"The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s" (as of 2004)

The ranking of the 100 best-selling albums of the 1970s listed below is based upon 
the number of platinum and multi-platinum sales awards each album has achieved, as 
certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In an industry not 
always noted for the accuracy of published sales figures, these awards provide one of 
the most effective and reliable ways to measure sales success. The figures represent 
minimum sales for each album -- each platinum award represents sales of at least 
1,000,000 units -- but they do provide a consistent way to rate the relative position 
of the decade's best-selling albums.

These figures also have the advantage -- unlike similar lists based on chart position -- 
of showing album sales from the date of first release right up to when this list was 
compiled in 2004, meaning the success of an album such as Pink Floyd's Dark 
Side of the Moon, which has sold consistently well in each decade since its 
release in 1973, is properly reflected in its position. Compilation or greatest hits 
albums are not included in this list, although live albums and original soundtracks, 
where all of the songs have been collected together or recorded specifically for the 
album, are included.

Where two or more albums have the same sales total they are arranged by the date 
of release, with the most recent album released ranked highest, since its sales are 
stronger relative to time spent on the market.

The list is based on US album sales. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) 
certification scheme only dates back to 1973 and was for much of the decade fairly 
haphazard. The record companies themselves did not always release sales figures 
and where figures do exist they are rarely up-to-date. However, the sheer size of the 
US album market relative to that of other regions means that the list does give an 
accurate picture of the decade's best-selling albums internationally.

