Best Albums of 1971

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1.

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) 

 Led Zeppelin

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"Flawless album in my view, yes, including Four Sticks and Misty Mountain Hop. Some consider Stairway To Heaven to be on of if not the most overplayed song ever, but it's so amazing that I could listen to it a thousand more times. My favorite track on LZ4 is not Stairway or even Levee, but rather ...""Flawless album in my view, yes, including Four Sticks and Misty Mountain Hop. Some consider Stairway To Heaven to be on of if not the most overplayed song ever, but it's so amazing that I could listen to it a thousand more times. My favorite track on LZ4 is not Stairway or even Levee, but rather Going to California. On an album full of a loud and rocking songs, the sweet acoustic ballad is the one that really blew me away the most. Every song on here is a must-listen, 10/10. "  [+]  Reply

- Cojo7 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +16 votes (16 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,169 charts

Rank Score:

37,737

Rank in 1971:

1

Rank in 1970s:

4

Overall Rank:

11

Average Rating:

 90 (4,022 votes)

Comments:

307

2.

Who's Next 

 The Who

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"Who's next, derived from the aborted 'lifehouse' project, another Pete Townshend rock opera that he was unable to complete. In a way, that was a blessing in disguise, as it leaves us with a classic album full of fantastic songs. Who's next, had a strut and swagger about, it's obvious the band are...""Who's next, derived from the aborted 'lifehouse' project, another Pete Townshend rock opera that he was unable to complete. In a way, that was a blessing in disguise, as it leaves us with a classic album full of fantastic songs. Who's next, had a strut and swagger about, it's obvious the band are full of confidence after the success of, Tommy, and the, live at leeds, albums, and, who's next, whether it's your favourite Who album or not, it is the band's best, and all the members are at the top of their game. Opener, Baba O'Reilly, is one of The Who's most anthemic tracks, a fantastic song, and, bargain, is a great bluesy rock number. Love ain't for keeping, has a slight country rock feel, and John Entwistle contributes one of his best songs to the band with the darkly funny, my wife. Getting in tune, and, the epic, the song is over, are two excellent album tracks, while, behind blue eyes, is another classic Who moment. If there is a weak track it's probably the road anthem, going mobile, but this excellent album ends with one of the band's greatest songs. Won't get fooled again, is The Who at their brilliant best, an epic eight minute closing track, superb. Who's next, is one of the great all time rock albums, and it's probably for the best that Townshend didn't finish, lifehouse, as it might have ended up as bloated and overblown and the great songs here may have been lost in all the over ambition, as it is we are left with a tight and coherent record, a true rock classic. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,202 charts

Rank Score:

20,845

Rank in 1971:

2

Rank in 1970s:

10

Overall Rank:

40

Average Rating:

 86 (2,586 votes)

Comments:

201

3.

Hunky Dory 

 David Bowie

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"Fun album to listen. I don't find it inconsistent at all, every song in here contributes something to the album as a whole."  Reply

- Defago | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,874 charts

Rank Score:

18,951

Rank in 1971:

3

Rank in 1970s:

14

Overall Rank:

47

Average Rating:

 87 (2,458 votes)

Comments:

159

4.

