Top 50 Albums from 1970

1970 is one of the most vibrant years in music history with artists in different genres like pop, rock, jazz, country, soul and heavy metal making important new steps that changed the course of history. What are the 50 best albums from 1970?

In this video the following albums are mentioned (though not in this order:)

The Beatles - Let It Be
Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Faces - First Step
Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green
Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
Harry Nilsson - Sings Newman
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
The Who - Live At Leeds
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déja Vu
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
The Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
Rodriguez - Cold Fact
The Doors - Morrison Hotel
Syd Barret - The Madcap Laughs
Frank Sinatra - Watertown
Kris Kristofferson - Kris Kristofferson
Melanie - Candles in the Rain
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water
Van Morrison - Moondance
Willie Dixon - I Am The Blues
The Velvet Underground - Loaded
Art Blakey - Roots & Herbs
The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory
David Bowie - The Man Who Sold The World
The Stooges - Fun House
Elton John - Elton John
Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman
Deep Purple - In Rock
Derek and the Domino’s - Layla and Other Love Songs
Eric Burdon & War - The Black Man’s Burdon
John Cale - Vintage Violence
Andrew Loyd Webber - Jesus Christ Superstar
Frank Zappa - Chunga’s Revenge
Paul McCartney - Paul McCartney
The Carpenters - Close To You
Taste - On The Boards
The Beach Boys - Sunflower
Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant
The Guess Who - Share The Land
Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley
Santana - Abraxas

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[rogerlunde]

Lennons Plastic ono band is a masterpiece, the best post-Beatle album and the best album in 1970 ! You had a good list here.

[maorrosenberg]

One of the best if not THE best year in music history! All Things Must Pass is number 1 for me though😉

[bluerev]

Excellent list, we're in agreement on a lot of these! Great year for music, so many albums to choose from, even harder to rank them (I would just give up tbh😂). I like how you threw a few less obvious choices into the mix (that Melanie album really piqued my interest, will check it out).

Off the top of my head, I would def add Traffic's John Barleycorn Must Die, Mountain Climbing, Can Soundtracks, VDGG - H to He..., just to name a few. Groundhogs' Thank Christ for the Bomb is another one that I discovered very recently and was blown away (not sure if it would make my top 50, but wanted to mention it anyway).

[markmclaren]

1970 through to 1973 were the best years in music a large portion of my collection comes from those 4 years you really did get the order spot on apart from the no1 and no2 positions switch them round and then it’s perfect

[VIDSTORAGE]

Spirt 12 Dreams of Dr Sardonicus is one that is so ignored but what a great one it is .. Great call on Kris Kristofferson, ,that one and Silver Tonged Devil and I are great .. The Allman Brothers-- Idlewild South another good one from 1970..

[plp]

Savoy Brown - Looking In, Raw Sienna
John Mayall - Empty Rooms, USA Union
Steamhammer - Mk II, Mountains
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Emerson Lake and Palmer
King Crimson - In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard
Genesis - Trespass
Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green, Wat
Yes - Time and a Word
Janis Joplin - Pearl (here I cheat as it was released on January 11th, 1971, but I always thought it was fitting into amazing 1970)
…

[olavirannisto]

Great choices and agree with #1. Personally, I list Led Zeppelin 3 as #2.

[minglongyuan]

The Madcap Laughs is underrated😁, one of my favs

[FrankyGoesToNowhere]

All things must past loooow. If you put plastic on #1, AlltMP must by at top 10. (The 3rd LP, it's only a
Paranoid tooo high, but ...only a little!!! In Rock tooo loooow!!!!
Plastic #1? You nailed it!!!! No doubt about it!!!

[simonjohnstone-ye]

You pissed the boomers off, good job.

[davidevans]

The records you chose are spot on 100%. The order you put them in is utterly whacked.

[monalisa]

you have to put a lot of listening hours into it but it pays of great list

[scott]

I have 26 of those. I would add:

Allman Brothers - Idlewild South
Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Pendulum
Doors - Absolutely Live
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
Bob Dylan - New Morning
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Fotheringay - Fotheringay
Free - Fire and Water
Grand Funk Railroad - Closer to Home
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
Guess Who - American Woman
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Little Feat - Little Feat
Bob Marley - Soul Rebels
Moody Blues - Question of Balance
Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir
Peter, Paul & Mary - 10 Years Together
Elvis - That's the Way it Is
Elvis - Back in Memphis
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

[angelocaputo]

Good choise ❤....but Idlewild South....for me top 3

[kiiiiiiingd]

what a fucking great year of music… and it‘s not even the best year ever.

[juutuu]

Chicago - II
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
The Pretty things - Parachute
Gravy Train - Gravy Train
Blonde on Blonde - Rebirth
etc..

[suartgilmour]

Loads of great albums, but your ranking is crazy, imo. Atom Heart Mother in top 10??? One of the few things Gilmour and Waters agree on is that AHM is awful. All Things Must Pass would be my No. 1. Can't believe you put it 40 odd!!!

[kevinnix]

Let it be should have been..way...way higher...even floundering...let it be is great

[markjude]

I stopped watching this video when you had the Beatles at 46 for Let It Be album and all things must pass by George Harrison in the 40s for the top album of 1970… You have your opinion I have mine =you disgust me… you don’t know music you’re just trying to be up a contrarian to get clicks… Bye-bye