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 41,000 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	1,545	284,665	Paranoid (67th)by Black Sabbath
1971	1,583	373,949	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	1,623	293,236	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,583	309,128	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,464	145,221	Red (165th)by King Crimson
1975	1,613	261,124	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	1,536	151,701	Songs In The Key Of Life (129th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	1,582	283,696	Rumours (28th)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	1,596	152,104	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (182nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	1,575	244,553	London Calling (19th)by The Clash
Total	15,700	2,499,376

The best artists of the 1970s were Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and Bruce Springsteen.

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31.

Transformer

Lou Reed

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,030 charts

Rank Score:

13,636

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

128

Average Rating:

83 (1,302 votes)

Comments:

32.

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

926 charts

Rank Score:

13,636

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

129

Average Rating:

85 (1,030 votes)

Comments:

33.

Station To Station

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

840 charts

Rank Score:

13,159

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

135

Average Rating:

85 (1,229 votes)

Comments:

34.

Selling England By The Pound

Genesis

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

794 charts

Rank Score:

12,988

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

138

Average Rating:

84 (1,010 votes)

Comments:

35.

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

913 charts

Rank Score:

12,883

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

140

Average Rating:

84 (1,039 votes)

Comments:

36.

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

905 charts

Rank Score:

12,651

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

37.

Can

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

756 charts

Rank Score:

12,299

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

147

Average Rating:

84 (868 votes)

Comments:

38.

Meddle

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

910 charts

Rank Score:

12,292

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

148

Average Rating:

84 (1,618 votes)

Comments:

39.

Quadrophenia

The Who

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

797 charts

Rank Score:

11,609

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

158

Average Rating:

84 (1,133 votes)

Comments:

40.

Red

King Crimson

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

652 charts

Rank Score:

11,224

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

163

Average Rating:

86 (827 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 4 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	109	11%
1971	99	10%
1972	101	10%
1973	110	11%
1974	93	9%
1975	95	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	95	10%
1978	111	11%
1979	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis	9	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Yes	9	1%
Elton John	8	1%
Frank Zappa	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	399	40%
	367	37%
	40	4%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	960	96%
Yes	40	4%

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

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Best Artists of the 1970s
1. Pink Floyd
2. David Bowie
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Neil Young
5. The Rolling Stones
6. The Clash
7. The Who
8. Fleetwood Mac
9. Black Sabbath
10. Bruce Springsteen
11. Genesis
12. Bob Dylan
13. Joy Division
14. Stevie Wonder
15. Yes
16. Nick Drake
17. Paul McCartney
18. Queen
19. Joni Mitchell
20. Bob Marley