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 49,000 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	1,896	271,099	Paranoid (55th)by Black Sabbath
1971	1,960	352,874	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	1,989	277,992	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,907	284,589	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,775	144,281	Red (155th)by King Crimson
1975	1,938	241,562	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	1,921	158,549	Songs In The Key Of Life (89th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	1,932	271,910	Rumours (24th)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	1,966	150,180	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (197th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	1,923	227,176	London Calling (19th)by The Clash
Total	19,207	2,380,213

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.

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Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,021 charts

Rank Score:

49,385

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,830 votes)

Comments:

298

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,092 charts

Rank Score:

26,768

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

13.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,756 charts

Rank Score:

24,122

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

18.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,510 charts

Rank Score:

20,735

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

19.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,541 charts

Rank Score:

20,461

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,829 votes)

Comments:

133

21.

Blue

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,292 charts

Rank Score:

18,263

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

84 (1,424 votes)

Comments:

104

36.

Meddle

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,070 charts

Rank Score:

11,330

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

37.

Can

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

873 charts

Rank Score:

11,149

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

144

Average Rating:

84 (997 votes)

Comments:

47.

L.A. Woman

The Doors

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

980 charts

Rank Score:

9,156

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

191

Average Rating:

83 (1,352 votes)

Comments:

57.

Fragile

Yes

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

765 charts

Rank Score:

7,621

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

236

Average Rating:

84 (1,034 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 102. Page 1 of 11

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	105	11%
1971	102	10%
1972	101	10%
1973	111	11%
1974	95	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	91	9%
1977	90	9%
1978	109	11%
1979	97	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Yes	9	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	387	39%
	371	37%
	41	4%
	40	4%
	37	4%
	22	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

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

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

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