Best Albums of the 1970s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 51,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1970s decade summary
YearAlbums 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.
19701,987262,994
19712,079337,540
19722,103266,053
19732,024272,915
19741,894141,123
Red (149th)by King Crimson
19752,060231,496
19762,055153,219
19772,066261,592
19782,092146,615
19792,027217,568
Total20,3872,291,115

The best artists of the 1970s were Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Black Sabbath and Genesis (UK).
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Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
74,565
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Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
52,449
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Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
51,811
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
45,800
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,949
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Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
34,652
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30,860
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Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,285
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,837
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Year of Release:
1971
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25,046
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Total albums: 988. Page 1 of 99

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year Albums %


1970 106 11%
1971 102 10%
1972 103 10%
1973 109 11%
1974 97 10%
1975 97 10%
1976 89 9%
1977 92 9%
1978 106 11%
1979 99 10%
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 387 39%
United States 373 37%
Canada 42 4%
Germany 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 32 3%
Brazil 24 2%
Jamaica 21 2%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 975 98%
Yes 25 3%
Live? Albums %
No 943 94%
Yes 57 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 988 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Albums of the 1980s
1. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
2. Doolittle by Pixies
3. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
4. Disintegration by The Cure
5. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses
6. The Joshua Tree by U2
7. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
8. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth
9. Closer by Joy Division
10. Thriller by Michael Jackson
11. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution
12. Surfer Rosa by Pixies
13. Master Of Puppets by Metallica
14. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
15. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
16. Graceland by Paul Simon
17. Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk
18. Back In Black by AC/DC
19. Murmur by R.E.M.
20. Moving Pictures by Rush (CA)
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