rolling Stones | 2 | 5% | |
| Alice Cooper | 2 | 5% | |
| Various Artists | 1 | 2% | |
| The Allman Brothers Band | 1 | 2% | |
| Bob Dylan | 1 | 2% | |
| Faces | 1 | 2% | |
| Sly & The Family Stone | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 43 Music Albums of 1971 chart changes
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Top 43 Music Albums of 1971 ratings
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 8 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 11/25/2020 17:57 |  desh79 | 1,278 | 93/100 |
| ! | 06/05/2020 03:31 | Szyfman | 174 | 85/100 |
| ! | 03/12/2016 18:28 | beatlekid123 | 21 | 65/100 |
| ! | 08/22/2014 14:37 |  thedistantship | 162 | 84/100 |
| ! | 04/08/2014 19:13 | PauloPaz | 1,759 | 89/100 |
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Top 43 Music Albums of 1971 comments
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From Szyfman 06/05/2020 03:32 | #252864
Awesome !!!! Love Concert for Bangladesh and Distant Light is underrated.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From thedistantship 08/22/2014 14:37 | #120101
thedistantship 08/22/2014 14:37 | #120101
Like the two live albums in top ten. very nice
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From guigs13 01/13/2013 02:50 | #61280
Very cool!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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