Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s"

Add to my lists | Print this list

As the psychedelic 60s gave way to hippie backlash and high ambitions, one thing was clear: There was something damn funny about peace, love and understanding. Shaking off naturalism, daisy chains and acid tabs came easier than expected, and what resulted was a paradox of both striking diversity and remarkable coherence: From high-concept prog-nerds and high-octane guitar solo to high-heeled glam-rockers and high-ass punks, the 70s saw the rise and dominance of the album-as-unified-statement. Over three days, Pitchfork now takes the opportunity to present this list of its favorite albums of that decade.

Pages: 1 2

  1. 1.
    Low
    by David Bowie

    Drag me to re-order


  2. 2.
    London Calling
    by The Clash

    Drag me to re-order


  3. 3.
    Marquee Moon
    by Television

    Drag me to re-order


  4. 4.
    There's a Riot Goin' On
    by Sly & the Family Stone

    Drag me to re-order


  5. 5.
    Blood on the Tracks
    by Bob Dylan

    Drag me to re-order


  6. 6.
    Trans-Europe Express
    by Kraftwerk

    Drag me to re-order


  7. 7.
    Led Zeppelin IV (aka ZOSO)
    by Led Zeppelin

    Drag me to re-order


  8. 8.
    Entertainment!
    by Gang of Four

    Drag me to re-order


  9. 9.
    Unknown Pleasures
    by Joy Division

    Drag me to re-order


  10. 10.
    Another Green World
    by Eno

    Drag me to re-order


  11. 11.
    Exile on Main St.
    by The Rolling Stones

    Drag me to re-order


  12. 12.
    Fun House
    by The Stooges

    Drag me to re-order


  13. 13.
    Pink Moon
    by Nick Drake

    Drag me to re-order


  14. 14.
    Loaded
    by The Velvet Underground

    Drag me to re-order


  15. 15.
    Who's Next
    by The Who

    Drag me to re-order


  16. 16.
    Singles Going Steady
    by Buzzcocks

    Drag me to re-order


  17. 17.
    Maggot Brain
    by Funkadelic

    Drag me to re-order


  18. 18.
    Bitches Brew
    by Miles Davis

    Drag me to re-order


  19. 19.
    Ege Bamyasi
    by Can

    Drag me to re-order


  20. 20.
    Electric Warrior
    by T. Rex

    Drag me to re-order


  21. 21.
    Histoire de Melody Nelson
    by Serge Gainsbourg

    Drag me to re-order


  22. 22.
    Pink Flag
    by Wire

    Drag me to re-order


  23. 23.
    Ramones
    by The Ramones

    Drag me to re-order


  24. 24.
    Here Come the Warm Jets
    by Eno

    Drag me to re-order


  25. 25.
    Neu!
    by Neu!

    Drag me to re-order


  26. 26.
    Innervisions
    by Stevie Wonder

    Drag me to re-order


  27. 27.
    Led Zeppelin III
    by Led Zeppelin

    Drag me to re-order


  28. 28.
    Let It Be
    by The Beatles

    Drag me to re-order


  29. 29.
    Tago Mago
    by Can

    Drag me to re-order


  30. 30.
    On the Corner
    by Miles Davis

    Drag me to re-order


  31. 31.
    Fear of Music
    by Talking Heads

    Drag me to re-order


  32. 32.
    The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)
    by Pink Floyd

    Drag me to re-order


  33. 33.
    Chairs Missing
    by Wire

    Drag me to re-order


  34. 34.
    Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track
    by Kool & The Gang

    Drag me to re-order


  35. 35.
    Y
    by Pop Group

    Drag me to re-order


  36. 36.
    Wish You Were Here
    by Pink Floyd

    Drag me to re-order


  37. 37.
    My Aim Is True (With Bonus Disc)
    by Elvis Costello

    Drag me to re-order


  38. 38.
    Drums and Wires
    by XTC

    Drag me to re-order


  39. 39.
    Suicide (First Album)
    by Suicide

    Drag me to re-order


  40. 40.
    The Modern Lovers
    by The Modern Lovers

    Drag me to re-order


  41. 41.
    Rumours
    by Fleetwood Mac

    Drag me to re-order


  42. 42.
    Specials
    by The Specials

    Drag me to re-order


  43. 43.
    Off the Wall
    by Michael Jackson

    Drag me to re-order


  44. 44.
    The Clash
    by The Clash

    Drag me to re-order


  45. 45.
    More Songs About Buildings and Food
    by Talking Heads

    Drag me to re-order


  46. 46.
    Heart of the Congos
    by The Congos

    Drag me to re-order


  47. 47.
    Call Me
    by Al Green

    Drag me to re-order


  48. 48.
    Live-Evil
    by Miles Davis

    Drag me to re-order


  49. 49.
    What's Going on
    by Marvin Gaye

    Drag me to re-order


  50. 50.
    Starsailor
    by Tim Buckley

    Drag me to re-order


Pages: 1 2

This is a community list. You can contribute, edit, or help maintain it by adding it to your lists.
Created by Robot Co-op on Nov 30, 2005.
 

Comments

The poseur top 100 — 2 years ago

These are all great records. But the list has a whiff of Rolling Stone style hipper-than-thou to it. My main compliant is leaving Black Sabbath off is wrong. Whether you like them or not, their impact was profound and lasting. They were principle architects of Heavy Metal and a major influence on countless artists within and beyond the genre they helped to originate. Do you think you could spare one Bowie album?! Leaving out Black Sabbath is an incomplete list of top albums of 70’s. As for which album… although Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath-1973 is my personal favorite, Paranoid-1970 or Master of Reality-1971 are blueprints of Heavy Metal.


iyiiki
Cumberland

Corrections — 2 years ago

I deleted the first two Led Zeppelin albums that somebody had appended to the list. They’re not on the source list and weren’t even released in the 70s. I also corrected a link for the Fela Kuti album “Expensive Shit”.


this list sucks — 2 years ago

I’m befuddled. Seems like a bunch of pretentious critics voted for this list. Where is Aerosmith and KISS???


Greg
Columbus

Guess I'm not "hip enough" for the room — 2 years ago

I was born in 1970 so in theory a lot of this should be “my music” but there’s an awful lot of this I’ve never heard. Some of it, I’m not even sure I want to try and chase down. I’ve heard other stuff by Can for example and while I liked a track here and there I wasn’t overwhelmed…