Best Albums of the 1970s

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71.

The Cars 

 The Cars

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"Listening to it now, it still sounds like the future of rock music. The Cars' debut blended new wave, synth-rock, hard rock, power pop and 50s rock n' roll/rockabilly into a tight, compact and extremely catchy package. It's amazing that the band managed to pack this level of quality into their de...""Listening to it now, it still sounds like the future of rock music. The Cars' debut blended new wave, synth-rock, hard rock, power pop and 50s rock n' roll/rockabilly into a tight, compact and extremely catchy package. It's amazing that the band managed to pack this level of quality into their debut album. Very fresh and unique sound for the time. Even when compared to 80s new wave/rock artists, I can't really think of any artists who sound like the Cars. And even after new wave died out in the late-80s, in the 90s and 2000s, you can definitely hear the influence of this album and the Cars in general on bands like Weezer, The Killers, Green Day, Teenage Fanclub, the Strokes, Fountains of Wayne, Jimmy Eat World, etc. A must listen for any music listener. "  [+]  Reply

- rockingbyrd456 | 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:

1978

Appears in:

729 charts

Rank Score:

5,577

Rank in 1978:

3

Rank in 1970s:

71

Overall Rank:

294

Average Rating:

 81 (822 votes)

Comments:

65

72.

Bryter Layter 

 Nick Drake

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"'Hardcore Nick Drake fan' are we? Not a chance if you don't like Bryter Layter. True, there's no unaccompanied tracks on this unlike Nick's other LPs, but to call the album 'overproduced' is ridiculous. Robert Kirby's string arrangements are sublime, especially for the 3 instrumentals (all of whi...""'Hardcore Nick Drake fan' are we? Not a chance if you don't like Bryter Layter. True, there's no unaccompanied tracks on this unlike Nick's other LPs, but to call the album 'overproduced' is ridiculous. Robert Kirby's string arrangements are sublime, especially for the 3 instrumentals (all of which Nick was extremely proud of), the female backing vocals you abhor are only on one track ('Poor Boy') and are totally in keeping with the mood of it, and the sax on ...City Clock works brilliantly to take the listener away from the countryside and into a 'London street' (most likely in Soho) with jazz clubs and smoke lingering in the air. Couldn't agree more about 'Northern Sky' being the highlight, but to slag off the album that carries both the Hazey Jane tracks, Fly and especially One Of These Things First is nothing short of sacrilege. Understand some might like their Nick with a bottle of scotch in one hand and a handful of painkillers in the other but Nick was at his happiest here, and the true tragedy is that when this album - the one that Nick and everyone around him thought would bring wider public and critical acclaim - bombed he spiralled into depression (through a combination of failure and embarrassment) from which he never recovered. As it is, we're left with the most perfect discography of any artist I can think of. I implore you to listen to Bryter Layter again, ideally whilst driving through the countryside. Like all things Nick, it's insanely beautiful and crushingly sad in equal measure."  [+]  Reply

- Jimmy Dread | 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:

733 charts

Rank Score:

5,533

Rank in 1971:

12

Rank in 1970s:

72

Overall Rank:

301

Average Rating:

 83 (899 votes)

Comments:

69

73.

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs 

 Derek & The Dominos

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"Great band cutting loose, recorded badly but what can you do. Even if you're sick of the title song, the first three sides are great for just hearing Clapton and Jim Gordon and all these guys doing their thing. Bobby Whitlock, of course, is the piano player and second singer on this album. If you...""Great band cutting loose, recorded badly but what can you do. Even if you're sick of the title song, the first three sides are great for just hearing Clapton and Jim Gordon and all these guys doing their thing. Bobby Whitlock, of course, is the piano player and second singer on this album. If you go to YouTube and find his channel, he has in the last few months been doing a bunch of little talks sitting at a table with his wife, reminiscing about this album and All Things Must Pass especially, and his encounters with other rock stars, everybody from Keith Moon to Elvis. He has many, many stories and thoughts about this album, he's been putting up a video nearly every day recently; highly recommended. He responds to comments sometimes, but I don't have the guts to ask him how he feels about the sound quality of the thing. The legendary producer Tom Dowd gets lots of respect, deservedly so for much of his other work. But this is a great album for the playing, not for the sound, which is famously bad. One thing Whitlock did take exception to was Dowd saying in his memoirs that they had run dry of inspiration after the first three songs and then Duane Allman came in and energized everything. Whitlock said that was totally false and is angry that Dowd wrote it and made it history. Anyway, in addition to being a natural born musician, he's a good storyteller and you might want to check out his channel. "  [+]  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:

