But nothing beats "Beggars Banquet".

8) Who, The - Who's Next (1971)
1398 points



Rank in the 1971 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 12
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 9

Fans : RockyRaccoon #1, Stephan #1, Jonah #2, Harold Wexler #2, Snusmumrik #3, Alex D #6, VanillaFire1000 #10, Michel #10
Won’t get fooled again : netjade #92

Alex D : The Who are just one ridiculously good band, and Who's Next is powerful stuff. Not only are there enough power-chord crashes to hold the music world over until 1977, there's a different perspective from Pete Townshend, who before making this album got into all sorts of transcendental meditation, Meher Baba-ish kind of stuff. As such, stuff like "Bargain" and "Behind Blue Eyes" translate on a much deeper level than just being loud. Not to mention "Baba O' Riley" is the greatest use of synthesiser since the darn thing was invented.

The album containing Horacio Caine anthem beats its AM ranking and, by the slightest margin, its results in the All-time poll. However, despite its victory on first round, it is now topped by 2 albums released the same year

Ah, that's a shame, I'd hoped Who's Next would make the top 5. It's got both the best intro ever (on the first song) and the best minute in rock to finish off the last song. Plus everything else in between! My #3 of all time.

7) Led Zeppelin - IV (1971)
1411 points



Rank in the 1971 poll : 3
Rank in the AM 70s list : 11
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 12

Fans : Alex D #2, Nassim #3, RockyRaccoon #3, BillAdama #5, Brad #7, Mindrocker #9, nicolas #9
Black dog : netjade #99

Honorio : The pinnacle of heavy metal and, for good or bad, probably the most influential album ever, creating a style that is here to stay.

Alex D : Every single song on IV is a classic. It is monstrously heavy. It is wrapped in shrouds of light reverb and possibly occultic Celtic mythology. What's really not to love? From the booty-shaking riff of "Black Dog" to the pounding rhythm of "When the Levee Breaks" and everything in-between, it is jam-packed with amazing performances. You can rock out, make love, air-drum, wallow in denial, be amazed, be mystified, or pretty much do anything you want to it. It grooves and it shakes, but it also lies in its bed and stares at the ceiling in wonder. There's pretty much every emotion you could want somewhere on the record, and the musical elements are arranged spectacularly. Led Zep were equally at home crafting folky tunes like "The Battle of Evermore" or bringing the heavier stuff on "Rock and Roll" and you get the feeling that the band were really hitting their stride and showing what they were fully capable of when in their element. And I didn't even mention "Stairway to Heaven".

Another mastodon of the 70s, doing pretty well considering its AM Rank and its usual positions in our polls

I don't get how Who's Next and Led Zeppelin IV made the top ten while Deep Purple's Machine Head and Black Sabbath's first three albums failed to make the list. As far has 70s hard rock goes, I find all these albums to be on a similar level of quality. And Low is ridiculously better than the three albums ahead of it.

There's something about Led Zeppelin finishing ahead of the Stones that just doesn't seem right to me. Oh well. So as I had guessed, my T6 albums are the top six, although in a different order. My guess is that Marquee Moon is next to get out.

Paranoid not reaching 2nd round was one of my biggest disappointment of the first round, it belongs in the top 20 of the decade for me.
And Low is ridiculously boring, imho.

So long for trolling :

6) Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)
1448 points



Rank in the 1971 poll : 2
Rank in the AM 70s list : 1
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 5

Fans : Alex D #3, VanillaFire1000 #4, SR #4, Georgie #7, Honorio #7, Henrik #8, sonofsamiam #9, netjade #9
Father Father, everybody thinks he’s wrong : Michel #96

Honorio : Marvin struggled hard to gain his own creative control inside the iron fist of Motown but doing that he expanded notably the horizons of soul music. The social issues were no longer forbidden for black artists, white-rock artefacts like concept albums were allowed and the production handled by the artist himself rendered a highly sophisticated jazz-funk sound.

Alex D : I can't understand why anyone wouldn't like this, except for if they were celibate maybe. Do you not feel the power of his voice? It would be over-the-top for anybody else, but it works for Marvin, and whoever the session guy that played the guitar licks is, he is just ballin' on this one.

This could seem like a counter-performance for AM3000 best album on the 70s, however it is only 1 place behind its rank on the all-time poll.
Next 2 albums are only separated by 2 points, and I will some people to blame since I really enjoy #5 much more than #4 !

oui

I'm happy those three marble classics (Led Zep IV, Who's Next, What's Goin' On) made the top 10.

To me they are the early 70s sound. The LZ album is simply fantastic. Dig the last song, dig the wonderful drums sound.

Great top 5. One album is slightly overrated though among those left (the one with the guy playing long guitar solos). And having my number 3 in the top 5 puts a big smile on my face.

No, no - PINK FLAG's already appeared, back at #32.

This is my comment for the song "Let's Get It On"

I love "When the Levee Breaks" too. I wish "Stairway" didn't steal all of the attention from it.

