DAILY DIRT: The No. 1 album of the ’70s? Let’s start the countdown

Daily Dirt for Sunday, March 30, 2025

I truly wish I had been able to see Meat Loaf in concert. Al Green, too … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,243 of The Daily Dirt

1. Musically speaking, the 1970s produced some of the rock era’s most spectacular albums.

I think we sometimes lose track of that whenever beginning to discuss that particular decade, largely because of it was also the era of disco. But make no mistake about it, that 10-year period rocked.

Here’s one man’s opinion on the top 10 LPs from the ’70s, spread out over two days. We’ll discuss Nos. 10 through 6 today, finishing up with the top five on Monday:

10. “Rumours,” Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Key tracks: “Dreams,” “Go Your Own Way”.

Comment: For me, the vocals of Stevie Nicks will always be the highlight of any Fleetwood Mac effort. This monster album spent 31 weeks atop the Billboard 200, won the Grammy for album of the year and sold more than 40 million copies.

9. “Cosmo’s Factory,” Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)

Key tracks: “Travelin’ Band,” “Who’ll Stop The Rain”.

Comment: This album punctuated CCR’s dominance of the charts in the early ’70s, thanks in large part to front man John Fogerty, one of the era’s most underrated singers. This was the group’s best-selling album ever, certified at four-times platinum.

8. “Let’s Stay Together,” Al Green (1972)

Key tracks: “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “Let’s Stay Together”

Comment: The epitome of early-’70s soul, the best word to describe the sound of Green was s-m-m-moooth.

Green was one of my favorite artists that decade, and this may have been his finest overall release. Singles-wise, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” was about as close to perfection as you can get.

7. “Bat Out Of Hell,” Meat Loaf (1977)

Key tracks: “Paradise By The Dashboard Light,” “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”

Comment: “Theatrical Rock” became an actual thing, thanks to The Loaf. Although a slow starter sales-wise, “Bat Out Of Hell” wound up selling 50 million copies. The videos and various clips from this album were outstanding, further establishing The Meat as a superstar. 

6. “Who’s Next,” The Who (1971)

Key tracks: “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

Comment: Roger Daltrey. Pete Townshend, Keith Moon. John Entwistle. This was The Who at its finest and strongest and has long been considered a rock masterpiece. Surprisingly, it did not reach No. 1 in the U.S., but did rule in Europe. “Baba O’Riley” might be my favorite Who song ever. 

Tomorrow: Who will be No. 1?

2. Did you know (Part 318)

• That the average U.S. home contains about 300,000 items — most of which are rarely used. That’s according to Advanced Life Skills.
• That Americans are estimated to spend $1.2 trillion annually on non-essential things that we don’t need.
• That an estimated 25 percent of homeowners with two-car garages cannot use them because of all the “stuff” they have packed away/stored in those garages.
• That we only wear about an average of 20 percent of the clothes we own. The rest reside in our closets, drawers, etc.
• That “zoanthropy” is the delusion of being an animal. 

3. Here are the ages of what some of the celebrities we have lost in recent years would be if they were alive today:

•  Whitney Houston would be 62.
• Tupac would be 53.
• John F. Kennedy Jr. would be 64.
• George Carlin would be 87.
• John Lennon would be 84.
• Hank Aaron would be 91.
• John Denver would be 81.
• Karen Carpenter would be 75.
• Jim Morrison would be 81.
• David Bowie would be 78.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – A lot of men are engaging in pogonotrophy these days. That’s the act of cultivating a beard.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. I’m guessing it’s a safe bet we’ll see a Rod Stewart album in his top 5.