Best Albums of the 1970s

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

Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 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	2,064	257,454	Paranoid (52nd)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,168	325,420	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,211	257,850	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,105	263,956	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	2,020	138,922	Red (140th)by King Crimson
1975	2,146	222,647	Wish You Were Here (6th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,151	149,970	Songs In The Key Of Life (85th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,157	254,450	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,206	145,708	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (207th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,145	210,978	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	21,373	2,227,353

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:

4,074 charts

Rank Score:

69,221

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,240 votes)

Comments:

584

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,938 charts

Rank Score:

49,482

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (3,972 votes)

Comments:

309

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

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,953 charts

Rank Score:

48,831

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,466 votes)

Comments:

299

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,090 charts

Rank Score:

43,064

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,781 charts

Rank Score:

35,308

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,104 votes)

Comments:

256

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

2,224 charts

Rank Score:

33,608

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,216 charts

Rank Score:

28,929

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (3,431 votes)

Comments:

262

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,728 charts

Rank Score:

24,979

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,935 charts

Rank Score:

24,299

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,285 votes)

Comments:

189

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,137 charts

Rank Score:

23,441

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,495 votes)

Comments:

200

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Total albums: 975. Page 1 of 98

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	108	11%
1971	98	10%
1972	102	10%
1973	107	11%
1974	99	10%
1975	98	10%
1976	90	9%
1977	90	9%
1978	109	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Elton John	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	388	39%
	369	37%
	42	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	24	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	975	98%
Yes	25	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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7. The Rolling Stones
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