Best Albums of the 1970s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1970s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1970	2,040	260,326	Paranoid (54th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,137	329,133	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,176	260,297	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,063	267,601	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,951	139,644	Red (144th)by King Crimson
1975	2,105	226,214	Wish You Were Here (7th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,100	150,292	Songs In The Key Of Life (86th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,112	256,273	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,157	145,878	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (203rd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,086	212,902	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	20,927	2,248,559

The best artists of the 1970s were Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, The Who and Genesis.

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The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,043 charts

Rank Score:

71,060

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,208 votes)

Comments:

582

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,916 charts

Rank Score:

50,950

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (3,951 votes)

Comments:

308

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,936 charts

Rank Score:

50,158

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,450 votes)

Comments:

299

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,070 charts

Rank Score:

44,309

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,756 charts

Rank Score:

36,132

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,085 votes)

Comments:

256

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

2,199 charts

Rank Score:

34,069

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,206 charts

Rank Score:

30,138

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,414 votes)

Comments:

261

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,713 charts

Rank Score:

25,617

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,920 charts

Rank Score:

25,040

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (2,274 votes)

Comments:

189

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,131 charts

Rank Score:

24,130

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,489 votes)

Comments:

200

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Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	107	11%
1971	100	10%
1972	102	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	90	9%
1977	91	9%
1978	107	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Wishbone Ash	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Yes	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	389	39%
	371	37%
	42	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	24	2%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	974	97%
Yes	26	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	940	94%
Yes	60	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

« View best albums of the 1960sView best albums of the 1980s »

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