1970

Appears in:

788 charts

Rank Score:

5,510

Rank in 1970:

14

Rank in 1970s:

73

Overall Rank:

305

Average Rating:

 81 (968 votes)

Comments:

65

74.

Master Of Reality 

 Black Sabbath

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"It's a stoner rock album, it's a psychedelic rock album, it's a progressive rock album, it's a heavy metal album, and it's an effing trippy album. All the performers are playing their instruments to the highest point anyone can play them. There is not a single flaw all across the 35 minutes of in...""It's a stoner rock album, it's a psychedelic rock album, it's a progressive rock album, it's a heavy metal album, and it's an effing trippy album. All the performers are playing their instruments to the highest point anyone can play them. There is not a single flaw all across the 35 minutes of intense music they provided. Just board the bass line and close your eyes and let the graphics flow in. It will take you to one of the most intense and beautiful trips you'll ever go!"  [+]  Reply

- salahshoori | 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:

1971

Appears in:

734 charts

Rank Score:

5,461

Rank in 1971:

13

Rank in 1970s:

74

Overall Rank:

307

Average Rating:

 84 (1,066 votes)

Comments:

51

75.

Aladdin Sane 

 David Bowie

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"Slightly underrated since it's not iconic as Hunky Dory or Ziggy and not innovative as Station to Station or Low, but still a great David Bowie album. It follows the glam rock sound of Ziggy but with a more "americanized" sound and themes. Instumentally possibly Bowie's best, with incredible guit...""Slightly underrated since it's not iconic as Hunky Dory or Ziggy and not innovative as Station to Station or Low, but still a great David Bowie album. It follows the glam rock sound of Ziggy but with a more "americanized" sound and themes. Instumentally possibly Bowie's best, with incredible guitar playing from Mick Ronson who achieves such an amazing crunchy guitar tone on this one and sublime piano work from Mike Garson."  [+]  Reply

- Daydreamer | 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:

1973

Appears in:

809 charts

Rank Score:

5,422

Rank in 1973:

8

Rank in 1970s:

75

Overall Rank:

309

Average Rating:

 82 (1,327 votes)

Comments:

82

76.

Trans Europa Express 

 Kraftwerk

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"Sure, everyone wants to talk about how this is the start of techno but that's not why this album is good. Kraftwerk built a hypnotic, robotic environment that's a cold creepy place to get lost in. It's a prediction a the future we've only just recently entered where our souls have been lost to ma...""Sure, everyone wants to talk about how this is the start of techno but that's not why this album is good. Kraftwerk built a hypnotic, robotic environment that's a cold creepy place to get lost in. It's a prediction a the future we've only just recently entered where our souls have been lost to machines. "  [+]  Reply

- meccalecca | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +13 votes (15 helpful | 2 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:

1977

Appears in:

732 charts

Rank Score:

5,396

Rank in 1977:

11

Rank in 1970s:

76

Overall Rank:

311

Average Rating:

 82 (914 votes)

Comments:

53

77.

