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 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	1,941	265,691	Paranoid (56th)by Black Sabbath
1971	2,043	342,789	Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) (12th)by Led Zeppelin
1972	2,070	270,253	The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stard... (9th)by David Bowie
1973	1,977	277,015	The Dark Side Of The Moon (2nd)by Pink Floyd
1974	1,842	142,140	Red (153rd)by King Crimson
1975	2,007	234,106	Wish You Were Here (8th)by Pink Floyd
1976	2,018	155,233	Songs In The Key Of Life (88th)by Stevie Wonder
1977	2,028	264,456	Rumours (23rd)by Fleetwood Mac
1978	2,048	147,076	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (202nd)by Bruce Springsteen
1979	2,003	219,727	London Calling (20th)by The Clash
Total	19,977	2,318,486

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).

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

61.

"Heroes"

David Bowie

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

837 charts

Rank Score:

7,108

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

250

Average Rating:

83 (1,425 votes)

Comments:

62.

Hotel California

Eagles

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

808 charts

Rank Score:

7,036

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

255

Average Rating:

76 (1,195 votes)

Comments:

63.

Loaded

The Velvet Underground

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

837 charts

Rank Score:

7,031

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

257

Average Rating:

82 (1,206 votes)

Comments:

64.

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs

Derek & The Dominos

Year of Release:

1970

Appears in:

743 charts

Rank Score:

6,876

Rank in 1970:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

264

Average Rating:

81 (924 votes)

Comments:

65.

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

Year of Release:

1974

Appears in:

647 charts

Rank Score:

6,613

Rank in 1974:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

273

Average Rating:

82 (760 votes)

Comments:

66.

The Clash

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

863 charts

Rank Score:

6,608

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

274

Average Rating:

82 (1,249 votes)

Comments:

67.

Band On The Run

Paul McCartney & Wings

Year of Release:

1973

Appears in:

751 charts

Rank Score:

6,607

Rank in 1973:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

275

Average Rating:

82 (971 votes)

Comments:

68.

Thick As A Brick

Jethro Tull

Year of Release:

1972

Appears in:

610 charts

Rank Score:

6,488

Rank in 1972:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

281

Average Rating:

83 (803 votes)

Comments:

69.

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Year of Release:

1977

Appears in:

732 charts

Rank Score:

6,486

Rank in 1977:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

282

Average Rating:

82 (837 votes)

Comments:

70.

Boston

Year of Release:

1976

Appears in:

702 charts

Rank Score:

6,481

Rank in 1976:

Rank in 1970s:

Overall Rank:

283

Average Rating:

78 (905 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
6
7
8
...
100
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 1,000. Page 7 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year	Albums	%

1970	106	11%
1971	101	10%
1972	105	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%
Joni Mitchell	8	1%
Pink Floyd	8	1%
Electric Light Orchestra	8	1%
Yes	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	975	98%
Yes	25	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	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 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
2. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
3. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
4. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
5. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
6. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
7. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
8. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
9. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
10. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
11. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
12. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
13. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
14. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
15. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
16. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
17. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
18. Die 100 Alben des Jahrhunderts by Spex (2000)
19. Greatest Albums Of All Time by Hartbeat! (1996)
20. Die besten Alben aller Zeiten by Rolling Stone Deutschland (2004)