in the 70s - Top Ten Albums of the Seventies

Top Ten Albums of the Seventies

What are your top ten favorite albums from the 70s?

We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

10. Wiederhoren by Kraan
Their best studio album
9. The Yes Album by Yes
Brilliant!!!
8. Selling England By The Pound by Genesis
Classic From the boys with Peter Gabriel
7. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
Another classic
6. Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull
Any album by the Tull In the 70's were great
5. A Tab In The Ocean by Nektar
Cool!!!
4. Live '75 by Kraan
A fantastic tight set fron one of Germanys premier Prog Rock bands
3. Close To The Edge by Yes
Another superb Prog Rock album
2. Seconds Out by Genesis
A fantastic album ( even without Peter Gabriel )
1. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
The absolute best album of all time

10. Psychomodo by Steve Harley And Cocney Rebel
9. Propaganda by Sparks
8. Futurama by Be Bop DeLuxe
7. Young Men Gone West by City Boy
6. Ocean by Eloy
5. Next by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4. Rockpommels Land by Grobschnitt
3. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
2. Foxtrot by Genesis
1. Close To The Edge by Yes

10. Stateless by Lene Lovich
Probably the entry on my list that will surprise people the most, with the possible exception of "War of the Worlds." But German import Lene Lovich is more deserving in my view than the better known and more innovative but less catchy and danceable German artists Kraftwerk. Some of her songs have the same cool, electro flavor, and she would have made them an awesome lead singer. Songs of note: "Lucky Number," "Say When," "Telepathy," "Home," "I Think We're Alone Now" (later remade as a hit by Tiffany),"One In 1,000,000."
9. Discovery by Electric Light Orchestra
Awesome cover art concept. ELO is a band that sounds very '70s; unlike some other material on my list -- say, the Cars, or Pink Floyd -- this music doesn't sound like anything that would be made today. But that doesn't mean it's not great music. Jeff Lynne's vocals remind one of another great but dated '70s band, the BeeGees, but without quite as much falsetto. Songs of note: "Don't Bring Me Down," "Last Train To London," "Midnight Blue," "Confusion," "Shine A Little Love."
8. The War Of The Worlds by Jeff Wayne
This is a story album as much as a music album, and based on the incredible and often-remade H.G. Wells sci-fi epic gave it a great place to start from, but Jeff Wayne's music is fantastic. Probably best called a "rock opera" along the lines of Queen's "Flash Gordon." Songs of note: "The Eve Of The War," "Horsell Commons And The Heat Ray," "The Coming Of The Martians," "Forever Autumn," "Brave New World."
7. Arrival by ABBA
It's hard to imagine talking about the best music of the 1970s without mentioning the Swedish supergroup ABBA, but I note that none of the other contributors on this page to date have included an ABBA album in their top 10 lists. While I won't speculate about the motives of my fellow contributors, many music critics seem to have an unjustified disdain for pop, as if being catchy and danceable detracts from a great record instead of adding to it. It's hard to dismiss them as superficial after listening to the revealing lyrics of Andersson and Ulvaeus, who went on to do other fantastic material like the soundtrack for "Chess." I cannot help but suspect an element of homophobia, conscious or otherwise. I've felt this strongly in regard to groups like the Pet Shop Boys, who with their awesome harmonic voices and sometimes dark yet always danceable songs were kind of like the ABBA of the '80s. Songs of note: "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money," "Tiger," "That's Me," "When I Kissed The Teacher."
6. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
Very experimental album, fascinatingly rumoured to be choreographed to "The Wizard of Oz" film. Whether that's true or not, this album was a beautiful swan song for the psychedelic era. The theme of insanity developed more powerfully six years later in "The Wall" is prominent here too. Songs of note: "Money," "Time," "On The Run," "Brain Damage," "Us And Them," "Eclipse."
5. The Cars by The Cars
Very strong debut album from this straight-up rock 'n roll band. It sounds a lot more like the music of the 1980s than the music of the 1970s, and you have to remind yourself it came out in 1978. Songs of note: "Just What I Needed," "Moving In Stereo," "Good Times Roll," "You're All I've Got Tonight," Bye Bye Love,' "My Best Friend's Girl." Terrific photo on the album cover.
4. Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice
One of the greatest theme albums ever -- the familiar story of Jesus as told through the eyes of its anti-hero, Judas. It started out as a theater production and like "The Wall," spawned a terrific movie that is visionary in its own right, the music aside. My liberal-leaning "New Testament" Catholic high school teacher told us that when it came out, church officials regarded it as nothing short of blasphemy. Songs of note: "Superstar," "Everything's Alright," "Overture," "Heaven On Their Minds," "Could We Start Again, Please?" "Hosanna," "I Don't Know How To Love Him."
3. Fleetwood Mac by Rumours
This is the kind of album that's easy on the ears yet still rocks and is easy to listen to again and again and again. If you like it now, you'll probably still like it when you're 60 -- as many of the original Fleetwood Mac fans who still love it probably are by now. Songs of note: "Don't Stop" (Thinking About Tomorrow), [ironically used as the theme song of the 1992 Clinton/Gore team representing more of the big-government status quo] "Go Your Own Way," "The Chain," "Dreams," "You Make Loving Fun," "Gold Dust Woman."
2. Star Wars (soundtrack) by John Williams
John Williams score for the groundbreaking first film of the "Star Wars" epic helped capture the imagination of a generation. For sheer dramatic power, this score belongs right up there with classical music like Beethoven's 9th Symphony. I still can't hear the 20th Century Fox intro music without mentally expecting the opening bars of the Star Wars theme to follow. Star Wars was not a fluke -- John Williams has produced other amazing work such as the themes from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Born on the Fourth of July," but this remains his magnum opus in my opinion.
1. The Wall by Pink Floyd
Most albums are the musical equivalent of a collection of short stories. Only a small minority are the equivalent of novels -- the songs on them all tie in to the same concept, presenting a unified whole that tells a story. Not only is "The Wall" thematic, but the theme it presents is an incredibly powerful one -- the metaphor of the wall has meaning on so many different levels. The power and coherency of "The Wall" can be seen in the album-based film of the same title, which is an amazing work of art in its own right. Another thing that's cool about the album is the way the songs progress naturally into each other, sometimes with the aid of story-developing interludes such as the attempted phone call from the artist to his mother. Songs of note: "Comfortably Numb," "Young Lust" (aka "Dirty Woman") "Hey You," "Another Brick In The Wall (Part II)" (aka "We Don't Need No Education").

