Though I was born in 1978 and only a toddler at the time, I was alive during one of the greatest decades of music on this planet. Perhaps I might have heard the music of Billy Joel or Van Morrison while I was still in my mother’s womb, and for all I know, the soft rock from Genesis might have been in the air while I was being pushed in a baby stroller at a local shopping mall. I was conceived in the disco/club era and still to this day I am enthralled by electronic beats and alternative dance music, though just as much in awe of the AOR bands that came about in the “Me” Decade. The 1970s were a diverse decade of music, with the counter-culture hippie movement of the 1960s spilling over into the early ’70s with albums from legendary ’60s bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, The Band, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc. Towards the middle part of the decade, a new genre of music, progressive rock, emerged from bands such as Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Rush, Queen, The Moody Blues, Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd, and Genesis. By the time the late 1970s hit, in my opinion, one of the most influential genres in my life, post-punk, was born. British and American punk bands such as The Stooges, The Ramones, Television, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Wire, and The Damned paved the way for late ’70s post-punk artists such as Joy Division, Suicide, Public Image Ltd., Talking Heads, Devo, The Cure, The Fall, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Gang of Four, The B-52’s, and U2. The pop/rock genre has primarily been my most influential genre of music, but that is not to dismiss ’70s soul, funk, disco, R&B, and jazz. In understanding why my list of influences are primarily “Rock-centric”, the lack of diversity hopefully explains why I did not include legendary soul, funk, disco, R&B, and jazz artists such as ABBA, Michael Jackson, Bee-Gees, Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament, James Brown, Kool & the Gang, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis, Fela Kuti, and Sun Ra.
Assembling an all-inclusive, “definitive” list of the top 50 most influential albums from the 1970s (or any decade) is no easy task, so rather than compiling a list that includes artists and bands of all kinds and genres, I’ve focused only on the albums and artists that I love. I took the time to revisit popular, landmark albums that I was familiar with, as well as rediscover albums from cutting-edge artists and bands that I had previously overlooked. I spent weeks scouring my Apple Music/iTunes library, researching lists from other websites, talking to friends, reading reviews, and doing some serious reminiscing. I felt that the 1970s were the best starting point for musical influences in my life, because as my parents were big fans of music from the 1950s and 1960s, a lot of music I know and love today emerged in the 1970s, such as post-punk, new wave, electronic, synth pop, and progressive rock. I could only hope that some of you discovering these albums for the very first time will not only enjoy listening to them, but find the music to be life-changing as well. I’ve organized the albums chronologically by year (in no particular order). Though some years contain more albums than others, it is only because the albums I picked happened to be released in that specific year. I also set a 3 album maximum limit for one single artist (so I could include albums from artists that weren’t as popular). Below this, I’ve included “5 Honorable Mentions” as well as a separate list of “Notables” that didn’t make the cut. Though I was only a mere infant during the last two years of the decade, I was nonetheless alive while glorious music was being played on car cassette decks, turntables, and transistor radios. Today you can hear this same music via Spotify playlists that I’ve provided below. Next week I will focus on the 1980s, my favorite decade of music.

