Top 10 Albums of the 1970’s Era

These albums were released during the 1970s – a decade which saw the coming in of new Rock and Roll artists, phenomenal breakthroughs in the world of art and culture, the whole hippie era, and the improvement of those who changed the music scene during the 60s.

1. The Beatles – Let It Be (1970)

Even when John Lennon and Paul McCartney do not get along, they manage to make beautiful music together. This album was recorded in 1969, prior to “Abbey Road”, but was released a year later. This album includes beautiful, memorable music, that will stay in people’s hearts and minds even today, with hits such as “Two Of Us” and “I’ve Got A Feeling”. “Let it Be” also marks the last album the band released together before disbanding in 1970.

2. Saturday Night Fever – Various Artists (1978)

The movie marked to be one of John Travolta’s most successful movies as a newcomer, along with “Grease” co-starring Olivia Newton John. It would not be fair for the soundtrack of the movie to be successful as well. It did, after all, send the first four singles to the #1 spot. This not only sent the movie and John Travolta to the golden spot, but The Bee Gees as well, who at that point, were hitting any music awards show on the planet.

3. Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (1979)

This album marks the first for Michael Jackson as a solo artist, away from The Jackson 5, the group he had been a part of with his brothers at time. This also marked the first collaboration between Jackson and Quincy Jones. They also collaborated together on Jackson’s most successful album, 1984’s “Thriller”. “Off The Wall” includes different tracks with different melodies, such as “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough”, which makes you want to dance at a night club, and “She’s Out Of My Life”, which makes you want to get some tissues to dry off some tears. All tracks in the album were written by Jackson himself.

4. John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band (1970)

By the time this album came out, John Lennon was already a star in the making for a very long time. He was, after all, one fourth of the most powerful band in the 60s, The Beatles. This was the debut album of John Lennon away from The Beatles, with such hits as “Mother” and “Well, Well, Well”. Beforehand, Lennon released three experimental albums, along with his wife, Yoko Ono, and a live performance in 1969.

5. Abba – Ring Ring (1973)

This was the beginning of an era for this Swedish pop group. Its four members consisted of two real life close friends, who wrote all music and lyrics together, with their wives as leading vocals. “Ring Ring” was released in a limited release in several territories such as Australia, South Africa, and Mexico, on March 26, 1973. It was not released in the UK until 1992, and in the US three years later. The band started out in 1972 with the track “People Need Love”, but it was not until the title track of the album was released that they agreed to be a permanent group.

6.Billy Joel – The Stranger (1977)

This is the fourth studio album released by the legendary singer. Although his previous three proved to be successful, this one in particular was the one that made him a star. It remained at the #2 spot for several weeks in the US after its release, and is still the best selling album by Billy Joel to this day. The album contains songs such as “Vienna” and “Only The Good Die Young”.

7. Janis Joplin – Pearl (1971)

This was the fourth and last album by Jazz singer, Janis Joplin. Sadly, she died of a drug overdose at the age of 27 the year prior. She became part of the infamous”27 Club”. All songs are recorded by Joplin except the track, “Buried Alive in the Blues”, due to the fact that she died before adding her vocals. Instead, the song was released as an instrumental version. “Pear” held the #1 spot on Billboard 200 for nine weeks, and has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA. The album was re-released in 1999 with four more unreleased tracks for the album. Another re-release of the album is released sometime in 2012 with Janis’ speech in the studio.

8. The Carpenters – Close To You (1970)

This was the second, and most successful, album released by the brother and sister duo, The Carpenters. The album included hit tracks such as “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “(They Long To Be) Close To You”, which gained them a big amount of success and popularity. “Close To You peaked in #1 in Canada and #2 in the US, as well as remained in the top 50 hits for 76 whole weeks in the UK.

9. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (1975)

This is the 6th studio album by the legendary rock band. The album included only 8 tracks due to the band’s circumstances when John Paul John, the keyboardist, decided to leave the band. However, the tracks were longer than usual LP tracks. The album was re-released and included several unreleased tracks as a double side due to the fact the band felt there were not enough tracks in the album.

10. Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979)

This is the 11th album studio album released by Pink Floyed. “The Wall” was recorded from January to November 1979, and released on November 30th, 1979. Its tracks had themes of abandonment and isolation, as the band’s several past albums. It was the most successful album of the 1980, and peaked #87 at Billboard 500.

References:

http://www.last.fm/music/John+Lennon/John%2BLennon%252FPlastic%2BOno%2BBand

http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_albums70s.html