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 50,000 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	1,923	268,672	Paranoid (55th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,013	349,129	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,039	274,743	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,953	281,896	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,817	144,166	Red (156th)by King Crimson
1975	1,981	239,022	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	1,969	157,585	Songs In The Key Of Life (89th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	1,974	269,404	Rumours (24th)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,009	149,724	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (199th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	1,965	224,833	London Calling (19th)by The Clash
Total	19,643	2,359,174

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.

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The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

3,987 charts

Rank Score:

78,729

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,107 votes)

Comments:

575

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,867 charts

Rank Score:

55,050

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (3,870 votes)

Comments:

305

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

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,891 charts

Rank Score:

54,117

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,376 votes)

Comments:

295

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,036 charts

Rank Score:

48,515

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,716 charts

Rank Score:

40,165

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,036 votes)

Comments:

253

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

2,144 charts

Rank Score:

35,557

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,169 charts

Rank Score:

32,674

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,361 votes)

Comments:

259

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,680 charts

Rank Score:

27,694

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,886 charts

Rank Score:

27,081

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (2,233 votes)

Comments:

185

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,098 charts

Rank Score:

26,206

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,445 votes)

Comments:

199

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	105	11%
1971	100	10%
1972	101	10%
1973	109	11%
1974	96	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	90	9%
1977	92	9%
1978	109	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Yes	9	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	391	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	39	4%
	33	3%
	21	2%
	19	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

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

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