Best Albums of the 1970s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1970s decade summary
YearAlbums 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.
19702,020259,558
19712,121330,509
19722,154260,454
19732,050267,766
19741,933139,569
Red (144th)by King Crimson
19752,095227,007
19762,088151,311
19772,101257,216
19782,133145,721
19792,066213,585
Total20,7612,252,696

The best artists of the 1970s were Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, The Who and Genesis.
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
17,100
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,327
Rank in 1970:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,218
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,976
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
94.
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,685
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,596
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,868
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,720
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,323
Rank in 1975:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,133
Rank in 1974:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 42. Page 1 of 5

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year Albums %


1970 106 11%
1971 101 10%
1972 101 10%
1973 108 11%
1974 97 10%
1975 99 10%
1976 93 9%
1977 92 9%
1978 105 11%
1979 99 10%
Artist Albums %


David Bowie 11 1%
Genesis 10 1%
Jethro Tull 9 1%
The Rolling Stones 8 1%
Wishbone Ash 8 1%
Joni Mitchell 8 1%
Pink Floyd 8 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 386 39%
United States 373 37%
Canada 42 4%
Germany 38 4%
Mixed Nationality 33 3%
Brazil 26 3%
Jamaica 21 2%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 974 97%
Yes 27 3%
Live? Albums %
No 941 94%
Yes 60 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 12 1%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
3. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
4. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
5. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
9. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
10. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
11. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
12. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
13. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
14. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
15. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
16. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
17. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
18. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
19. The Top 50 Albums of All Time by Sound & Vision Magazine (2010)
20. Die besten Alben aller Zeiten by Rolling Stone Deutschland (2004)
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