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

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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

  1. 1.
    Low
    by David Bowie
  2. 2.
    London Calling
    by The Clash
  3. 3.
    Marquee Moon
    by Television
  4. 4.
    There's a Riot Goin' On
    by Sly & Family Stone
  5. 5.
    Blood on the Tracks
    by Bob Dylan
  6. 6.
    Trans-Europe Express
    by Kraftwerk
  7. 7.
    Led Zeppelin IV (aka ZOSO)
    by Led Zeppelin
  8. 8.
    Entertainment!
    by Gang of Four
  9. 9.
    Unknown Pleasures
    by Joy Division
  10. 10.
    Another Green World
    by Brian Eno
  11. 11.
    Exile on Main Street
    by Rolling Stones
  12. 12.
    Fun House
    by Stooges
  13. 13.
    Pink Moon
    by Nick Drake
  14. 14.
    Loaded
    by The Velvet Underground
  15. 15.
    Who's Next
    by Who
  16. 16.
    Singles Going Steady
    by Buzzcocks
  17. 17.
    Maggot Brain
    by Funkadelic
  18. 18.
    Bitches Brew
    by Miles Davis
  19. 19.
    Ege Bamyasi
    by Can
  20. 20.
    Electric Warrior
    by T-Rex
  21. 21.
    Histoire de Melody Nelson
    by Serge Gainsbourg
  22. 22.
    Pink Flag
    by Wire
  23. 23.
    Ramones
    by Ramones
  24. 24.
    Here Come the Warm Jets
    by Brian Eno
  25. 25.
    Neu!
    by Neu
  26. 26.
    Innervisions
    by Stevie Wonder
  27. 27.
    Led Zeppelin III
    by Led Zeppelin
  28. 28.
    Let It Be (1990)
    by Beatles
  29. 29.
    Tago Mago
    by Can
  30. 30.
    On the Corner
    by Miles Davis
  31. 31.
    Fear of Music
    by Talking Heads
  32. 32.
    The Wall
    by Pink Floyd
  33. 33.
    Chairs Missing
    by Wire
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
    Y
    by Pop Group
  36. 36.
    Wish You Were Here
    by Pink Floyd
  37. 37.
    My Aim Is True (With Bonus Disc)
    by Elvis Costello
  38. 38.
    Drums & Wires
    by Xtc
  39. 39.
    Suicide (First Album)
    by Suicide
  40. 40.
    Modern Lovers
    by Modern Lovers
  41. 41.
    Rumours
    by Fleetwood Mac
  42. 42.
    Specials
    by Specials
  43. 43.
    Off the Wall
    by Michael Jackson
  44. 44.
    The Clash (U.K. Version)
    by The Clash
  45. 45.
    More Songs About Buildings & Food
    by Talking Heads
  46. 46.
    Heart of the Congos
    by Congos
  47. 47.
    Call Me
    by Al Green
  48. 48.
    Live-Evil
    by Miles Davis
  49. 49.
    What's Going On
    by Marvin Gaye
  50. 50.
    Starsailor
    by Tim Buckley

Pages: 1

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Created by Robot Co-op on Nov 30, 2005.
 

Comments

commodoresloat

WHAT THE HELL?! — 4 years ago

okay i have to say, pretty good list. BUT!!! where is Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle?! 1979 common that’s a fantastic album!! Over all tho not too shabby.

Dec 11, 11:37AM | 1 comment | Reply to this

tolkev

The poseur top 100 — 7 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.

Jun 16, 09:07PM | 1 comment | Reply to this

iyiiki

Corrections — 7 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”.

May 07, 08:59AM | 0 comments | Reply to this

timmysdad

this list sucks — 7 years ago

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

Apr 07, 11:30PM | 2 comments | Reply to this

Greg

Guess I'm not "hip enough" for the room — 7 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…

Mar 29, 07:39AM | 0 comments | Reply to this



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