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	1,941	265,679	Paranoid (56th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,043	342,637	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,070	270,049	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,977	276,800	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,842	142,123	Red (153rd)by King Crimson
1975	2,007	234,157	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,020	155,164	Songs In The Key Of Life (88th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,029	264,482	Rumours (23rd)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,049	147,255	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (202nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,005	219,935	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	19,983	2,318,282

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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21.

Blue

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,314 charts

Rank Score:

17,829

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,435 votes)

Comments:

106

22.

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,497 charts

Rank Score:

16,907

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,715 votes)

Comments:

127

23.

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,194 charts

Rank Score:

15,749

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,279 votes)

Comments:

24.

Close To The Edge

Yes

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,126 charts

Rank Score:

15,040

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,402 votes)

Comments:

113

25.

A Night At The Opera

Queen

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,377 charts

Rank Score:

14,070

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

26.

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

1,039 charts

Rank Score:

13,884

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

102

Average Rating:

85 (1,480 votes)

Comments:

27.

Harvest

Neil Young

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,305 charts

Rank Score:

13,769

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

104

Average Rating:

84 (1,643 votes)

Comments:

28.

Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,294 charts

Rank Score:

13,697

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

29.

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

1,288 charts

Rank Score:

13,619

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

106

Average Rating:

85 (1,972 votes)

Comments:

116

30.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,222 charts

Rank Score:

13,615

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

107

Average Rating:

84 (1,474 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	106	11%
1971	102	10%
1972	105	11%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	96	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	93	9%
1978	107	11%
1979	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis (UK)	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
AC/DC	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	386	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	25	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	57	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	12	1%

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