Best Albums of the 1970s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Electric Light Orchestra. (Remove this filter)
"How is this ranked so low? Does pop music get much better?" Reply
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flamingyesdept | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (12 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,331
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"sheer bloody genius. If this lp only contained Tightrope alone it would be classic (like carry on my wayward son is the only classic song on that Kansas lp) but there is also Telephone Line, Do Ya and Livin Thing. In it's day, it sold for a new world record too." Reply
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,962
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Consistently interesting listen, with less of the ELO generic orchestra gimmickry. Probably their second best album for me, after their first. Best songs are the El Dorado Overture, Laredo Tornado and the finale." Reply
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,366
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Jeff Lynne was a popmeister. Confusion and Don't Bring Me Down were brilliant in that right but tracks like Midnight Blue cemented this as another solid outing by a band that was unabashedly Beatles-esque... yet not." Reply
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jhuik | 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:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,098
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I disagree that this is not a consistent album. In fact, it’s one of their most consistent. Everything is high quality, except for the cheesy “Down Home Town.” “Strange Magic,” “Evil Woman” and “Fire on High” are among the best things ELO ever did, and some of the catchiest, most innovative recor..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
741
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Honestly I’ve listened to this album a lot of times and I didn’t like a lot of it at first. Now I think it’s amazing through and through and believe it is their most underrated album. Oh No Not Susan and Bluebird is Dead have two of the most beautiful melodies I’ve ever heard. Showdown is one of ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
456
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"There's some real innovation originality and beauty on here. Whisper in the night is gorgeous Roy wood song. First movement is entertaining. Mr radio has a curious appeal. 10538 is a classic Some I skipped forever more after first listen. Battle of marston moor, queen of the hours etc." Reply
"This is a fantastic record, and I don't really understand how it's the lowest-ranked of ELO's original-run studio albums. It puts on display an ELO at their most uncompromising; the orchestral elements are used less as enhancements for pop songs and more to imbue an explicit classical music influ..." [+] Reply
Total albums: 8. Page 1 of 1
Best Albums of the 1970s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 110 | 11% | |
| 1971 | 100 | 10% | |
| 1972 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1973 | 111 | 11% | |
| 1974 | 93 | 9% | |
| 1975 | 98 | 10% | |
| 1976 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1977 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1978 | 105 | 11% | |
| 1979 | 103 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| David Bowie | 11 | 1% | |
| Genesis | 9 | 1% | |
| Yes | 9 | 1% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 8 | 1% | |
| Miles Davis | 8 | 1% | |
| Electric Light Orchestra | 8 | 1% | |
| Pink Floyd | 8 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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387 | 39% | |
 |
375 | 38% | |
 |
42 | 4% | |
 |
39 | 4% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
21 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