Raw Power 

 Iggy And The Stooges

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"It's always tough for an album whose opening track begs for endless repetition. As a result of listening to "Search and Destroy" and then needing to listen to "Search and Destroy" twenty more times, I've only been able to get all the way through Raw Power on a handful of occasions. Still, it was ...""It's always tough for an album whose opening track begs for endless repetition. As a result of listening to "Search and Destroy" and then needing to listen to "Search and Destroy" twenty more times, I've only been able to get all the way through Raw Power on a handful of occasions. Still, it was always very worth it (though maybe I should have spent that time just listening to "Search and Destroy" instead...)"  [+]  Reply

- weedygonsalez | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 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:

813 charts

Rank Score:

5,271

Rank in 1973:

9

Rank in 1970s:

77

Overall Rank:

317

Average Rating:

 83 (1,028 votes)

Comments:

65

78.

Aqualung 

 Jethro Tull

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"I was a 16-year old camp counselor in training, far from home in a primitive forest. I ran a high fever for two days with a horrific bout of tonsillitis. All I could do was lay on a bunk in a cabin with no air conditioning and listen to my records on headphones, sweating and hallucinating. This w...""I was a 16-year old camp counselor in training, far from home in a primitive forest. I ran a high fever for two days with a horrific bout of tonsillitis. All I could do was lay on a bunk in a cabin with no air conditioning and listen to my records on headphones, sweating and hallucinating. This was one of those records. I cannot be objective about believing it is an all-time great."  [+]  Reply

- kcendsley1 | 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:

754 charts

Rank Score:

5,248

Rank in 1971:

14

Rank in 1970s:

78

Overall Rank:

318

Average Rating:

 83 (1,002 votes)

Comments:

59

79.

This Year's Model 

 Elvis Costello

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"I dismissed Elvis Costello as a wuss that bohemian girls liked, but nobody else would, until I dated a super-hot bohemian girl who insisted I give him a fair try. Was it my hormones or my brain that convinced me I was wrong? I'd say it was somewhere in my gut. This album should win anyone over."  Reply

- junodog4 | 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:

1978

Appears in:

733 charts

Rank Score:

5,214

Rank in 1978:

4

Rank in 1970s:

79

Overall Rank:

319

Average Rating:

 81 (893 votes)

Comments:

54

80.

Déjà Vu 

 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

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"Crosby, Stills & Nash released their first album very succesful in 1969, and in 1970 with the addition of Neil Young they were ready to release a second album, "Deja Vu". The three original members were all experienced songwriters and great singers, and with Neil Young on top of the hat, it could...""Crosby, Stills & Nash released their first album very succesful in 1969, and in 1970 with the addition of Neil Young they were ready to release a second album, "Deja Vu". The three original members were all experienced songwriters and great singers, and with Neil Young on top of the hat, it could hardly go wrong; and It did not. All four members contribute two songs each. Moreover, the two old friends from Buffalo Springfield, Stills and Young together wrote the finale number, "Everybody I Love You". Finall they recorded a cover-version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" . The Woodstock Festival was an event the four members took an active part in. There is a lot to go for on this album, not least the beautiful harmony vocal arrangements. The songwriting is also of very high class. Both Nash's contributions are among the best he has written, "Our House" is great and "Teach Your Children" has probably already become a classic, covered by several other artists Both Neil Young's songs are also very fine - in particular the very moving to "Helpless". Still's upbeat "Carry On" is a perfect opening number. A complex composition that shows many different facets of the group. His quiet acoustic "4 and 20" is a sweet little song and one of the simplest on the album. I've always had it a bit difficult with David Crosby's songs. They often seem somewhat convoluted. "Almost Cut My Hair" is a blues-like number, very well arranged, but with corny hippie-like lyrics. The titletrack is more unconventional - again with a somewhat pretentious lyrics. The closing-track "Everybody I Love You" - sounds much like a Steve Stills number, almost as good as the opening-track. "Woodstock" is probably the most rocking song on the album - strong but perhaps not as interesting as the group's own original songs."  [+]  Reply

- Rovers | 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:

1970

Appears in:

783 charts

Rank Score:

5,155

Rank in 1970:

15

Rank in 1970s:

80

Overall Rank:

325

Average Rating:

 83 (904 votes)

Comments:

58

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 8 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%