Four of the top five are fantastic. I hope LC gets number 1, which it completely deserves.

non

Thanks, needed a good belly laugh

#8/#7: thanksaslut_ not that I enjoy mental ear herpes from time to time... at least the t5 will do their common job to wash that crap out of me canyons..

edit: yeah, dead serious/yet smirking.. boonz

Bah, I'll put your comment of the albums when we will get to Let's Get it On on the song poll ^^

5) Television - Marquee Moon (1977)
1499 points



Rank in the 1977 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 10
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 11

Fans : Midaso #1, brose #2, Nassim #2, netjade #3, Harold Wexler #4, Jackson #5, SR #6, Jonah #8, Otisredding #8
Does not stand neath the Marquee Moon : VanillaFire1000 #91


4) Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run (1975)
1501 points



Rank in the 1975 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 6
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 3

Fans : Alex D #1, VanillaFire1000 #1, Stephan #2, Otisredding #2, Midaso #3, nicolas #3, brose #5, Brad #5, Honorio #8
Born to walk ? : Jackson #49

Honorio : Springsteen wanted his album to sound like “Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan produced by Phil Spector”. And he succeeded, the wall of sound was there thanks to Jon Landau and a renewed E-Street Band, the lyrics were as rich as the Dylan ones and the dramatic deliverance owed some debt to Roy Orbison. But no mistakes here, the final result were 100% Springsteen.

Alex D : Listen to it. I can't describe the effect it has adequately. And visit the Jersey shore sometime - walk down the boardwalk in Atlantic City or Seaside Heights or Cape May around sunset sometime when it's not too busy. You'll understand.

Damn you Alex D, had you listened to Marquee Moon, it might have overtook Born to Run. The boss had a tough time anyway, at more than halfway of the votes it wasn't even on the top 10, but got much support from the last third of the voters, gaining places on almost all the ballots received. VanillaFire1000 sealed the fate, giving Born to Run 81 more points than Marquee Moon (so damn you too ! )
The 3 remaining albums are pretty far ahead and distant from each other... so who will win, punk, glam or soul ?

The top 3 is what I expected (and that's too that they are far ahead the rest). Next one is Ziggy. London Calling is big favourite but I really would like to see a big surprise at the top (and guess we'll see).

Hello, I put Born to run at the #90.

Indeed, but I considered people where unlikely to listen to the album starting at #91 !

No, it's not

3) Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)
1594 points



Rank in the 1973 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 14
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 7

Fans : BillAdama #1, sonofsamiam #1, SR #2, Honorio #4, brose #4, Midaso #5, Otisredding #6, netjade #7, Henrik #7, Jonah #9

Honorio : A landmark album for many reasons: the well-known prodigious music talent of Stevie Wonder met here with his best set of lyrics, portraying accurately the confusion of the early 70s not hiding political and social concerns, and the innovative arrangements relying on the pioneering use of ARP synthesizers on a funk and pop context that opened many doors.

Alex D : Stevie's most political album isn't his best, but it contains several masterpieces and sets up the multitude of styles that would later come to light on Songs in the Key of Life. Though Stevie couldn't see the world around him, he knew it was crumbling, and he "reads" the early-70s better than any sighted person did. Of course, there's also his musical talent - hearing the album, you would never believe that one person could accomplish 90% of the sounds on such a well-arranged album, in his head no less.

Great success for Stevie, finishing way higher than its AM rank or its All time poll rank. Missed a handful more top 10 votes to win the poll anyway !

Delighted to see Bruce and Stevie so high

Romain : dommage pour toi...

So the two biggest favorites are the top 2. So what we are guessing now? Will London Calling get 100 points more than Ziggy? What is the final score of LC, 1750, 1800?
Will the songs of the 70s countdown start today?

Excellent list. The two at the top are my #1 and my #2 too, so if Strummer and Co. got the top I will be satisfied too. But (again) go Ziggy go!

What can I say, I never, ever have gotten the hype for Marquee Moon. Ever, ever, ever.

2) Clash, The - London Calling (1979)
1719 points



Rank in the 1979 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 3
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 1

Fans : Jackson #1, SR #1, Michel #1, brose #1, RockyRaccoon #2, Midaso #2, Honorio #2, BillAdama #3, Harold Wexler #3, Romain #4, Stephan #7, Alex D #7, VanillaFire1000 #9, Otisredding #10

Honorio : Punk attitude. Or, why not, rock & roll attitude. The prodigiously vast array of music styles that The Clash displayed on their magnum opus, including pop, rock and reggae but even rockabilly, ragtime, ska, funk or soul (and that was going to be even wider with “Sandinista” got tied together by the rage, the fury, the pride and the combativeness of punk.