  1. The Wall - Pink Floyd (23,000,000) 
  2. IV (Four Symbols) - Led Zeppelin (22,000,000) 
  3. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (19,000,000) 
  4. Boston - Boston (17,000,000) 
  5. Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack) - Various Artists (15,000,000) 
  6. Hotel California - The Eagles (15,000,000) 
  7. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (15,000,000) 
  8. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd (15,000,000) 
  9. Bat Out Of Hell - Meatloaf (14,000,000) 
10. Houses Of The Holy - Led Zeppelin (11,000,000) 
11. Van Halen - Van Halen (10,000,000) 
12. The Stranger - Billy Joel (10,000,000) 
13. Tapestry - Carole King (10,000,000) 
14. Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder (9,000,000) 
15. Grease (soundtrack) - Various Artists (8,000,000) 
16. Toys In The Attic - Aerosmith (8,000,000) 
17. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel (8,000,000) 
18. The Long Run - The Eagles (7,000,000) 
19. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (7,000,000) 
20. 52nd Street - Billy Joel (7,000,000) 
21. Don't Look Back - Boston (7,000,000) 
22. Double Vision - Foreigner (7,000,000) 
23. Running On Empty - Jackson Browne (7,000,000) 
24. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (7,000,000) 
25. Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (7,000,000) 
26. In Through The Out Door - Led Zeppelin (6,000,000) 
27. Highway To Hell - AC/DC (6,000,000) 
28. The Cars - The Cars (6,000,000) 
29. Some Girls - The Rolling Stones (6,000,000) 
30. Dirty Deeds Done Cheap - AC/DC (6,000,000) 
31. Night Moves - Bob Seger (6,000,000) 
32. Frampton Comes Alive - Peter Frampton (6,000,000) 
33. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (6,000,000) 
34. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (6,000,000) 
35. So Far - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (6,000,000) 
36. All Things Must Pass - George Harrison (6,000,000) 
37. Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin (6,000,000) 
38. Head Games - Foreigner (5,000,000) 
39. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers (5,000,000) 
40. Stranger In Town - Bob Seger (5,000,000) 
41. Stardust - Willie Nelson (5,000,000) 
42. Foreigner - Foreigner (5,000,000) 
43. Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs (5,000,000) 
44. "Live" Bullet - Bob Seger (5,000,000) 
45. Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac (5,000,000) 
46. Bad Company - Bad Company (5,000,000) 
47. Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite - Elvis Presley (5,000,000) 
48. Abraxas - Santana (5,000,000) 
49. Candy-O - The Cars (4,000,000) 
50. Breakfast In America - Supertramp (4,000,000) 
51. Blondes Have More Fun - Rod Stewart (4,000,000) 
52. News Of The World - Queen (4,000,000) 
53. Animals - Pink Floyd (4,000,000) 
54. A Star Is Born (soundtrack) - Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson (4,000,000) 
55. The Song Remains The Same (soundtrack) - Led Zeppelin (4,000,000) 
56. Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller Band (4,000,000) 
57. Rocks - Aerosmith (4,000,000) 
58. One Of These Nights - The Eagles (4,000,000) 
59. Behind Closed Doors - Charlie Rich (4,000,000) 
60. Harvest - Neil Young (4,000,000) 
61. 4 Way Street - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (4,000,000) 
62. Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival (4,000,000) 
63. Paranoid - Black Sabbath (4,000,000) 
64. Let It Be - The Beatles (4,000,000) 
65. Minute By Minute - The Doobie Brothers (3,000,000) 
66. Pieces Of Eight - Styx (3,000,000) 
67. Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Bruce Springsteen (3,000,000) 
68. All 'N All - Earth, Wind & Fire (3,000,000) 
69. Slowhand - Eric Clapton (3,000,000) 
70. Foot Loose & Fancy Free - Rod Stewart (3,000,000) 
71. Goat's Head Soup - The Rolling Stones (3,000,000) 
72. Simple Dreams - Linda Ronstadt (3,000,000) 
73. The Grand Illusion - Styx (3,000,000) 
74. JT - James Taylor (3,000,000) 
75. Book Of Dreams - Steve Miller Band (3,000,000) 
76. One More From The Road - Lynyrd Skynyrd (3,000,000) 
77. A Night At The Opera - Queen (3,000,000) 
78. Gratitude - Earth, Wind & Fire (3,000,000) 
79. Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton John (3,000,000) 
80. Straight Shooter - Bad Company (3,000,000) 
81. That's The Way Of The World - Earth, Wind & Fire (3,000,000) 
82. An Evening With John Denver - John Denver (3,000,000) 
83. Back Home Again - John Denver (3,000,000) 
84. Band On The Run - Paul McCartney & Wings (3,000,000) 
85. Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player - Elton John (3,000,000) 
86. A Song For You - The Carpenters (3,000,000) 
87. Teaser And The Firecat - Cat Stevens (3,000,000) 
88. Who's Next - The Who (3,000,000) 
89. Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones (3,000,000) 
90. Aqualung - Jethro Tull (3,000,000) 
91. Pearl - Janis Joplin (3,000,000) 
92. Tea For The Tillerman - Cat Stevens (3,000,000) 
93. Sweet Baby James - James Taylor (3,000,000) 
94. Desire - Bob Dylan (2,000,000) 
95. Red Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson (2,000,000) 
96. Blood On The Tracks - Bob Dylan (2,000,000) 
97. What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits - The Doobie Brothers (2,000,000) 
98. Court And Spark - Joni Mitchell (2,000,000) 
99. Rocky Mountain High - John Denver (2,000,000)
100. L.A. Woman - The Doors (2,000,000)

- Excerpted from The 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s by Hamish Champ.


"The 20 Best-Selling Albums of the 70s" (as of 2015)

  1. Led Zeppelin IV (Four Symbols) - Led Zeppelin (24,450,000)
  2. The Wall - Pink Floyd (24,300,000)
  3. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (19,700,000)
  4. Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd (18,500,000)
  5. Hotel California - Eagles (17,900,000)
  6. Boston - Boston (17,600,000)
  7. Physical Graffiti - Led Zeppelin (15,600,000)
  8. Saturday Night Fever - Original Soundtrack (15,450,000)
  9. Bat Out Of Hell - Meatloaf (15,000,000)
10. Houses Of The Holy - Led Zeppelin (11,500,000)
11. Tapestry - Carole King (11,000,000)
12. Van Halen - Van Halen (10,500,000)
13. The Stranger - Billy Joel (10,300,000)
14. Grease - Original Soundtrack (9,400,000)
15. Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder (9,300,000)
16. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel (8,300,000)
17. Toys In The Attic - Aerosmith (8,200,000)
18. Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (8,000,000)
19. Running On Empty - Jackson Browne (7,200,000)
20. The Long Run - Eagles (7,100,000)

- Excerpted from Best-Selling Albums (1950-2015), Amber Books, 2015.

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