Top 33 Music Albums of 1974
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 11/22/2025 22:45
- (Created: 04/11/2012 18:42).
- Chart size: 33 albums.
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Produced by Al Kooper. How do you follow up "Free Bird"? Add a guitar player and don't try to make another "Free Bird". Skynyrd's second album is loaded with memorable songs and loads of guitar. "Sweet Home Alabama" is the obvious, but you also get the JJ Cale tune "Call Me The Breeze" and strong lesser known songs like "The Needle And The Spoon", "The Ballad Of Curtis Loew", and their stab at the music business "Workin' For MCA". A strong second effort from a legend of a band.
[First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,017
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 06/04/2013]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,519
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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1974-ASYLUM
Produced By BILL SZYMCZYK
1. Already Gone
2. You Never Cry Like A Lover
3. Midnight Flyer
4. My Man
5. On The Border
6. James Dean
7. Ol' 55
8. Is It True?
9. Good Day In Hell
10. The Best Of My Love
Two albums away from Hotel California, the Eagles released their most underrated and underappreciated album, On The Border. For their third album, the band wanted to move into a more rock sound, and they got it here. "Already Gone" is a great song, "The Best Of My Love" was a huge hit, but the songs in between speak volumes about what this band could really do. "Midnight Flyer" soars and shows that rockers really can pull off a bluegrass tune: "You Never Cry Like A Lover" is gorgeous, and the title track is easily the most overlooked song of their career...it's simply great. "Ol' 55" is a fine Tom Waits cover, and "My Man" is Bernie Leadon's tribute to Gram Parsons. On The Border is easily the very best of the pre-Hotel California albums. Criminally ignored.
During the recording, the band discovered Don Felder, who was brought in to play on a couple of songs and became a permanent member. Buy this, play the title track and "Midnight Flyer" loud, and see what you've been missing. [First added to this chart: 08/04/2012]
Produced By BILL SZYMCZYK
1. Already Gone
2. You Never Cry Like A Lover
3. Midnight Flyer
4. My Man
5. On The Border
6. James Dean
7. Ol' 55
8. Is It True?
9. Good Day In Hell
10. The Best Of My Love
Two albums away from Hotel California, the Eagles released their most underrated and underappreciated album, On The Border. For their third album, the band wanted to move into a more rock sound, and they got it here. "Already Gone" is a great song, "The Best Of My Love" was a huge hit, but the songs in between speak volumes about what this band could really do. "Midnight Flyer" soars and shows that rockers really can pull off a bluegrass tune: "You Never Cry Like A Lover" is gorgeous, and the title track is easily the most overlooked song of their career...it's simply great. "Ol' 55" is a fine Tom Waits cover, and "My Man" is Bernie Leadon's tribute to Gram Parsons. On The Border is easily the very best of the pre-Hotel California albums. Criminally ignored.
During the recording, the band discovered Don Felder, who was brought in to play on a couple of songs and became a permanent member. Buy this, play the title track and "Midnight Flyer" loud, and see what you've been missing. [First added to this chart: 08/04/2012]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
288
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 10/14/2012]
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[First added to this chart: 07/27/2020]
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1974-21 RECORDS
Produced By TERRY CASHMAN & TOMMY WEST
1. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
2. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)
3. Photographs And Memories
4. Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)
5. Time In A Bottle
6. New York's Not My Home
7. Workin' At The Car Wash Blues
8. I Got A Name
9. I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
10. You Don't Mess Around With Jim
11. Lover's Cross
12. One Less Set Of Footsteps
13. These Dreams
14. Roller Derby Queen
Released shortly after Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash in 1973, this collection was the first of his career, and it remains the best. It has all of Croce's best tracks, and even though there have been numerous posthumous releases, none has topped this one, or even come close. His rockers still sound excellent today, but it's songs like "Lover's Cross" and "These Dreams" that sound dated...and adding strings to Croce's music was never a good idea.
Still, this is a good compilation to have for all the great "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", "Bad Bad Leroy Brown", and the less obvious but just as excellent "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)" and "Roller Derby Queen". Who knows what else Croce could have done in his career...this shows just how promising it was when it ended. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Produced By TERRY CASHMAN & TOMMY WEST
1. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
2. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)
3. Photographs And Memories
4. Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)
5. Time In A Bottle
6. New York's Not My Home
7. Workin' At The Car Wash Blues
8. I Got A Name
9. I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
10. You Don't Mess Around With Jim
11. Lover's Cross
12. One Less Set Of Footsteps
13. These Dreams
14. Roller Derby Queen
Released shortly after Jim Croce was killed in a plane crash in 1973, this collection was the first of his career, and it remains the best. It has all of Croce's best tracks, and even though there have been numerous posthumous releases, none has topped this one, or even come close. His rockers still sound excellent today, but it's songs like "Lover's Cross" and "These Dreams" that sound dated...and adding strings to Croce's music was never a good idea.
