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 42,000 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	1,559	287,356	Paranoid (67th)by Black Sabbath
1971	1,598	377,017	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	1,641	296,406	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,591	311,323	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,477	146,725	Red (163rd)by King Crimson
1975	1,628	263,410	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	1,547	153,781	Songs In The Key Of Life (130th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	1,592	286,556	Rumours (28th)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	1,603	153,452	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (183rd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	1,587	245,935	London Calling (19th)by The Clash
Total	15,823	2,521,960

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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12.

Blood On The Tracks

Bob Dylan

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,556 charts

Rank Score:

29,377

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (1,879 votes)

Comments:

139

14.

Marquee Moon

Television

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,470 charts

Rank Score:

26,862

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

17.

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

1,348 charts

Rank Score:

23,294

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

20.

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

1,288 charts

Rank Score:

21,285

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,596 votes)

Comments:

112

29.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

1,042 charts

Rank Score:

14,989

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

115

Average Rating:

84 (1,305 votes)

Comments:

30.

Innervisions

Stevie Wonder

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

931 charts

Rank Score:

14,365

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

122

Average Rating:

85 (1,079 votes)

Comments:

31.

Transformer

Lou Reed

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

1,049 charts

Rank Score:

13,998

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

125

Average Rating:

83 (1,315 votes)

Comments:

32.

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

930 charts

Rank Score:

13,614

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

130

Average Rating:

85 (1,039 votes)

Comments:

40.

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

783 charts

Rank Score:

11,421

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

162

Average Rating:

84 (972 votes)

Comments:

45.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Bruce Springsteen

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

737 charts

Rank Score:

10,406

Rank in 1978:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

183

Average Rating:

82 (966 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 368. Page 1 of 37

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	106	11%
1971	101	10%
1972	101	10%
1973	110	11%
1974	93	9%
1975	95	10%
1976	88	9%
1977	95	10%
1978	113	11%
1979	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Jethro Tull	10	1%
Yes	9	1%
Genesis	9	1%
Neil Young	8	1%
Frank Zappa	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	399	40%
	368	37%
	40	4%
	39	4%
	31	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	978	98%
Yes	22	2%

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

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Best Artists of the 1980s
1. The Smiths
2. Pixies
3. Prince
4. The Cure
5. Talking Heads
6. U2
7. Metallica
8. The Stone Roses
9. R.E.M.
10. Sonic Youth
11. Kate Bush
12. Bruce Springsteen
13. Michael Jackson
14. Tom Waits
15. Joy Division
16. Prince And The Revolution
17. Iron Maiden
18. New Order
19. Rush
20. Talk Talk