1970
Neil Young After the Gold Rush | |
The Beatles Let It Be | |
The Velvet Underground Loaded | |
Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys | |
Tim Buckley Starsailor | |
Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water | |
The Stooges Fun House | |
George Harrison All Things Must Pass |
1971
Leonard Cohen Songs of Love and Hate | |
Paul McCartney Ram | |
The Doors L.A. Woman | |
Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat | |
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV | |
John Lennon Imagine | |
T. Rex Electric Warrior | |
The Who Who’s Next |
1972
Yes Fragile | |
Nick Drake Pink Moon | |
Lou Reed Transformer | |
David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | |
The Rolling Stones Exile on Main St. |
1973
Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy | |
Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon |
1974
Roxy Music Country Life |
1975
Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here | |
Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks | |
Brian Eno Another Green World | |
Bruce Springsteen Born to Run | |
Queen A Night at the Opera |
1976
Boston Boston | |
Ramones Ramones | |
Tangerine Dream Stratosfear |
1977
Iggy Pop The Idiot | |
Suicide Suicide | |
David Bowie Low | |
Kraftwerk Trans-Europe Express | |
Fleetwood Mac Rumours | |
David Bowie Heroes | |
Iggy Pop Lust for Life | |
Television Marquee Moon |
1978
The Cars The Cars | |
Bruce Springsteen Darkness on the Edge of Town | |
Devo Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! |
1979
Sparks No. 1 in Heaven | |
Pink Floyd The Wall | |
Gary Numan The Pleasure Principle | |
Gang of Four Entertainment! | |
The Clash London Calling | |
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures | |
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Damn the Torpedoes |
5 Honorable Mentions
Big Star #1 Record 1972 | |
Giorgio Moroder From Here to Eternity 1977 | |
Black Devil Disco Club Disco Club 1978 | |
Patti Smith Easter 1978 | |
Van Halen Van Halen 1978 |
Wow, reading over your list – I quickly became aware of how difficult it would be for me to compile such a list of my own.. initially, I started reading w/ obvious expectations to see notable inclusions – those legendary albums I was sure t’d see. I have to say, for the most part there were a lot on there & there were a lot that weren’t. What you consider the ‘most influential’ from a band isn’t necessarily always the one I might’ve picked (The Who’s “Tommy” just 1 example that comes to mind..).
Understandably, trying to define an entire decade’s musical contributions & myriad essential/life-changing albums is no easy task.. I like that you clarified from the get-go that it would be a ‘rock-centric’ list, this not only explained some (in my opinion) absences on here & why they’re not.. it was interesting to see how you turned your own, personal lens back to focus on it.
Yes, yes, it was pretty difficult assembling this list of 1970s albums mainly because there was SO MUCH happening in that decade from a music standpoint. I think my focus largely on post-punk and singer-songwriter albums helped define what I gravitated towards from that period of music. I also gladly included some classic 60s rock artists such as The Beatles, Velvet Underground, and the Stones in my list too. Indeed as I grow older, I may update or change the list (or expand it) to further include albums/artists that I later re-discover as well.
Mr. Wayne puts together a thoughtful list of some great albums in one of the greatest eras of rock music history. He included some dark horse albums that came as a pleasant surprise! I’ve been following his rock critique and photography for ~ 20 years now, and his knowledge of the genre is unsurpassed. May he one day take a proud seat in the pantheon of Rock ‘n Roll Vahalla, and breath its rarefied air amongst the likes of Lester Bangs and Richard Goldstein. I hope and expect to see more quality publishing coming from this author in the near future. A true treasure for rock historians, enthusiasts, and those discovering the music for the first time. Bravo!
Jake, I’m impressed by your ridiculous, over the top comment. Kudos for figuring out Bono’s real name too. LOL.
An impressive list, but hold on just a second. It’s just dawned upon me that we may have to do this for the 50 greatest songs of the 70s: I mean “Lady” by Little River Band? “Everything I Own” & “Make it With You” by Bread? Seals and Croft “Summer Breeze”? “Baker Street” & “Right Down he Line” by Gerry Rafferty, “Swayin to the Music” Johnny Rivers, The Eagles “I Can’t Tell You Why”, Carly Simon “You’re So Vain”, Hall and Oates “She’s Gone” to name just a few… you can’t seriously have the 70s without these quintessential mega hits, which captures this decade each one in a single song, can you? (and can you tell I’ve been listening to 70s lite rock on Pandora lately hehe?…)
There were so many legendary songs from the 70s, that I’d probably lose my mind if I tackled such a challenge. Thanks for including those songs however, as it offers a personal view from your angle on what you enjoyed! Also, there’s definitely something to be said for 70s soft/lite rock! (Maybe that will be my next big obsession). 😉