Still, this is a good compilation to have for all the great "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", "Bad Bad Leroy Brown", and the less obvious but just as excellent "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)" and "Roller Derby Queen". Who knows what else Croce could have done in his career...this shows just how promising it was when it ended. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
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[First added to this chart: 02/14/2014]
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1974 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By STEPHEN BARNCARD, BETTY CANTOR, DAVID HASSINGER, GRATEFUL DEAD& BOB MATTHEWS
1. The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)
2. Truckin’
3. Rosemary
4. Sugar Magnolia
5. St. Stephen
6. Uncle John’s Band
7. Casey Jones
8. Mexicali Blues
9. Turn On Your Love Light (Live)
10. One More Saturday Night (Live)
11. Friend Of The Devil
Post contractual obligation greatest hits package blues. The Dead left Warner Bros. to pursue their own label, and Warner’s promptly tried to cash in with this compilation. And it’s a strange one. On the one hand, it’s very good, being as it contains material from the Dead’s best studio album period. On the second hand, it also contains two live tracks…although one of them (“Turn On Your Love Light”) is a severely edited version. However, only four of the band’s studio albums to date were included. There is nothing here from Anthem Of The Sun, and one track (“Mexicali Blues”) is actually from a Bob Weir solo album from 1972. So, yes. It’s a strange compilation, for sure. And there would be much more complete albums collecting the best of this band later on. But this has a certain charm that has lasted for decades.
Consider this the best way to introduce someone to the SONGS of the Dead. Of course, nothing beats a live show (there’s a touch of that here…later, you can get into the hundreds of live documents that are out there). But people forget that for a brief time, the Dead recorded some great studio tracks. The “hits” “Truckin’” (from American Beauty) and “Casey Jones” (from Workingman’s Dead”) are here, alongside classics like “St. Stephen” and “Sugar Magnolia”. “Friend Of The Devil” is the closer, so all of the staples are covered. So, yeah…you might find a better compilation, and you might find one that’s more complete. But I believe that the reason why this album has endured over the years is because this is maybe the best initiation for a new Deadhead as there is. And as strange as it is, there’s a lot of great stuff on it. [First added to this chart: 07/01/2018]
Produced By STEPHEN BARNCARD, BETTY CANTOR, DAVID HASSINGER, GRATEFUL DEAD& BOB MATTHEWS
1. The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)
2. Truckin’
3. Rosemary
4. Sugar Magnolia
5. St. Stephen
6. Uncle John’s Band
7. Casey Jones
8. Mexicali Blues
9. Turn On Your Love Light (Live)
10. One More Saturday Night (Live)
11. Friend Of The Devil
Post contractual obligation greatest hits package blues. The Dead left Warner Bros. to pursue their own label, and Warner’s promptly tried to cash in with this compilation. And it’s a strange one. On the one hand, it’s very good, being as it contains material from the Dead’s best studio album period. On the second hand, it also contains two live tracks…although one of them (“Turn On Your Love Light”) is a severely edited version. However, only four of the band’s studio albums to date were included. There is nothing here from Anthem Of The Sun, and one track (“Mexicali Blues”) is actually from a Bob Weir solo album from 1972. So, yes. It’s a strange compilation, for sure. And there would be much more complete albums collecting the best of this band later on. But this has a certain charm that has lasted for decades.
Consider this the best way to introduce someone to the SONGS of the Dead. Of course, nothing beats a live show (there’s a touch of that here…later, you can get into the hundreds of live documents that are out there). But people forget that for a brief time, the Dead recorded some great studio tracks. The “hits” “Truckin’” (from American Beauty) and “Casey Jones” (from Workingman’s Dead”) are here, alongside classics like “St. Stephen” and “Sugar Magnolia”. “Friend Of The Devil” is the closer, so all of the staples are covered. So, yeah…you might find a better compilation, and you might find one that’s more complete. But I believe that the reason why this album has endured over the years is because this is maybe the best initiation for a new Deadhead as there is. And as strange as it is, there’s a lot of great stuff on it. [First added to this chart: 07/01/2018]
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[First added to this chart: 09/23/2019]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
818
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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[First added to this chart: 11/18/2023]
Total albums: 12. Page 1 of 2
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Top 33 Music Albums of 1974 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Santana | 2 | 6% | |
| Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | 1 | 3% | |
| Millie Jackson | 1 | 3% | |
| Eagles | 1 | 3% | |
| Harry Chapin | 1 | 3% | |
| Gordon Lightfoot | 1 | 3% | |
| Various Artists | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
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Showing all 5 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/23/2019 20:54 | DJENNY | 4,365 | 100/100 |
| ! | 05/06/2018 17:58 | TrekkiELO | 75 | 88/100 |
| ! | 03/12/2016 18:32 | beatlekid123 | 21 | 65/100 |
| ! | 09/15/2014 10:12 |  sssvnnn | 2,865 | 83/100 |
| ! | 12/05/2012 12:36 | Johnnyo | 2,548 | 80/100 |
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From Johnnyo 12/05/2012 12:36 | #56816
Nice chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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