Top Ten Albums of the 1970s

I recently did a top twenty-five favorite albums of all time, which I promptly deleted within a few minutes after I looked it over and began second guessing myself like crazy.  So, I decided a top ten for each full decade since 1970 would be more fun to come up with (and easier to).  I'm not doing a top ten 1960s list partly because the Beatles would have at least 5 of the 10 albums on the list, and also because for the first half of the 1960s the idea of "albums" as we now think of them, didn't really exist, albums were just random collections of songs rather than specifically chosen songs that were meant to be listened to in sequence.  Anyways, here's my ten favorite albums of the 1970s:

10. Fun House- The Stooges

This album is where The Stooges peaked (although Raw Power is still good obviously), this album is The Stooges at their rawest and hardest.  This albums just rocks, there's really no other way to put it.

9. On the Corner- Miles Davis
Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, Sketches of Spain and others may be more famous, but outside of Kind of Blue, this is my favorite Miles Davis album.  This album certainly doesn't sound like any other Jazz I've ever heard before and I'm not quite sure how to categorize it, and that's mainly because, outside of a few albums here and there, I'm not really a jazz connosieur.  However, I love this album as it just sounds badass.

8. Loaded- The Velvet Underground

Sort of looked down upon by hardcore VU fans when compared to their first three albums. John Cale and Maureen Tucker don't even appear on this album and while Loud Reed wrote all the songs there are quite a few where even he doesn't appear.  Yet, while it may not be the most "pure" of the VU albums, it's still great and possibly my favorite (that or The Velvet Underground). The album is named Loaded because apparently Lou Reed was told by the label to write an album "loaded with hits;" and he did just that.  This album is probably the most catchiest and by far the most accessible of any of the VU records.

7. Let's Get It On- Marvin Gaye

While What's Going On may be the most famous of any of Marvin Gaye's albums, I still say that Let's Get It On is better and more influential. What's Going On is without a doubt a great album, however I feel the message behind the songs are often more powerful and emotionally arresting than the songs themselves actually are.  Let's Get It On, on the other hand, is very consistent and catchy, and also is more influential, in that, with this album Marvin Gaye basically created R&B as we now know it (specifically with the songs "You Sure Love to Ball" and the title track "Let's Get It On").

6. Hunky Dory- David Bowie

Although far from his most cohesive release, the songs on this album are just too damn good. Bowie is all over the place on this album, but no matter what he's doing it almost always sounds good.  I consider this to be Bowie's best album of the '70s even though Bowie would go on to make many more great albums that decade (Bowie would probably have four albums in my top 20 of the 1970s), but this album or Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (came out in 1980) is my favorite of his.

5. Call Me- Al Green

Al Green is one of the most consistent R&B artists in history, but this is his masterpiece.  Al Green is really just showing off on this album as his singing is excellent, his songwriting is terrific (he wrote all his own songs (as did Marvin Gaye)), and he shows that he quite possibly was better at covering other people's songs than anyone before or after him.  It's basically impossible to tell which songs on the albums are covers (besides looking them up online or knowing beforehand) because Al Green just totally makes them his own.

4. My Aim is True- Elvis Costello

One of the most fully-realized debut albums ever, Elvis Costello really hit the ground running with this album. This is another album that is remarkably consistent with every song being at least good, and some songs just being flat-out classics. Costello is another guy that would put out many more great albums, but I have to say this is my favorite of his.

3. Innervisions- Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed artists of all time, but there's really no question about whether or not Innervisions is his best album;  it is. This album is meant to be listened to all the way through as each song seems to serve a specific purpose and makes for a great experience. Stevie was never better than he was here.

2. There's a Riot Goin' On- Sly & the Family Stone
A huge break from their previously established sound, this album turned out being the best Sly and crew ever produced, although who constituted "the Family Stone" during this album is pretty much unknown.  This album was recorded when Sly (and whatever guys he happened to have in the studio that day) were coked/doped out of their minds and as far as we know, nobody has a clear idea of what happened during those sessions, and the album sounds just like that.  This album sounds dark, murky, and worn out, and even the singles on the album sound almost sarcastic.  This album stands as a testament to the genius of Mr. Stone as he wrote, arranged, produced and sang lead on every single song on the album.  The album was also extremely influential, inspiring artists from George Clinton to James Brown to Miles Davis.

1. London Calling- The Clash
 
This album is just amazing, there's a reason it's one of the most famous and critically acclaimed albums of all time.  This album is like no punk rock record before or since as The Clash clearly didn't care about fitting anyone's previous conception of what The Clash are supposed to sound like. The songs on this album are incredibly diverse, covering all sorts of genres, yet, the album is extremely consistent with almost every song being great, and every one at least being good.  Everyone owes it to themselves to check out this album.