10. Parinoid by Black Sabbath
9. Deep Purple by Machine Head
8. Blizzard Of Ozz by Ozzy Osbourne
7. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
6. Van Halen by Van Halen
5. The Wall by Pink Floyd
4. Back In Black by Ac/dc
3. Who's Next by The Who
2. Led Zeppelin 4 by Led Zeppelin
1. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd

10. Rocks by Aerosmith
nothing to say
9. The Alice Cooper Show by Alice Cooper
great album
8. Van Halen by Van Halen
great
7. Alive! by Kiss
nothin to say
6. Ted Nugent by Ted Nugent
nothing to say
5. Love Gun by Kiss
great record
4. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
great
3. Staind Glass by Judas Priest
greatest record from priest
2. ALIVE 2 by KISS
great album and show
1. Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton
still number 1 best selling live album

10. Animals by Pink Floyd
very pleasuring.
9. Saturday Night Fever by Bee Gees
great dance music......
8. 2 by Van Halen
again thanks to eddie
7. Layla by Eric Clapton
amazing
6. Hotel California by Eagles
i love the songs and i love these guys.......
5. The Wall by Pink Floyd
comfortably numb......the solo's breathtaking
4. Van Halen 1 by Van Halen
thanks too eddie van halen......
3. Led Zeppelin 4 by Led Zeppelin
"stairway to heaven"is the best song that's ever made....and dont forget the lyrics by Jimmy Page
2. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
"great gig in the sky" is awesome.."time" marvellous
1. Who's Next by The Who
baba o' riley.......who can forget the lyrics "teenage wasteland we are all wasted"

