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	2,037	258,880	Paranoid (56th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,133	328,739	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,173	259,186	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	2,059	266,383	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,949	139,176	Red (144th)by King Crimson
1975	2,102	226,087	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,092	150,305	Songs In The Key Of Life (86th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,107	256,046	Rumours (21st)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,148	145,069	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (202nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,077	212,636	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	20,877	2,242,506

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.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Share | |

Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

551.

T.N.T.

AC/DC

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

88 charts

Rank Score:

487

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

551

Overall Rank:

3,076

Average Rating:

75 (169 votes)

Comments:

552.

Two Sevens Clash

Culture

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

102 charts

Rank Score:

487

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

552

Overall Rank:

3,081

Average Rating:

78 (89 votes)

Comments:

553.

Best Dressed Chicken In Town

Dr. Alimantado

Year of Release:

1978

Appears in:

70 charts

Rank Score:

487

Rank in 1978:

Rank in 1970s:

553

Overall Rank:

3,084

Average Rating:

77 (57 votes)

Comments:

554.

1962-1966
Compilation

The Beatles

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

109 charts

Rank Score:

486

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

554

Overall Rank:

3,091

Average Rating:

85 (422 votes)

Comments:

555.

There's The Rub

Wishbone Ash

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

34 charts

Rank Score:

482

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

555

Overall Rank:

3,108

Average Rating:

79 (50 votes)

Comments:

556.

No. 1 In Heaven

Sparks

Year of Release:

1979

Appears in:

77 charts

Rank Score:

481

Rank in 1979:

Rank in 1970s:

556

Overall Rank:

3,110

Average Rating:

79 (100 votes)

Comments:

557.

Minstrel In The Gallery

Jethro Tull

Year of Release:

1975

Appears in:

103 charts

Rank Score:

481

Rank in 1975:

Rank in 1970s:

557

Overall Rank:

3,116

Average Rating:

77 (153 votes)

Comments:

558.

Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon

James Taylor

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

80 charts

Rank Score:

479

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

558

Overall Rank:

3,120

Average Rating:

74 (95 votes)

Comments:

559.

America

Year of Release:

1971

Appears in:

119 charts

Rank Score:

477

Rank in 1971:

Rank in 1970s:

559

Overall Rank:

3,126

Average Rating:

76 (139 votes)

Comments:

560.

Pendulum

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

131 charts

Rank Score:

476

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

560

Overall Rank:

3,130

Average Rating:

75 (231 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
55
56
57
...
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 56 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	107	11%
1971	101	10%
1972	100	10%
1973	108	11%
1974	97	10%
1975	99	10%
1976	93	9%
1977	91	9%
1978	105	11%
1979	99	10%

Artist	Albums	%

David Bowie	11	1%
Genesis	10	1%
Jethro Tull	9	1%
Wishbone Ash	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Yes	8	1%
Elton John	8	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	387	39%
	372	37%
	42	4%
	38	4%
	36	4%
	25	3%
	21	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	973	97%
Yes	27	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	941	94%
Yes	59	6%

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

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

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Popular Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
3. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
4. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
5. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
6. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
7. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
8. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
9. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
10. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
11. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
12. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
13. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
14. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
15. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
16. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
18. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
19. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Channel 4 (2005)
20. All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (UK) (1985)