Top 21 Music Albums of 1971
by mrmcrook 
Another top year filled with classics. Based on personal favoritism. Apart from those at the top, very hard to place into any definitive order. Even those at the very bottom are still top class albums. Compilations, Greatest Hits etc ranked after studio albums on a year list. It's only fair
My favorite songs from 1971
Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore
Alice Cooper - Halo Of Flies
Black Sabbath - After Forever
Alice Cooper - Ballad of Dwight Fry
Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks
The Doors - L.A Woman
Jimi Hendrix - Angel
David Bowie - Life On Mars?
Deep Purple - Fireball
The Who - Baba O'Riley
- Chart updated: 02/21/2026 23:15
- (Created: 09/27/2020 02:11).
- Chart size: 21 albums.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 1 vote). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 58,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
92.125* This was the first Sabbath album I bought. Had just started the joy of my own music collection and had just discovered and began my obsession with Heavy Metal. Being still young, inexperienced and naive at the time I thought the lyrics to 'Sweet Leaf', " My life is free now, my life is clear. I love you sweet leaf, though you can't hear, oh yeah", was in regards to being in love with someone who was deaf. Ha ha ha. What a fucking idiot. 10/25
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,485
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
91.87 A classic album. It's a pity most of the first side, especially Stairway to Heaven was thrashed so much by the radio and public alike that I got sick of those songs. It slightly put me off for quite a while. It's side two that's the true savior of this album.
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,215
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
91.25* 'Halo of Flies' is one of the most brilliant rock songs of all time. Early Alice. What's not to love. Quite a master at heavy prog which seems to be overlooked 05/25
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,027
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
90.00 Rock supreme with a touch of prog and a bit of concept thrown in. A great album from start to finish. The last 3 songs are the icing on the cake for me. A forgotten gem when it comes to albums from this era. Highly under rated 03/24
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
721
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
88.18 Put out in 1971. Worthy of having due to a number of tracks that aren't on albums. Singles, B-sides and previously unreleased. Hence I don't fully count this as a traditional compilation
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
84.20* Most under rated of all his albums. More laid back feel with less show boating but most of these songs stand strong, 'Angel' being the winner. Overall a great much under appreciated bit of work from Jimi 11/25
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
310
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
83.57 Great album. Very under rated. All MK II albums are all on very level par (as in all fucking great) and this is up there with them. That is what defines Deep Purple as one of the all time greatest rock acts to emerge, the amount of legendary albums to come out in a short time span. MK II that is, didn't like where it headed with Coverdale. 05/24
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
789
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
83.545* Perfect musical balance to be one of the best folk rock albums ever. Many outstanding tracks. One that needs playing on a semi regular basis or you can forget how great it is 02/26
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,222
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
82.00 Title track being the cream of the crop of this album. Not as strong an album as some of their others but still good. Couple of fillers but L'America & Hyacinth House are hidden gems that grow on me
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,809
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
81.66 Very good but not as epic as others. It does have some great tracks on it, 'Fearless' being my pick of the bunch. I've listened to it hundreds of times so I feel I can confidently say 'Echoes' is a bit over rated. Just my opinion, that's all.
[First added to this chart: 07/01/2021]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,822
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 21. Page 1 of 3
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Who | 2 | 10% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 2 | 10% | |
| Alice Cooper | 2 | 10% | |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 10% | |
| Jethro Tull | 1 | 5% | |
| The Doors | 1 | 5% | |
| T. Rex | 1 | 5% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 8th to 7thFireball by Deep Purple |
| Up 1 from 7th to 6thThe Cry Of Love by Jimi Hendrix |
| Up 1 from 6th to 5thRelics by Pink Floyd |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 4 from 4th to 8thAqualung by Jethro Tull |
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 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!
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 1 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/17/2025 17:19 |  Rhyner | 1,452 | 99/100 |
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 favourites
Top 21 Music Albums of 1971 comments
Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!
Your feedback for Top 21 Music Albums of 1971
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.
