The Defining Artists of the 1970s

The following artists released some of the best music of the 1970s. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.

Of the 249 artists listed above, 56% have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Defining Albums of the 1970s

Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman (1970)

Sly & The Family Stone - Greatest Hits (1970)

The Beatles - Let It Be (1970)

The Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (1970)

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)

Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)

Derek & The Dominos - Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)

Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection (1970)

Diana Ross - Diana Ross (1970)

James Brown - Sex Machine (1970)

The Grateful Dead - American Beauty (1970)

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (1970)

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)

The Velvet Underground - Loaded (1970)

The Who - Live At Leeds (1970)

John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970)

MC5 - Back In the USA (1970)

James Taylor - Sweet Baby James (1970)

The Carpenters - Close To You (1970)

Van Morrison - Moondance (1970)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory (1970)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu (1970)

Santana - Abraxas (1970)

The Stooges - Fun House (1970)

Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (1970)

Randy Newman - 12 Songs (1970)

John Lennon - Imagine (1971)

Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate (1971)

Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (1971)

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)

Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971)

Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality (1971)

Alice Cooper - Love it to Death (1971)

John Prine - John Prine (1971)

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (1971)

Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)

T. Rex - Electric Warrior (1971)

Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

Loretta Lynn - Coal Miner's Daughter (1971)

Bill Withers - Just As I Am (1971)

Paul and Linda McCartney - Ram (1971)

Carole King - Tapestry (1971)

David Bowie - Hunky Dory (1971)

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971)

Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)

Sly & The Family Stone - There's A Riot Goin' On (1971)

The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East (1971)

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda (1971)

The Doors - L.A. Woman (1971)

Janis Joplin - Pearl (1971)

Big Star - #1 Record (1972)

Curtis Mayfield - Super Fly (1972)

Dr. John - Dr. John's Gumbo (1972)

Yes - Close To The Edge (1972)

War - The World Is A Ghetto (1972)

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

Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)

Stevie Wonder - Music of My Mind (1972)

Neil Young - Harvest (1972)

Jimmy Cliff & Various Artists - The Harder They Come (1972)

Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes (1972)

Lou Reed - Transformer (1972)

Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You (1972)

Bill Withers - Still Bill (1972)

Elton John - Honky Chateau (1972)

Aretha Franklin - Young, Gifted and Black (1972)

The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St. (1972)

The Eagles - Eagles (1972)

Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace (1972)

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)

Todd Rundgren - Something/Anything? (1972)

Randy Newman - Sail Away (1972)

Bonnie Raitt - Give It Up (1972)

Raspberries - Fresh (1972)

Paul Simon - Paul Simon (1972)

Can - Ege Bamyasi (1972)

The O'Jays - Back Stabbers (1972)

Stevie Wonder - Talking Book (1972)

Toots and the Maytals - Funky Kingston (1973)

Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973)

The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)

New York Dolls - New York Dolls (1973)

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Catch a Fire (1973)

Diana Ross and the Supremes - Anthology (1973)

Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973)

Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (1973)

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (1973)

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (1973)

The Isley Brothers - 3+3 (1973)

Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run (1973)

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Al Green - Call Me (1973)

Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (1973)

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Burnin' (1973)

Lou Reed - Berlin (1973)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced 'Leh-'nerd 'Skin-'nerd) (1973)

Mott the Hoople - Mott (1973)

Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy (1973)

ZZ Top - Tres Hombres (1973)

The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

Jackson Browne - For Everyman (1973)

Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky (1974)

Randy Newman - Good Old Boys (1974)

Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974)

Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets (1974)

Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like a Wheel (1974)

Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night (1974)

Sparks - Kimono My House (1974)

Camel - Mirage (1974)

Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (1974)

Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic (1974)

Labelle - Nightbirds (1974)

Barry White - Can't Get Enough (1974)

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Natty Dread (1974)

The Meters - Rejuvenation (1974)

Neil Young - On The Beach (1974)

Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)

Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)

Big Star - Radio City (1974)

Earth, Wind & Fire - That's the Way of the World (1975)

Brian Eno - Another Green World (1975)

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)

Queen - A Night At The Opera (1975)

Roxy Music - Siren (1975)

Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Expensive Shit (1975)

Al Green - Al Green's Greatest Hits (1975)

Parliament - Mothership Connection (1975)

Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks (1975)

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (1975)

KISS - Alive! (1975)

Elton John - Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)

Bob Dylan and the Band - The Basement Tapes (1975)

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (1975)

Patti Smith - Horses (1975)

Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (1975)

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic (1975)

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Neil Young - Tonight's The Night (1975)

The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers (1976)

The Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

KISS - Destroyer (1976)

Bob Dylan - Desire (1976)

Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle (1976)

Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions (1976)

Aerosmith - Rocks (1976)

Ramones - Ramones (1976)

David Bowie - Station To Station (1976)

Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976)

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life (1976)

Blondie - Blondie (1976)

Joni Mitchell - Hejira (1976)

Bee Gees & Various Artists - Saturday Night Fever (1977)

David Bowie - Low (1977)

The Clash - The Clash (1977)

Ramones - Rocket To Russia (1977)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977)

Rufus - Ask Rufus (1977)

Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977)

Suicide - Suicide (1977)

Eric Clapton - Slowhand (1977)

Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

Billy Joel - The Stranger (1977)

Wire - Pink Flag (1977)

Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)

Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

Cheap Trick - In Color (1977)

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Exodus (1977)

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell (1977)

Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True (1977)

Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)

Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food (1978)

Willie Nelson - Stardust (1978)

Blondie - Parallel Lines (1978)

X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents (1978)

Billy Joel - 52nd Street (1978)

Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978)

Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits (1978)

Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear (1978)

Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

The Rolling Stones - Some Girls (1978)

Buddy Holly - 20 Golden Greats (1978)

The Police - Outlandos d'Amour (1978)

Elvis Costello - This Year's Model (1978)

Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick At Budokan (1978)

The Cars - The Cars (1978)

Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers (1978)

Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)

The Clash - London Calling (1979)

Chic - Risqué (1979)

The Slits - Cut (1979)

The Raincoats - The Raincoats (1979)

Gang of Four - Entertainment! (1979)

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Armed Forces (1979)

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps (1979)

Graham Parker and The Rumour - Squeezing Out Sparks (1979)

Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (1979)

Donna Summer - Bad Girls (1979)

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Damn the Torpedoes (1979)

AC/DC - Highway to Hell (1979)

Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady (1979)

Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)

The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

The Police - Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box (1979)

The Defining Songs of the 1970s

Elton John - Your Song (1970)

James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (1970)

Jackson 5 - ABC (1970)

The Beatles - Let It Be (1970)

Badfinger - Without You (1970)

The Kinks - Lola (1970)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Woodstock (1970)

Toots & the Maytals - Pressure Drop (1970)

Eric Clapton - After Midnight (1970)

Edwin Starr - War (1970)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio (1970)

Neil Young - After The Gold Rush (1970)

Black Sabbath - Iron Man (1970)

Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1970)

Boney M. - Rivers Of Babylon (1970)

Derek & The Dominos - Layla (1970)

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

Free - All Right Now (1970)

Cat Stevens - Father and Son (1970)

The Grateful Dead - Ripple (1970)

Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed (1970)

Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up (1970)

Van Morrison - Moondance (1970)

The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane (1970)

Santana - Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen (1970)

Santana - Oye Como Va (1970)

Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee (1970)

Johnny Cash - Sunday Morning Coming Down (1970)

Van Morrison - Into the Mystic (1970)

James Taylor - Fire And Rain (1970)

Yes - Roundabout (1971)

Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (1971)

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)

Rod Stewart - Maggie May (1971)

John Lennon - Imagine (1971)

Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye (1971)

Al Green - Let's Stay Together (1971)

Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (1971)

T. Rex - Bang A Gong (Get It On) (1971)

Alice Cooper - I'm Eighteen (1971)

T. Rex - Cosmic Dancer (1971)

The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself (1971)

War - Slippin' Into Darkness (1971)

Joni Mitchell - River (1971)

The Who - Baba O'Riley (1971)

David Bowie - Life on Mars? (1971)

Jethro Tull - Aqualung (1971)

The Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her (1971)

Esther Phillips - Home is Where the Hatred Is (1971)

Black Sabbath - Changes (1971)

Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft (1971)

The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses (1971)

Elton John - Tiny Dancer (1971)

Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (1971)

Carole King - You've Got a Friend (1971)

Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair (1971)

Joni Mitchell - A Case of You (1971)

Led Zeppelin - Rock And Roll (1971)

Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side (1972)

Al Green - Love And Happiness (1972)

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (1972)

Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman (1972)

Bill Withers - Lean On Me (1972)

Roxy Music - Virginia Plain (1972)

Lyn Collins - Think (About It) (1972)

The Rolling Stones - Tumbling Dice (1972)

Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (1972)

The O'Jays - Love Train (1972)

Stevie Wonder - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (1972)

Stevie Wonder - Superstition (1972)

Nick Drake - Pink Moon (1972)

Electric Light Orchestra - Do Ya (1972)

Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water (1972)

Neil Young - Heart Of Gold (1972)

Steely Dan - Reelin' In The Years (1972)

Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes (1972)

Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come (1972)

The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There (1972)

The Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (1972)

Randy Newman - Sail Away (1972)

