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	2,033	259,358	Paranoid (56th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,129	329,149	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,157	259,536	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,056	266,663	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,941	139,246	Red (144th)by King Crimson
1975	2,101	226,405	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,089	150,543	Songs In The Key Of Life (86th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,104	256,250	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,140	145,347	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (202nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,069	212,839	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	20,819	2,245,334

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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21.

Blue

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,329 charts

Rank Score:

17,111

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,448 votes)

Comments:

108

22.

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,519 charts

Rank Score:

16,310

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,738 votes)

Comments:

129

29.

Harvest

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,322 charts

Rank Score:

13,234

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

106

Average Rating:

84 (1,665 votes)

Comments:

52.

On The Beach

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

785 charts

Rank Score:

7,935

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

211

Average Rating:

84 (949 votes)

Comments:

94.

2112

Rush

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

614 charts

Rank Score:

4,648

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

384

Average Rating:

80 (924 votes)

Comments:

95.

Rust Never Sleeps
Live

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

642 charts

Rank Score:

4,580

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

390

Average Rating:

84 (854 votes)

Comments:

109.

Songs Of Love And Hate

Leonard Cohen

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

506 charts

Rank Score:

3,871

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

109

Overall Rank:

464

Average Rating:

83 (598 votes)

Comments:

112.

Hejira

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

360 charts

Rank Score:

3,701

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

112

Overall Rank:

486

Average Rating:

80 (427 votes)

Comments:

124.

Tonight's The Night

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

530 charts

Rank Score:

3,362

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

124

Overall Rank:

538

Average Rating:

82 (733 votes)

Comments:

131.

Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

477 charts

Rank Score:

3,133

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

131

Overall Rank:

564

Average Rating:

82 (559 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 42. Page 1 of 5

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	107	11%
1971	101	10%
1972	100	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	93	9%
1977	91	9%
1978	105	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Yes	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	387	39%
	372	37%
	42	4%
	38	4%
	36	4%
	25	3%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	973	97%
Yes	27	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	941	94%
Yes	59	6%

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

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

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Best Albums of 1956
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3. Pithecanthropus Erectus by Charles Mingus
4. Ella & Louis by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
5. Ellington At Newport by Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
6. Lady Sings The Blues by Billie Holiday
7. Elvis by Elvis Presley
8. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book by Ella Fitzgerald
9. J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould
10. The Wildest! by Louis Prima
11. This Is Fats Domino! by Fats Domino
12. Music Of India - Three Classical Ragas On Sitar by Ravi Shankar
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14. Jazz At Massey Hall by The Quintet
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16. Calypso by Harry Belafonte
17. Rock And Rollin' With Fats Domino by Fats Domino
18. Moondog by Moondog
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