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