The Best Albums Of 1970

The albums released in 1970 represent a fantastic mix of rock, jazz, and soul, including some of history’s most important and influential records. Led Zeppelin continued to blaze their own path. Black Sabbath arrived, taking heavy metal to the popular masses, the seeds of punk rock were planted by The Stooges, and Miles Davis was singlehandedly changing jazz. Here are all of the 1970 albums ranked.

Don’t miss out on the music of 1970 below! Click to find out why 1970 is one of the greatest years of rock ever!

10. After The Gold Rush (Neil Young)

“After The Gold Rush was Neil Young’s third album as a solo artist, and it turned out to be the most beautiful and emotionally moving record in his catalogue. When Neil decided to follow his dream, and pursue a solo career, his first record was controlled by his new record label, and although it had a lot of very good songs on it, and a few stand out tracks, it was terribly over produced by the label that was trying to figure out how to market his unique sound and style, by glossing over his distinctive voice and wide range of musical styles. The end result was disappointing, despite the fact that it had a lot of very well written songs on it, and a couple of stand out tracks, like The Loner, and ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You, which have been Concert favorites for all of these years! So, on his second record, Neil connected with a Rough and Ready band that he renamed Crazy Horse, and he was able to put out an electric guitar based album that featured an amazing collection of long, extended solo guitar based tracks that were not like anything else on record, at the time.”

9. Abraxas (Santana)

“I had always loved latin music but this was a fantastic blend of rock and traditional latin rhythms. There’s not a bad track on the original album but for me the most magical moment is when Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen melts into the start of Oye Como Va – fantastic.”

8. Deep Purple In Rock (Deep Purple)

“In Rock from 1970 is my favorite Purple album- it’s just so raw, heavy and Blackmore’s leads are ferocious throughout the album. Hard Lovin’ Man- what a freight train of a song. Ian Paice- what a fantastic drummer. This remaster is excellent and it includes the original intro to Speed King that was omitted in the American Warner Brothers version I bought in the 80’s. The extra tracks are pretty cool too. A must have for a true Purple fan.”

See More: Deep Purple Albums Ranked

7. Morrison Hotel (The Doors)

“I was recently asked what one singer would I like to see in person. It is JIM MORRISON. More for the voice and style than anything else. Yes, I would choose him over Sinatra, Bennett, Jagger, McCartney, McGraw, you name it. And this particular album is their best. Waiting For The Sun, Peace Frog, the list is phenomenal. Every album the Doors did was incredible. They were a gift to music.This is original class!”

6. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)

“Its hard to improve on perfection but in this case it true.. without douth one of the greatest albums of all time and this coming from someone whose record collection contains everything from classical to metallica! the remastered CD is fantastic the improved sound quality is amazing!! and the DVD of the making of the album is a real eye opener! i never imagined such thought and precission went into music back in the late 60’s i had this image of them sitting in a studio with a dozen or so guitars and a group of bearded technicians behind a wall of glass twiddleing with a mass of knobs and buttons!! well nothing could be further from the truth!! dont just sit there buy it.”

5. Atom Heart Mother (Pink Floyd)

“What exactly made the rock and roll of the mid 1960’s to the late 1970’s so exciting, experimental and sometimes monumental in scope, with masterpieces like “Pet Sounds”, “Abbey Road”, “Dark Side of the Moon”, “Physical Graffiti”, etc.? It’s actually not a big mystery although one might think so. The secret was simple: the record executives of the big labels of the day were older, came from a different musical generation and to them all of these bands were over their heads, so they measured their worth by word of mouth, live gigs or just plain chance. Now, music is broken down, analyzed, categorized and beaten to death before it ever gets out. Bands are thrown into certain genres, never to stray. Hence, many fans have been suckered into this trap too, and have become ridiculously intolerant of their favorite outfits stretching creative boundaries, trying new looks or anything else. It’s stupid, but society is oversimplified and demands strict regimentation while all the while deluding itself into thinking it’s free thinking and lives on the “edge”.

4. Let It Be (The Beatles)

““Let It Be” was the final album released by The Beatles(even though the recording sessions predated “Abbey Road”). Though there’s some undeniable classic songs included(“Get Back”, “Let It Be”, “The Long and Winding Road” & “Across The Universe”) the remaining songs, while good by anyone else’s standards, are second rate songs by Beatles standards.””

See More: The Beatles Albums Ranked

3. Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)

“One of the albums that birthed heavy metal as I’m sure all here know. Must have for any metalhead or fan of blues driven hard rock. Greatest thing about this CD remaster is that it digitally combines intrumental tracks with main tracks. So if you rip it you don’t have to listen to stupid skips in the music. I wish every band would combine tracks that should be played together like this. Who wants to shuffle their music and get an intro to the wrong song, not to mention gaps that occur if you just listening to the album. Remaster isn’t really different than the previous remaster, but the price is very good and worth it just for the combined tracks. Of course there’s software out there that will combine tracks, but I’m lazy and it’s a pain to deal with!”

2. Led Zeppelin III (Led Zeppelin)

“This is the best version I have heard of the original album. Details emerge in this remastering that are revelatory. But the real news here is the bonus disc. The instrumental tracks are lovely and support the idea that this is one of rock’s most highly accomplished group of musical technicians. The “rough” tracks are simply amazing–one feels like s/he is sitting with the musicians in the recording studio (or in Page’s Headley Grange estate!). “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” especially gives me chills (in a good way!).”

1. Paranoid (Black Sabbath)

“Whist Black Sabbath just can not be denied the adulation they deserve as pioneers and producers of rock/metal at its best, Paranoid has to be their greatest work. Sure they’ve done loads of brilliant stuff but Paranoid is an album where every track is simply awesome, it’s all lean, not a speck of aural fat to be heard. So much has been written and said about Paranoid, what could I add?”