Best Albums of the 1970s

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371.

The Soundtrack From The Film The Song Remains The Same 
Live soundtrack

 Led Zeppelin

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"I have very mixed feelings on this album. On one hand, the reissue is great. More and better tracks from what the original offered, to say the least. The problem with this album stems from the night itself. Not the recording or producing or tracklisting, but the show itself. The fact of the matte...""I have very mixed feelings on this album. On one hand, the reissue is great. More and better tracks from what the original offered, to say the least. The problem with this album stems from the night itself. Not the recording or producing or tracklisting, but the show itself. The fact of the matter is simply the entire band was just off their game that night. They were tired, weary, and homesick, and it really reflects on their playing. From the opening beat of Rock and Roll, you can tell something is wrong. The playing isn't "incorrect" as much as it just sounds lazy, and weak. Bonham sounds like he doesn't want to be there. He's done with the tour at this point, he wants to go home. Who can blame him? After 5 years of constant touring, it was beginning to take a serious toll on the band. Jones was rumored to quit, Robert severely damaged his voice, and it was probably around this time Jimmy Page started doing much harder drugs than weed and cigarettes. It's not that they were done as a band, but this was the beginning of the end. They had one real album left in them, but they were becoming undone more and more by the day. "  [+]  Reply

- PaperVinnie | 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:

1976

Appears in:

178 charts

Rank Score:

811

Rank in 1976:

29

Rank in 1970s:

371

Overall Rank:

2,034

Average Rating:

 77 (425 votes)

Comments:

16

372.

Lick My Decals Off, Baby 

 Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band

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"My wife bought this for me as an anniversary present. She must love me loads."  Reply

- lancashirearab | 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:

1970

Appears in:

120 charts

Rank Score:

810

Rank in 1970:

46

Rank in 1970s:

372

Overall Rank:

2,035

Average Rating:

 76 (179 votes)

Comments:

8

373.

Barrett 

 Syd Barrett

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"Hmmmm .... Well, upon first listen, this might seem to actually be a better album than Madcap. The compositions are as zany as ever, with playful lyrics and simply bizarre melodies. Also, the backup band here (including Gilmour and Wright) has made sure to augment Syd's wackiness with some actual...""Hmmmm .... Well, upon first listen, this might seem to actually be a better album than Madcap. The compositions are as zany as ever, with playful lyrics and simply bizarre melodies. Also, the backup band here (including Gilmour and Wright) has made sure to augment Syd's wackiness with some actual, solid arrangements. Sounds all good, right? Well, no actually, it doesn't. The album may theoretically sound like an improvement over Madcap, but the problem is that it "improves" on Madcap in exactly the wrong way. Barrett's mental condition had only gotten worse since Madcap, which shows itself in some of the lyrics getting even nuttier than before, yet instead of emphasizing that aspect of Syd (which was very arguably just as crucial to his shtick as the actual songs were), Gilmour and Wright tried to mask this and make him appear as a relatively normal singer-songwriter (ha). Even more irritating is that the way they went about this was to make it sound somewhat like the contemporary Floyd albums (which I quite like, mind you), but with only about a tenth of the creative energy that went into Atom Heart Mother. The best example of this is the otherwise quite decent "Gigolo Aunt," where Wright spends what seems like forever after the main song has ended puttering with one of the most boring organ jams I can possibly conceive. Yet even when the Floyders aren't outright stealing time from Syd (like with the album's rolling 12-string guitar intro, which is nice but has absolutely nothing to do with what Barrett could do at the time), the dull organy arrangements often sound totally incompatible with Syd's childish ramblings, and that's bothersome to me. It's especially saddening to me that a good number of the songs here are right on the level of the best stuff from Madcap, and that I consequently somewhat long for the Soft Machine to come back and trip over themselves trying to follow Syd's nuttiness. The opening triad of "Baby Lemonade," "Love Song" and "Dominoes" are terrific melody-wise, and "Dominoes" is even nice enough to have some chaotic sliding guitar noise softly happening in the background that adequately reminds us that we're listening to freaking Syd Barrett and not Jimmy Buffett. I'm also a big fan of "Wined and Dined," which likely would have been a hit in the hands of a less cultish artist, with a simple-but-effective main melody that can't help but stick in my head for hours on end after hearing it. And, now that I think about it, "Waving My Arms in the Air" is a nice little ditty too. Unfortunately, the signs of serious decline are apparent over much of the rest of the album. Some of the songs are just kinda dull, but without the kind of eccentricity that showed up in the second half of Madcap. And then there's "Rats" and "Wolfpack," the two instances where Syd's madness are shown totally uncut. I know it's hypocrisy to have complained that the rest of the album made an attempt to mask his madness, and then to complain when the producer doesn't mask it, but these tracks don't show a genius turning into a madman; they just show a madman. It's an important part of his legacy, yes, but only as the sad conclusion to his decline. So in short, this here is one massively uneven album. It helps considerably that it ends with a song that Syd wrote when he was 12, called "Effervescing Elephant," which puts his silly ditty skills on display front and center, but one clear dose of genius does not an album make. I give it an 8 because there are quite a few nice gems on here, but unless you're already a big fan of Madcap, it's hard for me to give it a serious recommendation. "  [+]  Reply

- Tarkus1980 | 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:

1970

Appears in:

166 charts

Rank Score:

809

Rank in 1970:

47

Rank in 1970s:

373

Overall Rank:

2,039

Average Rating:

 75 (225 votes)

Comments:

7

374.