Alex D : It's hard to make an album with almost 20 songs and still keep all the loose ends tied up, but if anyone could do it, it's The Clash. They cover a zillion and one styles, from rockabilly to tu-tone ska, but you never really feel like they lose focus - they make all the songs sound like their own. Instead of being a band that can't decide what it wants to do, they sound like a band that can succeed at whatever they want - and they do, from "London Calling" all the way to the much lighter and just as good "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)"


1) David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972)
1849 points



Rank in the 1972 poll : 1
Rank in the AM 70s list : 5
Rank in the AM Albums Poll : 2

Fans : Romain #1, Honorio #1, Nassim #1, Brad #2, SR #3, Mindrocker #3, Miguel #4, Henrik #4, Alex D #4, Snusmumrik #4, Jonah #5, brose #8, Jackson #9, Midaso #9

Honorio : Bowie’s theatrical impersonation of the ultimate rock star, an androgynous extraterrestrial coming from Mars to Earth with a message of hope in an apocalyptical scenario (“we had five years left to cry in” falling finally victim of his own sex-drug excesses and the mad worship of his fans (“the kids have killed the man” , showed the tricks and the traps underneath messianic rock and foreshadowed the end of classic rock stardom that came with punk.

Alex D : Ziggy played guitar, jammed good with weird and Gilly (not to mention the oft-underrated Mick Ronson) and introduced us to the spiders and Mars. And he had a helluva time doing it. Nobody could ever be as glam as David Bowie, nobody was weirder-looking and nobody had a stronger force of personality than Bowie in '72. There was also no one who could write better melodies and no one who could completely muddle the concept of his own album and make it sound better than it did before. He was just on fire with this one. Every track is not just solid, they're superb. He covers so much ground too: soul ("Soul Love"), '50s style rock ("Suffragette City"), pop ("Starman"), and others, but he adds his own crazy flair to all of them. It's memorable, it's virtually flawless, and it's when Bowie showed the first glimpse of the enormous imprint he would leave on the decade.

While compiling the results, there never has been much suspense, Bowie took an early lead and never lost it.
So, with the same number of top 10 votes and less #1 votes, how did Ziggy take the win ? Well it seems that it had the biggest consensus, with only one vote on the second half of any ballot (being at #59) while London Calling was on the second half of 4 ballots (with its worst position being #90). With about the same amount of high praise, that made the difference

Hope you enjoyed that poll!

i didn't either for a long while, now it's one of my favorites. LOVE it!

Excellent presentation, Nassim. And excellent results

Ziggy won it!! I thought LC would make the top spot, but i'm glad ziggy topped. That's just awesome, the whole list, even the number one album was something i wasn't expecting, since i saw a bunch of terrific albums out of the top 50, i knew it this was going to be hot stuff!

It's too too-too to put a finger on...

Seriously, though, I just think (as do a lot of others, apparently) that MM first and foremost has some of the finest guitar soloing and interplay ever recorded, with Tom Verlaine's spiral-staircase meandering somehow meshing perfectly with Richard Lloyd's more overtly rocking yet lyrical punch 'n' crunch. I can see how Verlaine's voice and somewhat pretentious lyrics could be a major stumbling block for some, but all I know is that whenever that chorus riff kicks in on "Venus" or it gets to the climactic "F! R! I! C! T-I-O-N!" on "Friction," I'm in heaven.

awww what? i was hoping for LC over Ziggy. oh well.

That's a surprising result at the top, especially since LC crushed Ziggy in the all-time albums poll. I didn't expect Innervisions to finish as high as it did either.

Wow, Ziggy won and what an insuperability (130 points). I thought too many Bowie albums in the list could have harm him but I was wrong. Also it's very nice to see Low in the top 10. Ziggy was way more higher than LC also in my list. So it's nice to see that man of the decade didn't just have numerous albums to the top 100 but also won the competition.

And great work Nassim. Great presentation. I guess I'll use same outfit in the 09 results.

Gracias Nassim. Perfecto.

I forgot about this poll kind of, but wow, it is very much to my liking! Obviously there will always be some I don't agree with but Sticky Fingers above Exile? Top notch! Fun House that high? Amazing! Good work Gang of 26!

The seventies were so cool. Bowie, punk-rock, singer/songwriters that had actually something good to say, led zep 4, you could dress like a girl and no one would judge you. The 2010's are being so shitty in comparison, so far of course.

Of all the album polls so far, this one I think has the most unpredictable result. Having said that, the surprises are all mostly good. I was shocked Ziggy beat London Calling, and that Sticky Fingers topped Exile on Main St., that Stevie and Bruce did so well, but believe me, I'm not complaining at all!

Fine job, Nassim. Alex D, nice comments.

Great finish. I'm a little surprised to see Ziggy #1, I would have expected mid-top 10. A year ago I might have put it in my top 10 all time, but lately it's dipped a bit for me.

Great to see Innervisions and London Calling #2 and #3 though.

Great list. Great presentation. Thanks Nassim!

Yes, of course, thanks, Nassim!

also, could someone link this AND the all time poll in the sticky thread of AMF polls? i would if i could, we wanna keep these for posterity!

agree

Great decade : wonderful classic rock in the first half, and then it seems that everything that makes nowadays music (electro, indie, rap, dub...) was invented in the second half.

Wonderful job, Nassim! I really regret not participating in this, but time was just not on my side!