What's Going On 

 Marvin Gaye

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"“In the morning, I’ll be alright my friend, but soon the night will bring the pain. Flying high in the friendly sky” What do you get when you combine the smoothest voice in the history of music with the greatest bass lines in the history of music, and hotbox a Motown studio full of marijuana? An ...""“In the morning, I’ll be alright my friend, but soon the night will bring the pain. Flying high in the friendly sky” What do you get when you combine the smoothest voice in the history of music with the greatest bass lines in the history of music, and hotbox a Motown studio full of marijuana? An album that is better than anything in its genre and in its decade - which is saying a lot when you consider all that happened in the 1970’s. If heroin could sing, it still wouldn’t sound as good as Marvin Gaye. I stand very firmly behind my opinion that Marvin Gaye possessed the greatest voice of all time. There are countless things to love about this album musically, the tight bass lines, the smooth aesthetic, the jazz feel, liberal use of assorted wind and stringed instruments, and the variety of percussion the crystal clear production that sounds as incredible in 2015 as it did in 1971. However, it’s Marvin’s show, and it’s his voice that carries the listener through the album. The man clearly had enormous talent, and it is displayed in its entirety on “What’s Going On”. Listening to Marvin Gaye perform live was akin to watching Michael Jordan make the final shot of the 1998 NBA finals, except better by several orders of magnitude because music is clearly a domain of excellence far superior to sports. One of his studio assistants was questioned at one point what the most difficult thing was when working with Marvin Gaye. The response was that it was so difficult to select which takes of his voice to keep and which to discard, because they were all so beautiful that it felt wrong to delete anything that he recorded. “What’s Going On” is about discontent - with culture, with politics, with discrimination, with the imperfect self. It came at a time when the Barry Gordy’s Motown record label was interested only in pumping out radio hits for profit and wasn’t interested in any of this introspective, challenging music. Gaye demanded it be released as he envisioned it and was nearly close to breaking ties with the record label. Marvin Gaye had a wild and remarkable career, plagued by the internal conflict which is was clear from his art, as well as his ongoing struggle with depression and multiple suicide attempts and drug addiction. It’s this struggle that fuels the beauty that is his music. His angelic voice carries just enough of a painful undertone to send shivers down the listener’s spine. That’s “What’s Going On”"  [+]  Reply

- corenfro | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,657 charts

Rank Score:

18,828

Rank in 1971:

4

Rank in 1970s:

15

Overall Rank:

48

Average Rating:

 85 (1,972 votes)

Comments:

146

5.

Sticky Fingers 

 The Rolling Stones

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"Whereas Exile is chaotic and unrestrained, Sticky Fingers is remarkably disciplined for an album this raunchy and soaked in sin."  Reply

- yonstein414 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,648 charts

Rank Score:

16,562

Rank in 1971:

5

Rank in 1970s:

18

Overall Rank:

63

Average Rating:

 86 (1,936 votes)

Comments:

137

6.

Blue 

 Joni Mitchell

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"There are a few words used to describe music that typically indicate I won't like it. Sparse, intimate, and voice-driven are some of them. And all three of them describe this album perfectly - as others have said, it is the sound of an artist laying their life bare with songs reflecting over thei...""There are a few words used to describe music that typically indicate I won't like it. Sparse, intimate, and voice-driven are some of them. And all three of them describe this album perfectly - as others have said, it is the sound of an artist laying their life bare with songs reflecting over their experiences. But somehow, in this case, it all comes together and creates what I believe to be the most perfect album ever crafted. It's one thing to have a great voice, and it's quite another to be able to use that voice and make it sound honest. If there's one word that describes (nearly) all of the music I enjoy it's honest. And if someone is clearing trying to hit high notes and sing in key that honesty is lost; that's why I often prefer bad singers to good ones. But Joni makes hitting the high notes sound incredibly effortless, and she integrates them perfectly into the rest of the song so that they don't stand out as if she's trying to impress with her voice. It's an album that is so well crafted that the voice is irrelevant, but she still manages to sing perfectly. And the song-writing - the stream-of-consciousness style she writes in is just tremendous. Picture Kurt Cobain if the thoughts in his head actually made sense. There is no pretense, there is no thought. These are the things she is thinking, and she's not manipulating them to sound like poetry. There are moments on this record that are incredibly general and could apply to anyone, and there are moments where the specificity is brilliant ("Richard got married to a figure skater, and he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator"). The songs reflect the era she lived in (Little Green / Blue) and her dreams for the future (River). Even when the lyrics blend into a more manufactured poetry they sound so heartbreakingly beautiful you can't fault it (Case of You). And of course there's a central theme that ties things together nicely - it wouldn't be a true album if the songs didn't feel like they belonged together. Not only is there the general sentiment of heartbreak that is described by colors (Blue and Green, obviously), but each song seems to dwell on a different aspect of the feeling (or the moments leading up to it). The songs also progress nicely, starting off hopeful and glad and then straying into sadness, depression, and what I wouldn't hesitate to call despair. It starts with hopes and dreams (the dream theme culminates in Carey and California) but by the end the illusion is shattered and the truths about love and life come out. My love for this album goes even beyond words, but somehow it's the one I find the most to say about and the most to discover more in. The number of times I've broken down sobbing to this album is not a single digit number."  [+]  Reply

- babyBlueSedan | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,385 charts

Rank Score:

15,864

Rank in 1971:

6

Rank in 1970s:

20

Overall Rank:

69

Average Rating:

 84 (1,521 votes)

Comments:

114

7.

