The ranking of the 100 best albums of the '70s according to Ultimate Classic Rock

A truly ambitious ranking that captures one of the most important decades in rock history. The magazine Ultimate Classic Rock has published its list of the 100 best albums of the '70s. With this introduction: "We combed through an entire decade of records, spanning dozens of genres, from pop to rock, from jazz to soul, all the way to punk and metal. The hundreds of albums considered for the list, which could easily have been twice or three times as long, represent the best of an entire decade's worth of LPs — a decade many consider the most extraordinary period in the history of rock music. And the classic albums included here are enough to back up that claim. In many ways, the Seventies were the moment when popular music found its balance. The list below of the 100 best albums of the decade includes many of the greatest artists of the twentieth century: Black Sabbath, Clash, Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, alongside giants from the previous decade such as Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones and David Bowie. Many of these albums have long since earned their place in history, while others have built their reputation over the decades, becoming benchmarks for later classics. But they all share the same ability to thrill listeners, whether on the first listen or the hundredth."

So here is the ranking of the 100 best albums of the '70s according to Ultimate Classic Rock (full feature here). You can compare it with OndaRock's ranking of the best albums of the '70s.

100. Electric Light Orchestra – "Eldorado" (1974)

99. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Street Survivors” (1977)

98. Electric Light Orchestra – “Out Of The Blue” (1977)

97. Joe Cocker – “Mad Dogs And Englishmen” (1970)

96. Jackson Browne – “Running On Empty” (1977)

95. Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak” (1976)

94. Fleetwood Mac – “Fleetwood Mac” (1975)

93. Cheap Trick – “Cheap Trick At Budokan” (1978)

92. Black Sabbath – “Master Of Reality” (1971)

91. Jethro Tull – “Aqualung” (1971)

90. The Police – “Outlandos D’Amour” (1978)

89. The Police – “Reggatta De Blanc” (1979)

88. Bob Dylan And The Band – “The Basement Tapes” (1975)

87. Devo – “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!” (1978)

86. Simon And Garfunkel – “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)

85. Iggy And The Stooges – “Raw Power” (1973)

84. Bruce Springsteen – “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” (1978)

83. The Stooges – “Fun House” (1970)

82. Michael Jackson – “Off The Wall” (1979)

81. Joy Division – “Unknown Pleasures” (1979)

80. Neil Young – “After The Gold Rush” (1970)

79. Ramones – “Ramones” (1976)

78. Sex Pistols – “Never Mind The Bollocks – Here’s The Sex Pistols” (1977)

77. The Beach Boys – “Surf’s Up” (1971)

76. David Bowie – “Heroes” (1977)

75. Nick Drake – “Pink Moon” (1972)

74. David Bowie – “Low” (1977)

73. Miles Davis – “Bitches Brew” (1970)

72. Elvis Costello – “My Aim Is True” (1977)

71. The Allman Brothers Band – “At Fillmore East” (1971)

70. The Doors – “Morrison Hotel” (1970)

69. Led Zeppelin – “Houses Of The Holy” (1973)

68. Sly And The Family Stone – “There’s A Riot Goin’ On” (1971)

67. Deep Purple – “Machine Head” (1972)

66. Dire Straits – “Dire Straits” (1978)

65. Funkadelic – "Maggot Brain" (1971)

64. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – "Deja Vu" (1970)

63. Fleetwood Mac – “Tusk” (1979)

62. Queen – “A Night At The Opera” (1975)

61. Bad Company – "Bad Co." (1973)

60. Genesis – “Selling England By The Pound” (1973)

59. Patti Smith – "Horses" (1975)

58. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin III” (1970)

57. Big Star – “Third/Sister Lovers” (1978)

56. ZZ Top – "Tres Hombres" (1973)

55. Grateful Dead – “American Beauty” (1970)

54. Van Halen – “Van Halen II” (1979)

53. Neil Young – "Harvest" (1972)

52. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – “Night Moves” (1976)

51. Elton John – "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973)

50. Jackson Browne – “Late For The Sky” (1974)

49. Alice Cooper – “Billion Dollar Babies” (1973)

48. Carole King – "Tapestry" (1971)

47. Ac/Dc – “Powerage” (1978)

46. Television – "Marquee Moon" (1977)

45. Peter Frampton – "Frampton Comes Alive!" (1976)

44. The Cars – “The Cars” (1978)

43. Derek And The Dominos – “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs” (1970)

42. Montrose – "Montrose" (1973)

41. Kiss – “Destroyer” (1976)

40. ZZ Top – "Deguello" (1979)

39. Talking Heads – “Talking Heads: 77” (1977)

38. Stevie Wonder – “Innervisions” (1973)

37. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – “Damn The Torpedoes” (1979)

36. Black Sabbath – "Black Sabbath" (1970)

35. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band – “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” (1970)

34. Paul And Linda McCartney – “Ram” (1971)

33. The Who – “Quadrophenia” (1973)

32. Pink Floyd – “Wish You Were Here” (1975)

31. Kiss – “Alive!” (1975)

30. Genesis – “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” (1974)

29. Billy Joel – “The Stranger” (1977)

28. The Allman Brothers Band – “Brothers And Sisters” (1973)

27. Billy Joel – “52nd Street” (1978)

26. Rush – “2112” (1976)

25. The Beatles – “Let It Be” (1970)

24. Ac/Dc – “Let There Be Rock” (1977)

23. Joni Mitchell – "Blue" (1971)

22. Black Sabbath – "Paranoid" (1970)

21. Boston – “Boston” (1976)

20. The Who – “Who’s Next” (1971)

19. Steely Dan – “Aja” (1977)

18. Paul McCartney And Wings – “Band On The Run” (1973)

17. Led Zeppelin – “Physical Graffiti” (1975)

16. George Harrison – “All Things Must Pass” (1970)

15. Aerosmith – “Rocks” (1976)

14. Marvin Gaye – "What's Going On" (1971)

13. The Rolling Stones – “Sticky Fingers” (1971)

12. Eagles – “Hotel California” (1976)

11. David Bowie – “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” (1972)

10. Aerosmith – “Toys In The Attic” (1975)

9. Bob Dylan – “Blood On The Tracks” (1975)

8. The Clash – “London Calling” (1979)

7. Van Halen – “Van Halen” (1978)

6. Bruce Springsteen – “Born To Run” (1975)

5. The Rolling Stones – “Exile On Main St.” (1972)

4. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin IV” (1971)

3. Fleetwood Mac – “Rumours” (1977)

2. Stevie Wonder – “Songs In The Key Of Life” (1976)

1. Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side Of The Moon” (1973)

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by OndaRock Staff, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

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