# The 45 Greatest Hard Rock Albums of the 1970s

> Heavy riffs, stadium swagger and a handful of records that quietly invented metal. Where hard rock ends and something else begins is half the argument.

*By YPB Team · Published October 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-45-greatest-hard-rock-albums-of-the-1970s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Led Zeppelin IV** — score 1000/1000
   Led Zeppelin's 1971 untitled fourth album with Stairway to Heaven and Black Dog.
2. **Rising** — score 607/1000
   Rainbow's 1976 album with Ronnie James Dio, a forerunner of fantasy metal.
3. **Van Halen** — score 586/1000
   Van Halen's 1978 debut, which reinvented rock guitar with Eruption.
4. **Sabbath Bloody Sabbath** — score 586/1000
   Black Sabbath's 1973 album that added synths and progressive textures.
5. **Sweet Fanny Adams** — score 556/1000
   Sweet's 1974 album that mixed glam with heavy riffs.
6. **2112** — score 523/1000
   Rush's 1976 breakthrough with its side-long sci-fi suite.
7. **Burn** — score 523/1000
   Deep Purple's 1974 album introducing David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.
8. **Made in Japan** — score 486/1000
   Deep Purple's 1972 live album, a benchmark for hard rock concert records.
9. **Powerage** — score 485/1000
   AC/DC's lean 1978 album long cherished by fans and musicians.
10. **Paranoid** — score 485/1000
   Black Sabbath's 1970 second album with Iron Man and War Pigs.
11. **Let There Be Rock** — score 485/1000
   AC/DC's raw 1977 album with Whole Lotta Rosie.
12. **Secret Treaties** — score 444/1000
   Blue Oyster Cult's 1974 album, a cult favourite of dark twin-guitar rock.
13. **Cheap Trick at Budokan** — score 444/1000
   Cheap Trick's 1978 live album that made them stars in America.
14. **Houses of the Holy** — score 444/1000
   Led Zeppelin's 1973 album stretching into funk and reggae alongside heavy riffs.
15. **Master of Reality** — score 397/1000
   Black Sabbath's 1971 downtuned, crushing third album.
16. **Toys in the Attic** — score 397/1000
   Aerosmith's 1975 hit album with Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion.
17. **Who's Next** — score 397/1000
   The Who's 1971 album blending synthesizers with hard-hitting rock anthems.
18. **Demons and Wizards** — score 397/1000
   Uriah Heep's 1972 album of heavy organ-driven fantasy rock.
19. **Bad Company** — score 397/1000
   Bad Company's 1974 debut with Can't Get Enough and Feel Like Makin' Love.
20. **Agents of Fortune** — score 397/1000
   Blue Oyster Cult's 1976 album featuring (Don't Fear) The Reaper.
21. **Rocks** — score 397/1000
   Aerosmith's 1976 follow-up, a gritty favourite of later hard rock bands.
22. **Machine Head** — score 344/1000
   Deep Purple's 1972 classic featuring Smoke on the Water and Highway Star.
23. **Stained Class** — score 344/1000
   Judas Priest's 1978 album with a harder, faster edge.
24. **Alive!** — score 344/1000
   Kiss's 1975 live album that made the band stars.
25. **Billion Dollar Babies** — score 344/1000
   Alice Cooper's 1973 chart-topping album of theatrical shock rock.
26. **Highway to Hell** — score 344/1000
   AC/DC's 1979 breakthrough album and Bon Scott's last.
27. **Physical Graffiti** — score 284/1000
   Led Zeppelin's sprawling 1975 double album including Kashmir.
28. **Overkill** — score 284/1000
   Motorhead's 1979 album, a speed-driven blueprint for thrash.
29. **In Rock** — score 284/1000
   Deep Purple's 1970 breakthrough, a ferocious blast of organ and guitar.
30. **Strangers in the Night** — score 284/1000
   UFO's 1979 live double album, hailed as one of the best of its kind.
31. **Led Zeppelin II** — score 284/1000
   The 1969 heavyweight with Whole Lotta Love that set the template for hard rock.
32. **Virgin Killer** — score 284/1000
   Scorpions' 1976 album with Uli Jon Roth's soaring lead guitar.
33. **Climbing!** — score 284/1000
   Mountain's 1970 album with Mississippi Queen, a heavy blues-rock landmark.
34. **Live and Dangerous** — score 214/1000
   Thin Lizzy's 1978 live album, often named the best live rock record.
35. **Lovedrive** — score 214/1000
   Scorpions' 1979 album that brought Michael Schenker back and sharpened their sound.
36. **Black Sabbath Vol. 4** — score 214/1000
   The 1972 album with Supernaut and Snowblind, heavy and experimental.
37. **Dreamboat Annie** — score 214/1000
   Heart's 1975 debut with Crazy on You and Magic Man.
38. **Hair of the Dog** — score 214/1000
   Nazareth's 1975 album with the hit Love Hurts and the snarling title track.
39. **Jailbreak** — score 214/1000
   Thin Lizzy's 1976 album with The Boys Are Back in Town.
40. **Montrose** — score 214/1000
   Montrose's 1973 debut, an American hard rock landmark with Sammy Hagar on vocals.
41. **Black Sabbath** — score 132/1000
   The 1970 debut that laid the foundations of heavy metal.
42. **Sad Wings of Destiny** — score 132/1000
   Judas Priest's 1976 album that defined their twin-guitar sound.
43. **Destroyer** — score 132/1000
   Kiss's 1976 studio album with Detroit Rock City and Beth.
44. **Fire and Water** — score 132/1000
   Free's 1970 album containing All Right Now.
45. **Boston** — score 0/1000
   Boston's 1976 debut, a polished and best-selling arena rock classic.

Tags: music, rock, 70s, metal, hard rock