Best Albums of the 1970s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1970s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 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.
19702,098254,055
19712,191322,128
19722,258252,754
19732,141258,166
19742,045137,639
Red (140th)by King Crimson
19752,177218,925
19762,200148,384
19772,191249,542
19782,249143,708
19792,170206,127
Total21,7202,191,428

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 Stevie Wonder.
View chart at point in time
 Show this chart as it was on the following date
Share this chart
Collector's summary (top 1,000)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
Sort by
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
216
Rank in 1975:
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:
216
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
216
Rank in 1978:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank Score:
215
Rank in 1974:
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:
215
Rank in 1977:
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:
214
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
987.
Live 
Live
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
214
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank Score:
214
Rank in 1975:
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:
1977
Appears in:
Rank Score:
213
Rank in 1977:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 99 of 100

Best Albums of the 1970s composition

Year Albums %


1970 108 11%
1971 99 10%
1972 102 10%
1973 107 11%
1974 99 10%
1975 102 10%
1976 84 8%
1977 94 9%
1978 108 11%
1979 99 10%
Artist Albums %


David Bowie 12 1%
Genesis 10 1%
Miles Davis 8 1%
Joni Mitchell 8 1%
Electric Light Orchestra 8 1%
Pink Floyd 8 1%
Yes 8 1%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 383 38%
United States 375 37%
Canada 42 4%
Germany 37 4%
Mixed Nationality 36 4%
Brazil 24 2%
Jamaica 20 2%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 976 97%
Yes 26 3%
Live? Albums %
No 942 94%
Yes 60 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 990 99%
Yes 12 1%
Best Ever Artists
1. The Beatles
2. Radiohead
3. Pink Floyd
4. David Bowie
5. Bob Dylan
6. Led Zeppelin
7. The Rolling Stones
8. Arcade Fire
9. The Velvet Underground
10. Nirvana
11. Kendrick Lamar
12. Neil Young
13. The Smiths
14. Miles Davis
15. The Beach Boys
16. Kanye West
17. R.E.M.
18. Pixies
19. Jimi Hendrix
20. Bruce Springsteen
Back to Top