Pick Your Top 15 Albums of 1970

[Dawn]

It's been a little while since we've done one of these, so this time, let's go back to 1970, a time of great changes and great music. Here are some of the albums released during that year:

12 Songs - Randy Newman
A Beard Of Stars - Tyrannosaurus Rex
A Song For Me - Family
ABC - Jackson 5
Abraxas - Santana
After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
All Kinds of Everything - Dana
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
American Beauty - Grateful Dead
American Woman - The Guess Who
Anyway - Family
Atom Heart Mother - Pink Floyd
A Tribute to Jack Johnson - Miles Davis
A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World - Merle Haggard
Band of Gypsys - Jimi Hendrix
Benefit - Jethro Tull
The Best of the Wailers - The Wailers
The Big O - Roy Orbison
Bill Haley's Scrapbook: Live at the Bitter End - Bill Haley & His Comets
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
Bullshit 3 1/4 - Danny Ben-Israel
Canto Libre - Víctor Jara
Changes - The Monkees
Chapter 2 - Roberta Flack
Chicago (sometimes referred to as Chicago II) - Chicago
Climbing! - Mountain
Closer to Home - Grand Funk Railroad
Close to You - The Carpenters
Come To My Garden - Minnie Riperton
Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cucumber Castle - The Bee Gees
Deep Purple in Rock - Deep Purple
Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Die Flippers - Die Flippers
Down to Earth - Jimmy Buffett
Easy Action - Alice Cooper
Egg - Egg
Electronic Meditation - Tangerine Dream
Ella in Budapest, Hungary - Ella Fitzgerald
Elton John - Elton John
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (debut)
The End of an Ear - Robert Wyatt
Fire and Water - Free
Fun House - The Stooges
Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow-Funkadelic
Funkadelic-Funkadelic
The Great Songs Of Roy Orbison - Roy Orbison
Hank Williams The Roy Orbison Way - Roy Orbison
His Band and the Street Choir - Van Morrison
Idlewild South - The Allman Brothers Band
if (aka If 1) - If
IF 2 - If
(I Live) One Day at a Time - Joan Baez
Ils ont changé ma chanson - Dalida
In and Out of Focus - Focus
The Isaac Hayes Movement - Isaac Hayes
It Ain't Easy - Three Dog Night
John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic
Klopfzeichen - Kluster
Ladies of the Canyon - Joni Mitchell
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & the Dominoes
Led Zeppelin III - Led Zeppelin
Legal - Gal Costa
Let It Be - The Beatles
Live Album - Grand Funk
Live at Leeds - The Who
Lizard - King Crimson
Loaded - The Velvet Underground
Looking On - The Move
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends - Screaming Lord Sutch
McCartney - Paul McCartney
Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon - Status Quo
The Madcap Laughs - Syd Barrett
Magic Christian Music - Badfinger
The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie
Maria Bethânia Ao Vivo - Maria Bethânia
Master - Tremeloes
Moondance - Van Morrison
Morrison Hotel - The Doors
Mungo Jerry - Mungo Jerry
Naturally - Three Dog Night
No Dice - Badfinger
On Stage - Elvis Presley
Open Road - Donovan
Osmium - Parliament
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Pearl - Janis Joplin
Perry Como in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas - Perry Como
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
The Point! - Harry Nilsson
Portrait - Fifth Dimension
Self Portrait - Bob Dylan
Sex Machine - James Brown
Share the Land - The Guess Who
Shooting at the Moon - Kevin Ayers
Sit Down Old Friend - Dion DiMucci
Skid - Skid Row
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox - Gil Scott-Heron
Soul Rebels - The Wailers
Spirit in the Dark - Aretha Franklin
Stranded - Edwards Hand
Sunflower - The Beach Boys
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
The Black Gladiator - Bo Diddley
Things Ain't What They Used to Be - Ella Fitzgerald
This Girl's In Love With You - Aretha Franklin
Tide - Antonio Carlos Jobim
'Til The Band Comes In - Scott Walker
Time and a Word - Yes
Tin Tin - Tin Tin
Trespass - Genesis
Vintage Violence - John Cale
Watertown - Frank Sinatra
Wailing Wall - Wailing Wall
Weasels Ripped My Flesh - Frank Zappa
Well Now Dig This - The Jodimars
Wishbone Ash - Wishbone Ash
Workingman's Dead - Grateful Dead
Yeti - Amon Düül II

And the ones I chose:
Abraxas - Santana
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
Chicago (sometimes referred to as Chicago II) - Chicago
Close to You - The Carpenters
Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
It Ain't Easy - Three Dog Night
John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic
Let It Be - The Beatles
McCartney - Paul McCartney
Naturally - Three Dog Night
No Dice - Badfinger
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon
Portrait - Fifth Dimension
Sunflower - The Beach Boys
Tide - Antonio Carlos Jobim

I own about 30 of these albums, but there are probably at least another 20 that I'd very much like to check out.