Tago Mago 

 Can

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"The first half of the album draws you in with catchy studio jamming, cradling your brain in its fun and cerebral jam-oriented accessibility, just in time for the second half to take your now cradled brain and clamp down on it with a cestus filled with 24-karrot gold dust. It returns to recognizab...""The first half of the album draws you in with catchy studio jamming, cradling your brain in its fun and cerebral jam-oriented accessibility, just in time for the second half to take your now cradled brain and clamp down on it with a cestus filled with 24-karrot gold dust. It returns to recognizable form towards the end, but by the time "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" comes around, your brain has already been sonically reformed at least half a dozen times, and you'll be all the better off because of it. Not a single wasted moment exists on Tago Mago, despite its containing everything from 20 minute studio jams to almost as long dissonance fests/Damo Suzuki screeching sessions. This album can get as weird as it wants without ever having any risk of alienating of the listener. If anything, the weirdness just makes it more engaging; in fact the eccentric second half may do an even better job of engaging the listener than the undeniable catchy first half, and both wildly different halves of the album are integral to its whole as a landmark of free-from songcraft and studio excellence, both of which it gives an unrelenting exhibition from start to finish"  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

952 charts

Rank Score:

9,116

Rank in 1971:

7

Rank in 1970s:

40

Overall Rank:

155

Average Rating:

 83 (1,053 votes)

Comments:

78

8.

Meddle 

 Pink Floyd

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"I find it impossible to say that this one or that one is the best Pink Floyd album. I own 14 or 15 and love everyone of them just like children. They are all different and have personalities. Meddle is great and I could listen to Echoes on an endless loop. The one Pink Floyd album that can't seem...""I find it impossible to say that this one or that one is the best Pink Floyd album. I own 14 or 15 and love everyone of them just like children. They are all different and have personalities. Meddle is great and I could listen to Echoes on an endless loop. The one Pink Floyd album that can't seem to find any love from anyone but me is Ummagumma. it is definitely a headphones album! Maybe I just like it so much because when I first heard it 40 years ago I was tripping?"  [+]  Reply

- Freddie55 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +13 votes (13 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,125 charts

Rank Score:

8,591

Rank in 1971:

8

Rank in 1970s:

42

Overall Rank:

169

Average Rating:

 84 (2,000 votes)

Comments:

103

9.

L.A. Woman 

 The Doors

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"This is a band that is completely relaxed, completely focused on the music as they had noting to prove anymore. One of the best Blues albums I know. The only band besides the Beatles (Abbey Road) that succeeded to top their best work with their last recorded album, as many groups run out of energ...""This is a band that is completely relaxed, completely focused on the music as they had noting to prove anymore. One of the best Blues albums I know. The only band besides the Beatles (Abbey Road) that succeeded to top their best work with their last recorded album, as many groups run out of energy and inspiration after their debut. It is one of these rare albums that I can listen to on endless repeat, with the most commercial song "Love Her Madly" as the weakest one."  [+]  Reply

- catpower16 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,039 charts

Rank Score:

7,802

Rank in 1971:

9

Rank in 1970s:

45

Overall Rank:

192

Average Rating:

 83 (1,431 votes)

Comments:

76

10.

Tapestry 

 Carole King

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"Certainly one of the best albums ever made, as others have said every song is good, and there are some funny stories as well as heart felt reflections in there. A good selection of instruments as well. Its the sort of album you can listen to multiple times over and over."  Reply

- HenryVIII | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

850 charts

Rank Score:

6,554

Rank in 1971:

10

Rank in 1970s:

57

Overall Rank:

244

Average Rating:

 82 (957 votes)

Comments:

51

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 1971 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	11	1%
Elvis Presley	5	0%
The Rolling Stones	4	0%
John Mayall	3	0%
Fleetwood Mac	3	0%
Melanie	3	0%
James Brown	3	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	392	39%
	244	24%
	52	5%
	44	4%
	29	3%
	27	3%
	22	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	960	96%
Yes	44	4%

Live?	Albums	%
No	961	96%
Yes	43	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	98%
Yes	16	2%