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 51,000 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	1,942	265,662	Paranoid (56th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,044	342,477	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,072	269,887	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,979	276,582	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,842	142,105	Red (153rd)by King Crimson
1975	2,008	234,015	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,022	155,101	Songs In The Key Of Life (88th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,030	264,442	Rumours (23rd)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,052	147,197	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (202nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,005	219,902	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	19,996	2,317,369

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 (UK).

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The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

4,013 charts

Rank Score:

76,258

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

92 (5,141 votes)

Comments:

576

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

2,881 charts

Rank Score:

53,532

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (3,892 votes)

Comments:

305

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

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

2,910 charts

Rank Score:

53,016

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (3,402 votes)

Comments:

295

Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)

Led Zeppelin

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

3,047 charts

Rank Score:

47,183

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,717 charts

Rank Score:

38,565

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,054 votes)

Comments:

254

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

2,167 charts

Rank Score:

35,243

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

2,176 charts

Rank Score:

31,612

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

87 (3,373 votes)

Comments:

259

Animals

Pink Floyd

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

1,693 charts

Rank Score:

26,894

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

1,902 charts

Rank Score:

26,489

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,247 votes)

Comments:

185

10.

Who's Next

The Who

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

2,109 charts

Rank Score:

25,527

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (2,458 votes)

Comments:

199

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	106	11%
1971	101	10%
1972	107	11%
1973	109	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	96	10%
1976	88	9%
1977	93	9%
1978	107	11%
1979	98	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis (UK)	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Elton John	8	1%
The Rolling Stones	8	1%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	386	39%
	373	37%
	42	4%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	23	2%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	25	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	945	94%
Yes	57	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	990	99%
Yes	12	1%

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

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