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Best albums of 1970

The Beatles ended and the vacuum filled within months. Black Sabbath put out two albums inside twelve months and handed metal most of the vocabulary it still uses. Jazz musicians were plugging in at the same time, which took longer to be forgiven.

According to Riffiter listeners, the best album of 1970 is Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin, rated 4.3/5 by 25 listeners.

  1. Led Zeppelin III cover№ 1Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin · 19704.2Weighted score4.3 avg · 25 ratings
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  1. 2Paranoid coverParanoidBlack Sabbath · 19704.2 score · 4.3 avg · 28 ratings
  2. 3Cosmo's Factory coverCosmo's FactoryCreedence Clearwater Revival · 19704.0 score · 4.2 avg · 10 ratings
  3. 4Let It Be coverLet It BeThe Beatles · 19704.0 score · 4.0 avg · 28 ratings
  4. 5Atom Heart Mother coverAtom Heart MotherPink Floyd · 19703.8 score · 3.6 avg · 14 ratings
  5. 6Déjà vu coverDéjà vuCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · 19708 ratings
  6. 7All Things Must Pass coverAll Things Must PassGeorge Harrison · 19708 ratings
  7. 8Black Sabbath coverBlack SabbathBlack Sabbath · 19708 ratings
  8. 9Bridge Over Troubled Water coverBridge Over Troubled WaterSimon & Garfunkel · 19707 ratings
  9. 10Bryter Layter coverBryter LayterNick Drake · 19707 ratings
  10. 11That's the Way Love Is coverThat's the Way Love IsMarvin Gaye · 19707 ratings
  11. 12Abraxas coverAbraxasSantana · 19706 ratings
  12. 13Curtis coverCurtisCurtis Mayfield · 19706 ratings
  13. 14The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby coverThe Rubaiyat of Dorothy AshbyDorothy Ashby · 19705 ratings
  14. 15On the Waters coverOn the WatersBread · 19705 ratings
  15. 16I'll Never Fall in Love Again coverI'll Never Fall in Love AgainDionne Warwick · 19705 ratings
  16. 17Live At Talk Of The Town coverLive At Talk Of The TownStevie Wonder · 19705 ratings
  17. 18Everything Is Everything coverEverything Is EverythingDiana Ross · 19705 ratings
  18. 19After the Gold Rush coverAfter the Gold RushNeil Young · 19705 ratings
  19. 20Tap Root Manuscript coverTap Root ManuscriptNeil Diamond · 19704 ratings
  20. 21Moondance coverMoondanceVan Morrison · 19703 ratings
  21. 22Fun House coverFun HouseThe Stooges · 19703 ratings
  22. 23Sunflower coverSunflowerThe Beach Boys · 19703 ratings
  23. 24Songs of Love and Hate coverSongs of Love and HateLeonard Cohen · 19703 ratings
  24. 25Idlewild South coverIdlewild SouthThe Allman Brothers Band · 19703 ratings
  25. 26Redbone coverRedboneRedbone · 19703 ratings
  26. 27Ebony Woman coverEbony WomanBilly Paul · 19703 ratings
  27. 28Part Time Love coverPart Time LoveAnn Peebles · 19703 ratings
  28. 29Deep Purple in Rock coverDeep Purple in RockDeep Purple · 19703 ratings
  29. 30Black Sabbath coverBlack SabbathBlack Sabbath · 19703 ratings
  30. 31Loaded coverLoadedThe Velvet Underground · 19703 ratings
  31. 32Bitches Brew coverBitches BrewMiles Davis · 19703 ratings
  32. 33Ladies of the Canyon coverLadies of the CanyonJoni Mitchell · 19702 ratings
  33. 34Força bruta coverForça brutaJorge Ben Jor · 19702 ratings
  34. 35Lizard coverLizardKing Crimson · 19702 ratings
  35. 36Just Another Diamond Day coverJust Another Diamond DayVashti Bunyan · 19702 ratings
  36. 37Live at Leeds coverLive at LeedsThe Who · 19702 ratings
  37. 38Stephen Stills coverStephen StillsStephen Stills · 19702 ratings
  38. 39Starsailor coverStarsailorTim Buckley · 19702 ratings
  39. 40Red Clay coverRed ClayFreddie Hubbard · 19702 ratings
  40. 41Odetta Sings coverOdetta SingsOdetta · 19702 ratings
  41. 42T. Rex coverT. RexT. Rex · 19702 ratings
  42. 43Come Together coverCome TogetherIke & Tina Turner · 19702 ratings
  43. 44The Temptations Christmas Card coverThe Temptations Christmas CardThe Temptations · 19702 ratings
  44. 45Climbing! coverClimbing!Mountain · 19702 ratings
  45. 46Morrison Hotel coverMorrison HotelThe Doors · 19702 ratings
  46. 47Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs coverLayla and Other Assorted Love SongsDerek and the Dominos · 19702 ratings
  47. 48Cold Fact coverCold FactSixto Rodriguez · 19702 ratings
  48. 49Desertshore coverDesertshoreNico · 19702 ratings
  49. 50American Beauty coverAmerican BeautyGrateful Dead · 19702 ratings

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Best albums of 1970 by genre

The genres that carried the period here, each with what listeners rate highest inside it.

The artists of 1970

Everyone who put a record out then, ordered by how listeners rate their catalog rather than by that one release.

Every artist of 1970, ranked →

1970, month by month

Not everything that came out, just where the weight fell. Some months carried a year; some were quiet and worth knowing about.

FAQ

What are the best albums of 1970?
On Riffiter, the highest-rated album of 1970 is Led Zeppelin III by Led Zeppelin (4.3/5). The ranking below orders the year's releases by community rating.
How is the 1970 ranking decided?
By Riffiter listeners. Each album's community rating sets its place. Until a release has enough ratings, its popularity stands in, and the order shifts as more people rate.
Does the best-of-1970 list change?
Yes. It's built from live community ratings, so the order updates as people rate 1970 releases. The page refreshes a few times a day.