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	268,411	Paranoid (55th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,014	348,992	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,040	274,637	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,953	281,557	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,819	144,073	Red (156th)by King Crimson
1975	1,981	238,622	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	1,970	157,669	Songs In The Key Of Life (88th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	1,974	269,201	Rumours (24th)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,009	149,579	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (200th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	1,967	224,537	London Calling (19th)by The Clash
Total	19,650	2,357,278

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:

78,568

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,106 votes)

Comments:

575

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,866 charts

Rank Score:

54,958

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:

2,893 charts

Rank Score:

54,059

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,375 votes)

Comments:

295

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,038 charts

Rank Score:

48,435

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,716 charts

Rank Score:

40,096

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:

2,147 charts

Rank Score:

35,599

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,168 charts

Rank Score:

32,622

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,360 votes)

Comments:

259

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,681 charts

Rank Score:

27,681

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,886 charts

Rank Score:

27,042

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (2,234 votes)

Comments:

185

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,099 charts

Rank Score:

26,165

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	108	11%
1974	96	10%
1975	98	10%
1976	92	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%
Elton John	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	390	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	38	4%
	33	3%
	21	2%
	20	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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