Best Albums of the 1970s

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
YearAlbums 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.
19702,021259,484
19712,121330,387
19722,154260,373
19732,052267,675
19741,934139,621
Red (144th)by King Crimson
19752,095226,945
19762,088151,216
19772,101257,092
19782,133145,650
19792,067213,566
Total20,7662,252,009

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
218
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
993.
Live 
Live
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
217
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
216
Rank in 1979:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
216
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
216
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
215
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
213
Rank in 1976:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
213
Rank in 1971:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
213
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year Albums %


1970 106 11%
1971 101 10%
1972 101 10%
1973 109 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%
Joni Mitchell 8 1%
Pink Floyd 8 1%
Yes 8 1%
Elton John 8 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 386 39%
United States 374 37%
Canada 42 4%
Germany 38 4%
Mixed Nationality 33 3%
Brazil 25 2%
Jamaica 21 2%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 973 97%
Yes 28 3%
Live? Albums %
No 941 94%
Yes 60 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 989 99%
Yes 12 1%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
3. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
4. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
5. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
6. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
7. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
8. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
9. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
10. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
11. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
12. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
13. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
14. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
15. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
16. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
17. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
18. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
19. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
20. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
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