Best Albums of the 1970s
Explore the best albums of the 1970s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 59,000 charts.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
"Formulaic? The Kick Inside was an original pioneering debut and unlike anything else on the airwaves at the time. A brilliant album considering the context that it was first. It has somewhat less impact today because of 30 years of "borrowing and honouring" by artists such as Tori Amos." Reply
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Freddie55 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,157
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Comments:
"I've found myself coming back to this album much more often than What's Goin On, the album that inspired it and is often compared to. Both albums are classics tackling similar themes of the plights of black men living in 60's and 70's America, with What's Goin On talking more generally about the ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1972
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Rank Score:
3,099
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"..........if you listen very quietly, and very carefully, you may just hear the sound of a new kind of world being imagined................many ways to appreciate his art, so many pauses and pulses between the strums. this little gem has silence at its core. his voice is utterly fantastic, with a..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1970
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Rank Score:
3,077
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"Muscular and lean, this album packed a lot of punch in a short amount of time. The first Stones album that I loved at first listen. I still have the original vinyl cover with the celebrities photos before they had to redesign the cover." Reply
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,029
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Comments:
"A great debut album. His performances hadn't caught up to his songwriting yet, which is actually part of the charm here." Reply
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Romanelli | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,011
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"probably the most fun and party-friendly doors album. you can play it front to back without feeling like you need to get your hands on some peyote, they probably had fun just jamming while makin this album" Reply
Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,976
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Comments:
"I apologise to everyone on behalf of the last reviewers overly-long, rambling, boring comment about other bands." Reply
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InsanityPrawnBoy | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (6 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,972
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"'Tonight's the Night' is album number 1 in Neil Young's iconic "Ditch Trilogy" which encompasses 'Tonight's The Night' recorded 1973 and released 1975 , 'Time Fades Away' 1973 and 'On the Beach' 1974. 'Tonight's the Night' is not only one of Neil Young's greatest albums it is one of rocks greates..." [+] Reply
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Brad1770 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,961
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"sheer bloody genius. If this lp only contained Tightrope alone it would be classic (like carry on my wayward son is the only classic song on that Kansas lp) but there is also Telephone Line, Do Ya and Livin Thing. In it's day, it sold for a new world record too." Reply
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,928
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"I think this one is more fun than their debut, which is always ranked higher for some reason. Their new drummer was better too. It's a great album to rock out to on a summer day. The Ramones are synonymous with fun for me, and this album is a lot of fun!" Reply
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Mr. Shankly | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,918
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 13 of 100
Best Albums of the 1970s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 111 | 11% | |
| 1971 | 101 | 10% | |
| 1972 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1973 | 111 | 11% | |
| 1974 | 93 | 9% | |
| 1975 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1976 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1977 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1978 | 106 | 11% | |
| 1979 | 103 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Neil Young | 11 | 1% | |
| David Bowie | 11 | 1% | |
| Frank Zappa | 11 | 1% | |
| Bob Marley | 9 | 1% | |
| Paul McCartney | 9 | 1% | |
| Yes | 9 | 1% | |
| Genesis | 9 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
385 | 38% | |
 |
376 | 38% | |
 |
42 | 4% | |
 |
39 | 4% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
20 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Recognised
Decade Charts (2020s)
