# What is the best classic 1970s soul album?

> The 1970s were a golden era for soul music, when artists pushed the boundaries of what the genre could say and sound like. Which classic soul record from the decade stands tallest?

*By YPB Team · Published April 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-classic-1970s-soul-album*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **What's Going On**
   Marvin Gaye's 1971 conceptual masterpiece addressed Vietnam, ecology, and urban poverty with orchestral soul beauty — the most important soul album of the decade.
2. **Songs in the Key of Life**
   Stevie Wonder's sprawling 1976 double album is a joyful, philosophical, and technically astonishing achievement — the pinnacle of his extended run of genius.
3. **Innervisions**
   Stevie Wonder's 1973 album blends sharp social commentary with innovative synthesizer textures and some of his most melodically perfect songs.
4. **Let's Stay Together**
   Al Green's 1972 Memphis soul masterpiece combines his honeyed tenor, lush arrangements by Willie Mitchell, and deeply felt emotion in the most romantic soul album of the era.
5. **Talking Book**
   Stevie Wonder's 1972 album announced his total artistic independence, fusing funk, rock, and soul with synthesizers in a bold new sound that defined the decade.
6. **Superfly**
   Curtis Mayfield's 1972 blaxploitation soundtrack transcended its film origins to become a profound soul statement on ghetto life, addiction, and survival.
7. **Donny Hathaway**
   Donny Hathaway's 1971 self-titled debut is a stunning display of vocal depth and musical sophistication, featuring 'Giving Up' and 'The Ghetto' among the decade's finest soul performances.
8. **Still Bill**
   Bill Withers' 1972 album contains 'Lean on Me' and 'Use Me' — simple, honest, profoundly human soul music that has never gone out of style.
9. **Ship Ahoy**
   The O'Jays' 1973 Philadelphia International album features the orchestrated Philly sound at its grandest, with socially conscious lyrics matched to lush, sophisticated arrangements.
10. **Call Me**
   Al Green's 1973 follow-up to 'Let's Stay Together' maintains his extraordinary streak of deep Memphis soul, with spare, gospel-drenched arrangements and tender vocal performances.
11. **Shaft**
   Isaac Hayes' 1971 Oscar-winning soundtrack is a landmark of orchestrated soul and funk — the title theme alone rewrote the rules of what soul music could sound like.
12. **Young, Gifted and Black**
   Aretha Franklin's 1972 album captures her at the height of her Atlantic Records peak, combining gospel fire with the most sophisticated soul production of the era.
13. **Extension of a Man**
   Donny Hathaway's 1973 final studio album is a profound exploration of love, spirituality, and social justice — one of the most beautifully arranged soul records of its decade.
14. **There's No Place Like America Today**
   Curtis Mayfield's 1975 album is a heartbreaking document of post-civil-rights disillusionment, featuring some of his most starkly beautiful and politically charged writing.

Tags: music, 70s, classics, soul