Best Albums of the 1970s

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

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

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	2,052	258,324	Paranoid (55th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,149	326,924	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,196	259,034	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,081	265,597	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,975	139,459	Red (141st)by King Crimson
1975	2,124	224,371	Wish You Were Here (6th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,117	150,002	Songs In The Key Of Life (86th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,133	254,743	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,184	145,510	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (206th)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,116	211,521	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	21,127	2,235,486

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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111.

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

490 charts

Rank Score:

3,752

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

111

Overall Rank:

478

Average Rating:

82 (601 votes)

Comments:

112.

Deep Purple In Rock

Deep Purple

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

513 charts

Rank Score:

3,723

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

112

Overall Rank:

482

Average Rating:

81 (656 votes)

Comments:

113.

Hejira

Joni Mitchell

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

368 charts

Rank Score:

3,687

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

113

Overall Rank:

485

Average Rating:

80 (433 votes)

Comments:

114.

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

493 charts

Rank Score:

3,672

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

114

Overall Rank:

488

Average Rating:

82 (513 votes)

Comments:

115.

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

514 charts

Rank Score:

3,637

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

115

Overall Rank:

493

Average Rating:

80 (638 votes)

Comments:

116.

Out Of The Blue

Electric Light Orchestra

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

485 charts

Rank Score:

3,612

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

116

Overall Rank:

498

Average Rating:

79 (595 votes)

Comments:

117.

Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

526 charts

Rank Score:

3,528

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

117

Overall Rank:

508

Average Rating:

80 (636 votes)

Comments:

118.

Talking Heads: 77

Talking Heads

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

587 charts

Rank Score:

3,496

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

118

Overall Rank:

514

Average Rating:

82 (840 votes)

Comments:

119.

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

551 charts

Rank Score:

3,443

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

119

Overall Rank:

524

Average Rating:

81 (688 votes)

Comments:

120.

Closing Time

Tom Waits

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

414 charts

Rank Score:

3,436

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

120

Overall Rank:

525

Average Rating:

80 (542 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 12 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	108	11%
1971	99	10%
1972	102	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	99	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	89	9%
1977	90	9%
1978	111	11%
1979	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	12	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Miles Davis	8	1%
Wishbone Ash	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	388	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	24	2%
	20	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	977	97%
Yes	26	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	60	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	12	1%

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

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