Best music artists of the 1970s
The 1970s gave us disco balls, arena rock anthems, and singer-songwriters who turned personal heartbreak into timeless hits, making it one of the most musically diverse decades in history. From Fleetwood Mac's harmonies to Stevie Wonder's genius and the raw power of Led Zeppelin, the era's icons still shape music today. Who truly reigned supreme? Cast your vote and help crown the best music artist of the 1970s!
What counts: Seeded with approximate figures where shown — the crowd's votes decide the order.
Stevie Wonder▲ Rising
Between 1972 and 1976 he dropped five albums — Music of My Mind through Songs in the Key of Life — that redefined what a solo artist could do with a Moog and total creative control. 'Superstition' alone justifies a top spot, but the sheer density of genius across Innervisions and Fulfillingness' First Finale makes him the decade's most vital musical mind, full stop.
Primary Genre: Soul/R&BDefining 1970s Album: Songs in the Key of LifeStudio Albums Released (1970s): 9Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 100 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 10Critical Acclaim: 9.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 6 rankingsStevie Wonder
64
Pink Floyd▲ Rising
Dark Side of the Moon spent over 900 weeks on the Billboard chart because it turned existential dread into something you could put on at a party, and Wish You Were Here and Animals proved it wasn't a fluke. They made prog cinematic instead of indulgent, which is the whole argument for their place here.
Primary Genre: Progressive RockDefining 1970s Album: The Dark Side of the MoonStudio Albums Released (1970s): 7Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 250 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 1Critical Acclaim: 9.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 5 rankings
50Queen▲ Rising
'Bohemian Rhapsody' shouldn't have worked as a single — six minutes, no chorus, an opera section — and it became one of the biggest songs ever anyway, because Mercury and May refused to accept genre as a limitation. A Night at the Opera through News of the World is a run of pure theatrical audacity that made stadium rock feel like art.
Primary Genre: RockDefining 1970s Album: A Night at the OperaStudio Albums Released (1970s): 8Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 170 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 5Critical Acclaim: 9/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 7 rankings
46
Led Zeppelin▲ Rising
They basically invented arena rock's blueprint, turning blues riffs into thunder on IV and then going full mystic-folk-funk sprawl on Physical Graffiti. Bonham's drums on 'When the Levee Breaks' still sound like the end of the world, and no band did louder-equals-holier with more conviction.
Primary Genre: Hard RockDefining 1970s Album: Led Zeppelin IVStudio Albums Released (1970s): 7Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 200 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 2Critical Acclaim: 9.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 7 rankings
33
David Bowie▲ Rising
He killed off Ziggy Stardust onstage in 1973 and then reinvented himself three more times before the decade ended, from plastic soul on Young Americans to the ice-cold Berlin Trilogy with Eno. No other artist treated identity itself as the medium, which is why he's the decade's most influential shapeshifter.
Primary Genre: Glam/Art RockDefining 1970s Album: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy StardustStudio Albums Released (1970s): 11Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 100 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 3Critical Acclaim: 9.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 7 rankingsDavid Bowie
26
Elton John▲ Rising
Between 1970 and 1975 he released seven straight number-one albums, an absurd commercial streak, powered by Bernie Taupin's lyrics and his own knack for turning piano pop into stadium spectacle. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the argument by itself: a sprawling, glittering double album that never runs out of hooks.
Primary Genre: Pop RockDefining 1970s Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick RoadStudio Albums Released (1970s): 13Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 150 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 16Critical Acclaim: 8.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 4 rankings
10
Fleetwood Mac▼ Falling
A band on the verge of falling apart in real time — two couples splitting up mid-recording — somehow channeled all that wreckage into Rumours, one of the best-selling albums ever made. The soap opera is the legend, but the songwriting from Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie is why it still holds up.
Primary Genre: Rock/PopDefining 1970s Album: RumoursStudio Albums Released (1970s): 6Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 120 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 5Critical Acclaim: 9/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 6 rankings
3
Bruce Springsteen▼ Falling
Born to Run was recorded like his career depended on it — because it did — and it delivered a widescreen vision of blue-collar escape that made Jersey feel mythic. Darkness on the Edge of Town then stripped the romance down to something harder and angrier, proving he wasn't just a one-album wonder.
Primary Genre: RockDefining 1970s Album: Born to RunStudio Albums Released (1970s): 5Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 65 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 1Critical Acclaim: 9/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 7 rankingsBruce Springsteen
-4
Marvin Gaye▼ Falling
What's Going On turned Motown's hit machine into a protest album, a suite about war and poverty and addiction that somehow still grooved, and Let's Get It On proved he could be just as revolutionary about desire. He dragged soul music into adulthood and social consciousness at the same time, which nobody else was doing that gracefully.
Primary Genre: Soul/R&BDefining 1970s Album: What's Going OnStudio Albums Released (1970s): 8Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 60 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 6Critical Acclaim: 9.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 4 rankingsMarvin Gaye
-16
Bob Marley▼ Falling
He took reggae from a regional Jamaican sound to a global political and spiritual force, with Catch a Fire and Exodus turning rhythm into resistance without ever losing the groove. By the time of the One Love Peace Concert, he wasn't just a musician but a genuine symbol of unity, an impact almost no other artist on this list can claim.
Primary Genre: ReggaeDefining 1970s Album: ExodusStudio Albums Released (1970s): 9Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 75 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 0Critical Acclaim: 9/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 3 rankings
-27
AC/DC▼ Falling
Bon Scott's snarl and Angus Young's riffs turned Highway to Hell into the sound of pure unpretentious rock and roll, a direct rebuke to prog's ambitions and disco's polish. They proved that stripped-down, three-chord aggression could still be the decade's dirtiest, most fun weapon.
Primary Genre: Hard RockDefining 1970s Album: Highway to HellStudio Albums Released (1970s): 6Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 90 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 0Critical Acclaim: 8.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 7 rankings
-35
Eagles▼ Falling
Hotel California is the decade's ultimate California-noir statement, a shimmering critique of excess that became exactly the kind of excess it was criticizing, selling tens of millions of copies. They perfected country-rock harmony as a commercial art form, which is both the compliment and the knock against them.
Primary Genre: Rock/Country RockDefining 1970s Album: Hotel CaliforniaStudio Albums Released (1970s): 6Est. Career Record Sales (millions): 150 MTop 10 Hit Singles (1970s): 9Critical Acclaim: 8.5/10Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: ✓
added by IJRin 4 rankings
-37
Keep ranking
Comments (11)
Free account · your comment posts right after signup
Voted — and the gap between #1 and #2 should be bigger.
This order is closer to right than any editor would've gotten.
- VVera GarciaJul 28, 2026
The crowd is sleeping on the bottom half of this list.
Exactly the kind of argument the internet was built for.