Which 15 of these 1970 albums are your favorites?

[gremashlo]

In no real order...

ABC - Jackson 5
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
American Woman - The Guess Who
Band of Gypsys - Jimi Hendrix
Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Elton John - Elton John
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & the Dominoes
Let It Be - The Beatles
Live at Leeds - The Who
McCartney - Paul McCartney
Naturally - Three Dog Night
No Dice - Badfinger
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
The Point! - Harry Nilsson
Sweet Baby James - James Taylor

[H2IZCOOL]

I think even a non-album type like me can come up with 15 faves from the Golden Age! In alphabretical order:

After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
American Woman - The Guess Who
Atom Heart Mother - Pink Floyd
The Big O - Roy Orbison (I'm cheating here. I don't know the album per se. But I guarantee I know every song on it.)
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
Chicago (sometimes referred to as Chicago II) - Chicago
Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cucumber Castle - The Bee Gees
Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
The Great Songs Of Roy Orbison - Roy Orbison
Hank Williams The Roy Orbison Way - Roy Orbison (see my Roy O remarks above)
It Ain't Easy - Three Dog Night
Magic Christian Music - Badfinger
Pearl - Janis Joplin
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens disqualified. It used to be right up there.

[Ken]

I had no idea that Jimmy Buffett was recording albums this early - wow! I didn't think his first album was released until around '73 or '74.

My top 15 of 1970.

1.Let It Be - The Beatles
2.No Dice - Badfinger
3.All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
4.Déjà Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5.Abraxas - Santana
6.Cosmo's Factory - Creedence Clearwater Revival
7.Elton John - Elton John
8.Live At Leeds - The Who
9.Share the Land - The Guess Who
10.Deep Purple in Rock - Deep Purple
11.Fire and Water - Free
12.Workingman's Dead - Grateful Dead
13.The Point! - Harry Nilsson
14.American Beauty - Grateful Dead
15.John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - John Lennon

[55dodger]

My 15 in no particular order:

1. After The Gold Rush - Neil Young
2. All Things Must Pass - George Harrison
3. American Beauty - Grateful Dead
4. American Woman - Guess Who
5. Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel
6. Chicago - Chicago
7. Closer to Home - GFR
8. Cosmos Factory - CCR
9. Deja Vu - CSNY
10. John Barleycorn Must Die - Traffic
11. Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs - Derek & the Dominoes
12. Let it Be - Beatles
13. Morrison Hotel - Doors
14. Pearl - Janis Joplin
15. Sweet Baby James - James Taylor

Actually they are in a particular order, alphabetically. I do own many of these, some on vinyl, some on cassette, & and others on CD. 1970 was an amazing year for music.

[Laura--I wuv u all :)]

Hmmm...a lot of names on this list I don't recognize. I have "Cosmo's Factory" and "Let It Be", but I haven't been voting on these album polls because I don't have enough of the albums to vote. If I haven't heard the whole album, I don't really feel qualified to vote. Though it's very tempting to vote for that Cat Stevens album just to piss off Ed...

Dawn, did you get these lists from rateyourmusic.com? I go there a lot. My screen name is Mommy L (or is it MommyL? I don't remember exactly), but I don't post very many messages there. I was voting on a lot of their "Album Survivor" games at first (you vote off an album cut every day), but there were so many of them that I couldn't keep up, so I just gave up on that. I love to read the reviews, though.

[Dawn]

May 9, 2008 10:15:32 GMT -5 Laura--I wuv u all :) said:

Hmmm...a lot of names on this list I don't recognize. I have "Cosmo's Factory" and "Let It Be", but I haven't been voting on these album polls because I don't have enough of the albums to vote. If I haven't heard the whole album, I don't really feel qualified to vote. Though it's very tempting to vote for that Cat Stevens album just to piss off Ed...

Dawn, did you get these lists from rateyourmusic.com? I go there a lot. My screen name is Mommy L (or is it MommyL? I don't remember exactly), but I don't post very many messages there. I was voting on a lot of their "Album Survivor" games at first (you vote off an album cut every day), but there were so many of them that I couldn't keep up, so I just gave up on that. I love to read the reviews, though.

No, I've been getting them so far from Wikipedia. I've visited the rateyourmusic site, though, and they do have a lot of cool info on there.