Equinoxe 

 Jean Michel Jarre

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"Équinoxe (English: "equinox") was the second major-label album release by French musician Jean Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus (with license to Polydor) in late 1978. The album reflects a day in the life of a human being, from morning to night. Parts 1 to 4 (i.e. side A) and tracks 5 to...""Équinoxe (English: "equinox") was the second major-label album release by French musician Jean Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus (with license to Polydor) in late 1978. The album reflects a day in the life of a human being, from morning to night.[citation needed] Parts 1 to 4 (i.e. side A) and tracks 5 to 8 (side B) segué smoothly from one to the next. Jarre had developed his sound, employing more dynamic and rhythmic elements, particularly a greater use of sequencing on basslines. Much of this was achieved using custom equipment developed by his collaborator Michel Geiss. The release was followed by a concert on the Place de la Concorde, Paris on July 14, 1979. The concert attracted 1 million people, becoming Jarre's first entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest crowd for an outdoor concert. Two singles were released from the album, "Équinoxe Part 5" first, and then "Équinoxe Part 4". Part of "Équinoxe Part 8" has been played live with different arrangements, including a version for an acoustic street organ, under the title of "Band in the Rain". The album reached #11 in the UK charts and #126 in the US charts.[2] During the 1980s, Équinoxe Part 4 was used in the opening credits of the TVNZ documentary series Our World. [3] [WikiPedia]"  [+]  Reply

- Marcelo Brandi | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:

1978

Appears in:

131 charts

Rank Score:

801

Rank in 1978:

37

Rank in 1970s:

374

Overall Rank:

2,060

Average Rating:

 79 (155 votes)

Comments:

8

375.

Live! 
Live

 Bob Marley & The Wailers

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"At last, a deluxe edition, which basically makes this version obsolete, is finally available. Both nights at the Lyceum in London are now featured on an excellent release. The gigs are fairly short (first night, 60 mins, second night, 70 mins) but that's just a small quibble. What matters is that...""At last, a deluxe edition, which basically makes this version obsolete, is finally available. Both nights at the Lyceum in London are now featured on an excellent release. The gigs are fairly short (first night, 60 mins, second night, 70 mins) but that's just a small quibble. What matters is that a previously great live album has now become an undisputed masterpiece and an essential release for any music fan. Absolutely brilliant. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:

1975

Appears in:

177 charts

Rank Score:

799

Rank in 1975:

31

Rank in 1970s:

375

Overall Rank:

2,062

Average Rating:

 80 (206 votes)

Comments:

4

376.

Aerosmith 

 Aerosmith

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"Their debut is actually quite good. Somewhat flawed, but fantastic highlights like "Dream On", "Movin' On", "Mama Kin. Derivative of the Stones and Zeppelin, but hey, they pretty much found their sound with the next album anyway so might as well start off with a good sound. Essential listening fo...""Their debut is actually quite good. Somewhat flawed, but fantastic highlights like "Dream On", "Movin' On", "Mama Kin. Derivative of the Stones and Zeppelin, but hey, they pretty much found their sound with the next album anyway so might as well start off with a good sound. Essential listening for any hard rock fan, especially if you like classic hard rock music. "  [+]  Reply

- kingofstorm | 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:

1973

Appears in:

185 charts

Rank Score:

797

Rank in 1973:

40

Rank in 1970s:

376

Overall Rank:

2,067

Average Rating:

 74 (316 votes)

Comments:

22

377.

This Heat 

 This Heat

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"A very minimalist album that does shine in places but also struggles to maintain my attention for the full run time. It has moments where it is really psychedelic and you end up getting lost in these crazy beats and rhythms which is exactly what the artist wants you to do. This is really helped b...""A very minimalist album that does shine in places but also struggles to maintain my attention for the full run time. It has moments where it is really psychedelic and you end up getting lost in these crazy beats and rhythms which is exactly what the artist wants you to do. This is really helped by the drums which are phenomenal on this album and are the real highlight for me. However, it just feels a bit to empty at times and it is so easy for me to switch off from the album. It can feel partly made at times as well and like it is missing something to complete the sound that they are trying to achieve. Overall, this album is an experience but doesn't have the quality to be amongst the greatest of all time. "  [+]  Reply

- Untitled | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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:

1979

Appears in:

126 charts

Rank Score:

797

Rank in 1979:

41

Rank in 1970s:

377

Overall Rank:

2,068

Average Rating:

 76 (131 votes)

Comments:

5

378.

Fare Forward Voyagers (Soldier's Choice) 

 John Fahey

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"Brilliant, but it needs more lenght. An hour version is ok, two hours are great, and the list goes on."  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 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:

1973

Appears in:

102 charts

Rank Score:

796

Rank in 1973:

41

Rank in 1970s:

378

Overall Rank:

2,070

Average Rating:

 78 (120 votes)

Comments:

1

379.

Frampton Comes Alive! 
Live

 Peter Frampton

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"Defining album (Along with Rumours) of its time. Hard to explain to those who weren't around, but this was one of those "must have" records. Still dig it - especially the last track."  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:

1976

Appears in:

231 charts

Rank Score:

795

Rank in 1976:

30

Rank in 1970s:

379

Overall Rank:

2,072

Average Rating:

 76 (261 votes)

Comments:

13

380.

Fireball 

 Deep Purple

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"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,...""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."  [+]  Reply

- mrmcrook | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 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:

211 charts

Rank Score:

791

Rank in 1971:

44

Rank in 1970s:

380

Overall Rank:

2,077

Average Rating:

 78 (311 votes)

Comments:

14

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 38 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Year	Albums	%
1970	110	11%
1971	99	10%
1972	97	10%
1973	112	11%
1974	94	9%
1975	97	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	93	9%
1978	106	11%
1979	103	10%

Artist	Albums	%
David Bowie	11	1%
Yes	9	1%
Genesis	9	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	388	39%
	373	37%
	43	4%
	39	4%
	38	4%
	20	2%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	986	99%
Yes	14	1%