10. 'Cosmo's Factory' by Creedence Clearwater Revival
This was the best of the Creedence albums and the music showed it. The groups music took an about face after Cosmo's. I wish I new why. These guys could have gone on to be the best of the best.
9. Before The Flood by Bob Dylan
This Man never stops impressing me with his tunes that always make me think. Bob is an icon of the '70s and his music will be listened to "as long as there are ears"
8. 'Frampton Comes Alive' by Peter Frampton
I have no idea why I liked this but I did and that is that. Way to much radio play for me. Maybe that is why I remember it so well and still listen to it to-day.
7. 'Hotel California' by The Eagles
These guys were the greatest American band to influence the '70s. The addition of Joe Walsh was a master stroke and a touch of genius. James Gang did some great music in the '70s, but Joe needed a stronger tie to other musicians to get the best from him.
6. 'the Beatles 62-66 & 67-70' Anthology by The Beatles
Probably the greatest influence on music in the 20 century and beyond. John and Paul were the greatest song writers of their time. What happened between these minds to make it all go sour. If Lennon were alive today he would still have a large audience. Paul did nothing to impress me after the Beatles. Goes to show who really influenced the man, and it wasn't Linda.
5. 'Love It To Death' by Alice Cooper
I wasn't quite 18 yet but Alice Cooper made me feel that the world was mine and that I was the master of my own destiny. I listened to I'm eighteen at least 5 to 10 times a day if I could.
4. 'stand Up','aqualung' & 'thick As A Brick' by Jethro Tull
The Tull experience was something everyone should have lived through in the'70s. I found that they were a desired taste, some hated them but others loved their style.
3. 'Bad Co.' by Bad Company
Loved Free, Loved them even more as Bad Company. These guys were given a big break by Swan Song. (Led Zepplin) As Free they were not given the air time they deserved by the ruling radio plumps $$$.
2. 'On The Threshold Of A Dream' by Moody Blues
Put this one on while tripping, they had me continuously thinking about the meaning of life, and what my roll in life was.
1. Led Zeppelin I,II,III,IV by Led Zeppelin
These guys started the 70s off with a bang and carried through until "The Houses Of The Holy release. No.IV with the no#1 song of all time on it (Stairway to Heaven), made no sense to me, but I remember singing along to it everytime I heard it, that and "American Pie".

10. Back In Black by AC/DC
9. Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
8. The Wall by Pink Floyd
it was hard to decide between this one and Wish You Were Here, but the wall has such a great concept behind it...roger waters is a genius.
7. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
actually my favorite zeppelin album but i think IV is better...
6. Who's Next by The Who
5. Hotel California by Eagles
4. Animals by Pink Floyd
most underrated pink floyd album besides obscured by clouds.
3. Boston by Boston
every song is awesome, this is the only album i can say that about besides Dark Side.
2. Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
some of the best songs ever written are on this album.
1. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
the best album ever created, it flows so perfectly!

10. A Night At The Opera by Queen
9. Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
8. The Wall by Pink Floyd
it was hard to decide between this one and Wish You Were Here, but the wall has such a great concept behind it...roger waters is a genius.
7. Houses Of The Holy by Led Zeppelin
actually my favorite zeppelin album but i think IV is better...
6. Who's Next by The Who
5. Hotel California by Eagles
4. Animals by Pink Floyd
most underrated pink floyd album besides obscured by clouds.
3. Boston by Boston
every song is awesome, this is the only album i can say that about besides Dark Side.
2. Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
some of the best songs ever written are on this album.
1. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
the best album ever created, it flows so perfectly!

10. Back In Black by AC/DC
9. Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton
8. A Night At The Opera by Queen
7. Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith
6. Whos Next? by The Who
5. Hotel California by The Eagles
4. Animals by Pink Floyd
the most underrated pink floyd album besides obscured by clouds, hard to pick between this and the wall
3. Boston by Boston
2. Led Zeppelin Iv by Led Zeppelin
1. Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd