Best Albums of 1972
Explore the best albums of 1972, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
"Sadly, I discovered how important Bowie's music is, especially this album, only after he died. I've always been a fan, but I feel slightly guilty for listening mostly to his "hits" prior to his death, leaving me unaware of many great tracks until more recently." Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
41,145
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Up there in my top 5 albums of all time. Didn’t think much of it when it was first released surprisingly! It grew on me and I now think it’s The Stones best ever album. It’s got a groove of its own and they have struggled and failed to match it since. Not for everyone, but I love it." Reply
- 
Nowhereman1965 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
18,543
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Pink Moon is an album so stunning that it completely steals the show from the rest of his discography. Nick Drake's the only act I can think of that has released all perfect albums." Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,787
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Pure masterful prog rock. This album has everything a prog act must have: long tracks, virtuosism, weird lyrics, heavy keyboard use and time and mood changes. It's a rare example of balance between technicism and emotional, never boring, always flowing, with sound that come from psicedelic, beat,..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,498
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Addition to my previous comment: not only does this feel lazy but it feels like a retread. Alabama is basically Southern Man but less impactful and developed. Other songs try to hit the heights of After the Gold Rush and end up being nothing songs. Are You Ready For the Country is completely forg..." [+] Reply
- 
babyBlueSedan | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (4 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11,771
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This album is wildly underrated. I'd argue it's in the top 20 of all time." Reply
- 
revolver94 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,316
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Top notch hard rock, Highway Star is an all time great. Smoke On The Water and Lazy are classics too. Amazing instrumentals on this one and the vigals are pretty consistent as well." Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,300
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The best out of Can's 1970's output (though the award for Best Song goes to Tago Mago's "Hallelulujeujuleujsujsueeluejualh"). Every note snaps and splashes and oh I don't even know, it's all so great and stuff, this album is great. "Spoon" is great. It's all great great great great great." Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,132
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"A very interesting example of the prog-rock genre. Developing a theme throughout two sides, with some flashes of brilliance as the album plateaus towards the end of side one. Somehow much more engaging and interesting than other long prog pieces." Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,820
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"More accessible, consistent, and well-produced than its two predecessors and two successors, Foxtrot remains the peak of Genesis' catalogue. It just barely edges out The Lamb in my opinion, because unlike that album, there is absolutely zero filler here. Nothing but brilliant arrangements, lyrics..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,797
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of 1972 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Various Artists | 12 | 1% | |
| Jimi Hendrix | 4 | 0% | |
| Deep Purple | 4 | 0% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 0% | |
| Elvis Presley | 4 | 0% | |
| Georges Brassens | 3 | 0% | |
| Ray Barretto | 3 | 0% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
428 | 43% | |
 |
201 | 20% | |
 |
67 | 7% | |
 |
36 | 4% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
29 | 3% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Recognised
Year Charts (2025)