The Eagles - Take It Easy (1972)

Johnny Nash - Stir It Up (1972)

J.J. Cale - Call Me the Breeze (1972)

Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly With His Song (1973)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird (1973)

New York Dolls - Personality Crisis (1973)

Grand Funk Railroad - We're An American Band (1973)

Hall & Oates - She's Gone (1973)

Bruce Springsteen - Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (1973)

Aerosmith - Dream On (1973)

The Wailers - Get Up, Stand Up (1973)

Little Feat - Dixie Chicken (1973)

Iggy And The Stooges - Search And Destroy (1973)

Glynis Johns - Send in the Clowns (1973)

Billy Joel - Piano Man (1973)

The Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man (1973)

Stevie Wonder - Living for the City (1973)

Frank Zappa - Montana (1973)

Little River Band - Lady (1973)

Elton John - Bennie And The Jets (1973)

Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground (1973)

Eric Clapton - I Shot The Sheriff (1973)

Dolly Parton - Jolene (1973)

Dr. John - Right Place Wrong Time (1973)

The Faces - Ooh La La (1973)

ZZ Top - La Grange (1973)

Pink Floyd - Money (1973)

Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia (1973)

Joni Mitchell - Help Me (1974)

Kiss - Rock And Roll All Nite (1974)

Jackson Browne - Late For The Sky (1974)

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)

Bad Company - Feel Like Makin' Love (1974)

Gladys Knight & the Pips - On and On (1974)

Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974)

Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces (1974)

Al Green - Take Me to the River (1974)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama (1974)

Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris - Love Hurts (1974)

Big Star - September Gurls (1974)

Ohio Players - Fire (1974)

Bob Marley - No Woman No Cry (1974)

Bad Company - Movin' On (1974)

Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road (1975)

Earth Wind and Fire - Shining Star (1975)

The Grateful Dead - Fire on the Mountain (1975)

Christopher Cross - Sailing (1975)

Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby (1975)

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (1975)

David Bowie - Fame (1975)

Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (1975)

David Bowie - Young Americans (1975)

Bruce Springsteen - Jungleland (1975)

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)

Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug (1975)

Patti Smith - Gloria (1975)

Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue (1975)

Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust (1975)

War - Low Rider (1975)

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

Fleetwood Mac - Landslide (1975)

Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic (1975)

Aerosmith - Walk This Way (1975)

Parliament - Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) (1975)

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (1975)

Tom Petty - American Girl (1976)

Peter Tosh - Legalize It (1976)

Bob Seger - Night Moves (1976)

ABBA - Dancing Queen (1976)

Linda Ronstadt - Poor Poor Pitiful Me (1976)

Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The U.K. (1976)

Steve Miller Band - Fly Like An Eagle (1976)

The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner (1976)

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (1976)

Boston - More Than A Feeling (1976)

The Runaways - Cherry Bomb (1976)

The Trammps - Disco Inferno (1976)

Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town (1976)

Eric Clapton - Cocaine (1976)

The Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

The Damned - New Rose (1976)

Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop (1976)

Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (1977)

David Bowie - Heroes (1977)

Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (1977)

The Jam - In The City (1977)

Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (1977)

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds (1977)

Parliament - Flash Light (1977)

Bill Withers - Lovely Day (1977)

Steely Dan - Deacon Blues (1977)

The Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer (1977)

Billy Joel - Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (1977)

Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill (1977)

Donna Summer - I Feel Love (1977)

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life (1977)

Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are (1977)

Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)

Elvis Costello - Alison (1977)

Heart - Barracuda (1977)

The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love (1977)

Queen - We Will Rock You (1977)

The Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (1977)

Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive (1978)

Blondie - Heart Of Glass (1978)

Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) (1978)

The Police - Roxanne (1978)

Cheap Trick - Surrender (1978)

Chic - Le Freak (1978)

The Cars - Just What I Needed (1978)

Elvis Costello - Pump It Up (1978)

Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing (1978)

The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes (1978)

Patti Smith - Because The Night (1978)

Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

The Clash - (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais (1978)

Earth, Wind & Fire - September (1978)

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks (1978)

The B-52's - Rock Lobster (1978)

The Rolling Stones - Miss You (1978)

Van Halen - Runnin' With The Devil (1978)

Neil Young - My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) (1979)

AC/DC - Highway To Hell (1979)

Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2 (1979)

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (1979)

Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)

The Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law (1979)

Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead (1979)

Sister Sledge - We Are Family (1979)

Blondie - Dreaming (1979)

Michael Jackson - Rock With You (1979)

Chic - Good Times (1979)

The Slits - Typical Girls (1979)

Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot (1979)

The Clash - London Calling (1979)

The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (1979)