Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s
by davidhuret

For this decade and the one before, a top 100 is too restrictive. There are lots of other albums I would like to include.
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Buy album United States
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As the ads said at the time: "there's old wave, there's new wave, and there's David Bowie". One side avant-pop, one side ambient before the term was coined. Both brilliant. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,689
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
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Average Rating:
Top rated album (86/100 - 2089 votes)  86 (2,089 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Marvin in a state of pure grace. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,926
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1964 votes)  85 (1,964 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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The culmination of what the Stones are all about. And to think these great American songs were written by two British, London-born, blokes. [First added to this chart: 12/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
19,577
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 2361 votes)  85 (2,361 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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As soon as the (pioneering) synth-loop of "Baba O'Reilly" begins, you know you're going to have a good time [First added to this chart: 12/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,898
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (86/100 - 2580 votes)  86 (2,580 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Cosmic (and cocaine-fuelled) Americana, this a grand and deeply affecting musical gesture by an underrated talent, formerly in the Byrds. [First added to this chart: 12/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,601
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Should anybody be in doubt about the Stones' status as "the greatest rock'n'roll band in the world", play them this. [First added to this chart: 12/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,773
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (86/100 - 1933 votes)  86 (1,933 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Open your mind. Check this out, it's worth it. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2022]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,470
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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A cornerstone of the singer-songwriters' movement of the early 1970s. Every song is sublime. [First added to this chart: 10/18/2022]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
15,984
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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George Harrison launches his post-Beatles career in style with an epic and classy demonstration of what he couldn't do within the Fab Four. A major songwriter and guitar player at his creative peak. Even Phil Spector's Wall of Sound is thrilling. The best album by a solo Beatle? [First added to this chart: 12/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,467
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (85/100 - 1328 votes)  85 (1,328 votes)
Comments:
Buy album United States
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After his utterly charming homemade solo debut, and the major artistic statements of George and John, Beatle Paul had yet everything to prove as a solo artist by then. He did it with this pop extravaganza of an album, ragged yet sophisticated, tight and loose, carefully crafted but retaining a spontaneous feel. A marvellous, highly melodic and energetic musical achievement (those vocal harmonies!). The miracle is that he keeps on making brilliant (often) music to this day. [First added to this chart: 12/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,955
Rank in 1971:
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 15 15%
1971 21 21%
1972 14 14%
1973 14 14%
1974 8 8%
1975 10 10%
1976 4 4%
1977 6 6%
1978 3 3%
1979 5 5%
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 49 49%
United States 29 29%
Canada 10 10%
Mixed Nationality 5 5%
France 3 3%
Australia 2 2%
Germany 1 1%
Show all
Live? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 99 99%
Yes 1 1%

Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 25 from 78th to 53rdThe Dark Side Of The Moon
by Pink Floyd
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 1 from 53rd to 54thSome Girls
by The Rolling Stones
Faller Down 1 from 54th to 55thWhat Color Is Love
by Terry Callier
Faller Down 1 from 55th to 56thMuswell Hillbillies
by The Kinks
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davidhuret has shared 6 more 1970s decade charts with the community. Browse them all here.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s ratings

Average Rating: 
91/100 (from 37 votes)
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95/100
 !
08/02/2023 22:38 KineticEchoes02   11088/100
 
95/100
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08/02/2023 10:18 Moondance   47685/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
90/100
 !
11/12/2021 06:38 NowhereMan   29282/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
100/100
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11/11/2021 17:15 Cytoma   17090/100
The chart has been updated since this rating was assigned   
85/100
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11/11/2021 17:03 imimesis   5483/100

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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 91.0/100, a mean average of 92.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 4.9.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s comments

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Rating:  
95/100
From 08/02/2023 22:43 | #298458
This is great work! I would agree on many of the choices and placings in the list. Great to see Jean-Michel Jarre in there. Some of these artists I haven't heard of yet, so this serves as a great reference point to dig more deeply into the best decade for music - thank you. Quite obviously you love your Beatles, all of them :)
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Rating:  
95/100
From 08/02/2023 10:21 | #298449
An excellent chart & excellent notes too.
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Rating:  
95/100
From 07/16/2019 12:01 | #239705
Mis à part Mike Oldfield (non, là, je ne peux vraiment pas !), c'est un excellent classement. Good job !
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Rating:  
90/100
From 12/17/2018 00:53 | #227323
23 albums in common! Yeah!
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Rating:  
95/100
From 12/16/2018 11:13 | #227248
Some of my favourite albums ever are in your top 10, and I love 1971 too!
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Rating:  
95/100
From 02/09/2018 01:03 | #207439
Bloody good 70s chart. And J'aime beacoup the notes. J'adore most of the albums and there are a few I want to check out. Very well done mon ami.
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Rating:  
90/100
From 02/08/2018 23:38 | #207435
A lot in common.
Great choices for the best decade for music.
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Rating:  
90/100
From 02/08/2018 15:02 | #207411
Good!
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Rating:  
95/100
From 02/08/2018 09:39 | #207408
Even though I'd say there's probably a little too much emphasis on classic rock over underground rock for my liking (esp krautrock, Rubycon is the only good German album from the 70s??) your breadth of knowledge is impressive, as are the album notes. Very well done!!
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Rating:  
90/100
From 10/09/2017 12:41 | #199305
Tres bien, monsiuer. Heh heh
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Best Artists of the 1970s
1. Pink Floyd
2. David Bowie
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Neil Young
5. The Rolling Stones
6. The Clash
7. Black Sabbath
8. Fleetwood Mac
9. Stevie Wonder
10. The Who
11. Genesis
12. Brian Eno
13. Joni Mitchell
14. Paul McCartney
15. Yes
16. Bob Marley
17. Bob Dylan
18. Bruce Springsteen
19. Nick Drake
20. Marvin Gaye
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