15 Of The Most Underrated Albums Of The ’70s You Should Hear
The 1970s produced some of the greatest music ever recorded, but not every masterpiece got the recognition it deserved.
While everyone knows Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac, countless brilliant albums flew under the radar and remain hidden gems today.
Check out 15 records showcase incredible artistry, innovation, and emotion that deserve your attention just as much as the decade’s biggest hits.
1. Bill Withers – Just As I Am
Before becoming a household name, Withers worked in a factory making airplane toilets while writing songs in his spare time.
His debut contains “Ain’t No Sunshine,” but the entire album showcases his gift for turning simple observations into deeply moving soul music.
His warm voice and honest lyrics feel like conversations with a wise friend who understands life’s struggles.
2. Little Feat – Dixie Chicken
Blending funk, rock, blues, and New Orleans grooves shouldn’t work this well, but Little Feat made it sound effortless.
Lowell George’s slide guitar slithers through tracks while the rhythm section lays down pockets deeper than the Mississippi River.
The title track has become a jam band standard, but every song here deserves equal celebration for its musical adventurousness.
3. Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers
When a band falls apart while recording, magic can happen in unexpected ways.
Alex Chilton and company created something haunting and beautiful as Big Star crumbled, pouring raw emotion into every fractured melody.
Songs drift between whispered confessions and explosive outbursts, capturing the chaos of heartbreak perfectly.
This album influenced countless indie rockers decades later, proving genius doesn’t need commercial success to matter.
4. Todd Rundgren – A Wizard, A True Star
Imagine if a mad scientist got loose in a recording studio with unlimited equipment and zero regard for conventional song structure.
Rundgren created exactly that: a kaleidoscopic journey through soul, rock, pop, and electronic experimentation that changes direction every thirty seconds.
Some call it genius, others call it chaos – it’s probably both, and absolutely worth experiencing.
5. Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets
After leaving Roxy Music, Eno assembled a crew of guitar heroes and told them to play beautifully wrong notes over his quirky pop songs.
The result sounds like glam rock melting in the sun, with lyrics that read like surrealist poetry and production that still sounds futuristic.
This debut established Eno as a solo artist capable of matching his production genius.
6. Can – Future Days
German experimentalists Can perfected their hypnotic groove on this masterpiece, where songs stretch out like lazy rivers flowing through strange landscapes.
Damo Suzuki’s wordless vocals float over rhythms that lock into endless loops, creating trance-like states that influenced everyone from Radiohead to hip-hop producers.
The title track alone justifies the album’s legendary status among adventurous listeners.
7. Television – Marquee Moon
While CBGBs neighbors got more attention, Television quietly created one of rock’s most sophisticated guitar albums.
Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd weave intricate lines around each other like dueling philosophers, never resorting to typical punk simplicity.
The ten-minute title track builds tension through spiraling solos that somehow feel both intellectual and emotionally raw, redefining what punk could accomplish musically.
8. Hawkwind – Warrior on the Edge of Time
Space rock pioneers Hawkwind recruited science fiction author Michael Moorcock for this concept album mixing cosmic jams with spoken-word fantasy.
Synthesizers swirl around propulsive bass lines while songs explore time travel and eternal warriors.
Lemmy played bass before forming Motorhead, giving these lengthy explorations a driving heaviness that separates them from typical prog indulgence. It’s wonderfully weird and unapologetically ambitious.
9. Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
George Clinton allegedly told Eddie Hazel to play like his mother had just died, then like he discovered she was alive.
The resulting ten-minute title track guitar solo remains one of music’s most emotionally devastating performances.
Beyond that opener, the album fuses Parliament’s funk with rock intensity and psychedelic experimentation, creating something no one had attempted before or since.
10. Richard and Linda Thompson – Shoot Out the Lights
Actually released in 1982, this album captured a marriage disintegrating in real time, with every song dripping with bitterness and regret.
Richard’s guitar work cuts like broken glass while Linda’s vocals convey pain with devastating clarity.
Recording while divorcing created uncomfortable brilliance, making this one of rock’s most emotionally honest and difficult listens. Their personal tragedy became our haunting masterpiece.
11. Thin Lizzy – Fighting
Phil Lynott’s poetic lyrics and distinctive voice elevated Thin Lizzy above typical hard rock, and this album showcases their twin-guitar attack at its most refined.
Songs like “Suicide” and “Wild One” balance aggression with melody in ways that influenced the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Before “The Boys Are Back in Town” made them stars, this gem demonstrated their complete artistic vision.
12. The Flying Burrito Brothers – Burrito Deluxe
Gram Parsons continued his cosmic American music mission on this second Burritos album, blending country twang with rock attitude before either genre knew they belonged together.
Pedal steel guitar cries over songs about heartbreak and highways, creating the blueprint for alt-country decades before that term existed.
Though less celebrated than their debut, it captures Parsons’ vision beautifully.
13. Badfinger – Wish You Were Here
Often dismissed as Beatles imitators, Badfinger proved their songwriting chops on this criminally overlooked gem filled with perfect pop hooks.
Pete Ham’s compositions showcase melodic sophistication that stands proudly alongside any ’70s power pop.
Tragically, business troubles overshadowed their talent, but these songs reveal a band that deserved so much better from the music industry and history books alike.
14. Sparks – Kimono My House
Brothers Ron and Russell Mael created gleefully weird pop that predicted new wave while sounding like nothing else in 1974.
Russell’s operatic falsetto soars over Ron’s quirky keyboards, delivering lyrics filled with wordplay and absurdist humor.
“This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” became a UK hit, but every track here showcases their unique ability to make experimental music catchy and fun.
15. Rory Gallagher – Calling Card
Irish blues-rock virtuoso Gallagher never achieved the fame his guitar skills deserved, but this album captures him at peak power.
Recorded in Munich with a tighter sound than his earlier work, it balances fiery solos with strong songwriting.
Every track showcases his worn Stratocaster’s distinctive tone and his ability to make the blues feel fresh, passionate, and utterly his own.
