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 51,000 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	1,988	262,430	Paranoid (59th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,081	336,785	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,102	265,746	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,026	272,945	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,897	141,139	Red (149th)by King Crimson
1975	2,061	231,419	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,058	153,176	Songs In The Key Of Life (87th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,070	261,347	Rumours (23rd)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,095	146,455	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (199th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,030	217,287	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	20,408	2,288,729

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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The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,025 charts

Rank Score:

74,584

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,169 votes)

Comments:

577

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,897 charts

Rank Score:

52,615

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (3,912 votes)

Comments:

306

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

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,919 charts

Rank Score:

51,664

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,419 votes)

Comments:

297

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,055 charts

Rank Score:

45,751

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,738 charts

Rank Score:

37,915

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,062 votes)

Comments:

255

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

2,181 charts

Rank Score:

34,674

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,186 charts

Rank Score:

30,829

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,384 votes)

Comments:

260

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,697 charts

Rank Score:

26,274

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,908 charts

Rank Score:

25,805

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,253 votes)

Comments:

185

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,121 charts

Rank Score:

25,035

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,467 votes)

Comments:

199

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	106	11%
1971	102	10%
1972	103	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	97	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	92	9%
1978	106	11%
1979	100	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis (UK)	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Yes	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	387	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	24	2%
	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%

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