Best Albums of the 1970s
Explore the best albums of the 1970s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Click to see how the rankings are calculated
Last updated: 4 hours ago
Last updated: 4 hours ago
This chart is currently filtered to only show ParentBandID: 994. (Remove this filter)
"One of the most consistent Frank Zappa albums of the seventies(along with, bongo fury, and, zoot allures). Still sounds like nothing and no one else. Great googly woogly." Reply
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,475
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is a far more digestible Frank Zappa release with a lot of the songs sounding closer to the music at the time than the classic and abstract sound he usually performs. That makes this the perfect album in my opinion to start listening to Zappa as you still get the nuances but they are a lot m..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,050
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The instrumentation on this album is phenomenal with Zappa and the Mothers really showing off their prowess. The best example of this is the guitar which has so many amazing solos on this record and it completely dominates the album. This is then backed by some brilliant drum work and neat bass l..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
778
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"A thoroughly enjoyable album. Sheik yer bouti, features some of my favourite Frank Zappa songs. Bobby Brown, is off course wonderful, but other standouts are, flakes, broken hearts are for assholes, and, dancin' fool. I love the Zappa records from this period." Reply
Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
593
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Okay, this actually might be the album (all three acts and not only the first act as shown here) that finally made me appreciate Frank Zappa. I agree, it's a mess and the humour is also pretty dumb, but it definitely also has its charm including some actual quality music - ranging from super sill..." [+] Reply
- 
Mother Nature's Son | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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:
432
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Another solid release from sensation Zappa." Reply
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
390
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Along with Waka/Jawaka, this was made when Zappa was in a wheelchair, severely injured after being pushed by a lunatic into the orchestra pit in London. To me, this is the MUCH better of the two albums. Waka/Jawaka sounds like he was trying to force himself all the way into "jazz," which he never..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
389
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Omigod! This should be required listening for anyone that loves...ummm..."different." I adore this album." Reply
- 
Captain_Dude | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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.
"A decent outing from the early incarnation of The Mothers. Of their classics, this is one of the more easily digestible, making it a little bit less interesting to listen to. It's still chock-full of some great Zappa moments." Reply
- 
teague | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 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.
"I love this album. Also for me this is the best band that Zappa ever had." Reply
Total albums: 11. Page 1 of 2
Best Albums of the 1970s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 111 | 11% | |
| 1971 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1972 | 96 | 10% | |
| 1973 | 112 | 11% | |
| 1974 | 94 | 9% | |
| 1975 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1976 | 90 | 9% | |
| 1977 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1978 | 105 | 11% | |
| 1979 | 103 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Neil Young | 11 | 1% | |
| David Bowie | 11 | 1% | |
| Frank Zappa | 11 | 1% | |
| Bob Marley | 9 | 1% | |
| Paul McCartney | 9 | 1% | |
| Yes | 9 | 1% | |
| Genesis | 9 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
385 | 39% | |
 |
375 | 38% | |
 |
42 | 4% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
21 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1970s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 2 from 89th to 87th |
Up 1 from 100th to 99th |
Up 1 from 91st to 90th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 2 from 87th to 89th |
Down 1 from 20th to 21st |
Down 1 from 37th to 38th |
Email
Address
Forgotten passwords and other site notifications are sent to the email address saved on your profile.
If you've changed your email address recently, please remember to update it on your profile page.
(If you can't remember your password, and your email address is out of date, please contact us for assistance getting back into your account).
If you've changed your email address recently, please remember to update it on your profile page.
(If you can't remember your password, and your email address is out of date, please contact us for assistance getting back into your account).
