Best Albums of the 1970s

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
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.
19701,982262,836
19712,076337,537
19722,100266,326
19732,015273,097
19741,886141,187
Red (150th)by King Crimson
19752,040231,421
19762,045153,448
19772,061261,662
19782,088146,799
19792,026217,661
Total20,3192,291,973

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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Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,690
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Year of Release:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,653
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,553
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Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,541
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,373
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,312
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,292
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Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,233
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Year of Release:
1970
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,216
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Year of Release:
1979
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,170
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year Albums %


1970 106 11%
1971 103 10%
1972 103 10%
1973 108 11%
1974 97 10%
1975 97 10%
1976 89 9%
1977 92 9%
1978 106 11%
1979 99 10%
Artist Albums %


David Bowie 11 1%
Genesis (UK) 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 39 4%
Mixed Nationality 32 3%
Brazil 24 2%
Jamaica 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%
Recognised  Year Charts (2022)
1. Top 10 Albums of the Year 2022 by Bleep (2022)
2. The 50 Best Albums of 2022 by Billboard (2022)
3. Top 40 Albums of 2022 by Decibel (2022)
4. Top 20 Albums of 2022 by Spectrum Culture (2022)
5. The Best Albums of 2022 by The Ringer (2022)
6. The 80 Best Albums of 2022 by PopMatters (2022)
7. The Top 50 Albums of 2022 by Crack Magazine (2022)
8. Top 10 Albums of 2022 by People (2022)
9. The 30 best albums of 2022 by The A.V. Club (2022)
10. Best albums of 2022 by Okayplayer (2022)
11. The Loud And Quiet best albums of 2022 by Loud And Quiet (2022)
12. The Best Albums of 2022 by No Ripcord (2022)
13. Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2022 by Gigwise (2022)
14. The Best Albums of 2022 by FLOOD Magazine (2022)
15. Best Albums of 2022 by Norman Records (2022)
16. Uncut's Top 75 albums of 2022 by Uncut (2022)
17. The Best Albums of 2022 Ranked by The Line Of Best Fit (2022)
18. The 50 Best Albums of 2022 by Treble (2022)
19. The 20 best albums of 2022 by Time Out (2022)
20. The 50 Best Albums of 2022 by Pitchfork (2022)
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