1974’s Best Classic Rock Albums

Our 1974 Best Classic Rock Albums list takes a look at a year that served as a transitional period in classic rock history. The sounds of the 1960s faded away as the music released took on a more slick, polished sound. One can see a difference between the albums on this 1974 list and those released between 1970 and 1973.  In the year 1974, music fans also had to endure an onslaught of novelty songs like Ray Stevens’ “The Streak,” and Larry Groce’s “Junk Food Junkie,” Disco music loomed on the horizon with songs like the Hues Corporations’ “Don’t Rock The Boat,” opening the door for its arrival. Many great rock albums were released in 1974, but it did feel like rock and roll took just a tiny step backward compared to the previous ten years. However, the genre would take a giant leap forward the following year in 1975. Still, 1974 was a great year in classic rock, filled with albums that would soon become legendary.

# 50 – Rocka Rolla – Judas Priest

# 49 – Verities & Balderdash – Harry Chapin

# 48 – Turn of the Cards – Renaissance

# 47 – It’s Too Late to Stop Now – Van Morrison

# 46 – Sheet Music – 10cc

# 45 –Energized – Foghat

# 44 – Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends… Ladies and Gentlemen – ELP

# 43 – Where We All Belong – Marshall Tucker Band

# 42 – The Hoople – Mott the Hoople

# 41 – Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot

# 40 –Late for the Sky – Jackson Browne

# 39 – Goodnight Vienna – Ringo Starr

# 38 – Fire on the Mountain – Charlie Daniels Band 

# 37 – Desolation Boulevard – Sweet

# 36 – Irish Tour ’74 – Rory Gallagher

# 35 – Shinin’ On – Grand Funk Revival

# 34 – Tasty – Good Rats

# 33 – Heart Like a Wheel – Linda Ronstadt

# 32 – Streetlife Serenade – Billy Joel

# 31 – Stormbringer – Deep Purple

# 30 – Secret Treaties – Blue Oyster Cult

# 29 – All the Girls in the World Beware!!! – Grand Funk

# 28 – Rock and Roll Outlaws – Foghat

# 27 – Bridge of Sighs – Robin Trower

# 26 – Todd – Todd Rundgren

# 25 – Rush – Rush

# 24 – Not Fragile – Bachman–Turner Overdrive

# 23 – Holiday – America

# 22 -Burn – Deep Purple

# 21 –Second Helping – Lynyrd Skynyrd

# 20 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal – Lou Reed

# 19 – Buddha and the Chocolate Box – Cat Stevens

# 18 – On the Border – The Eagles

# 17 – On the Beach – Neil Young

# 16 – Pretzel Logic – Steely Dan

# 15 – Get Your Wings – Aerosmith

# 14 – 461 Ocean Boulevard  – Eric Clapton

# 13 – Relayer – Yes

# 12 – It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll – The Rolling Stones

# 11 – What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits – The Doobie Brothers

# 10 – Fulfillingness’ First Finale – Stevie Wonder

We open up our top 10 section or our 1974’s Best Rock Albums list with the great Stevie Wonder album Fulfillingness First Finale. The record was released in the middle of an incredible string of 1970s albums by Stevie Wonder that won just about every Grammy Award in existence.

#  9 – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway – Genesis

Ask any Genesis fan to name their favorite Genesis album and every single one of them will name The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. You can take that to the bank!

#  8 – Queen II – Queen

The first three Queen albums stand as complete rock and roll treasures in Classic Rock History. Queen II has some of the bands best work ever with songs like “Ogre Battle,” “The March of the Black Queen,” and  “Seven Seas of Rhye.”

#  7 – Caribou – Elton John

Elton John’s Caribou was another notch in his belt during his incredible run of brilliantly released albums between 1970 and 1976. This was one of those albums in which every single song was a masterpiece. The album yielded two big hits singles with “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” and “The Bitch Is Back.”

#  6 – Court and Spark – Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark was her most successful commercial record. Standout tracks included “Help Me,” and “Free Man In Paris.” Court and Spark was a brilliant album that showcased the talents of so many great jazz musicians like Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, and Tom Scott along with rock legends Robbie Robertson of The Band and David Crosby and Graham Nash.

#  5 – War Child – Jethro Tull

The great War Child album record was Jethro Tull’s seventh album. The album contained some of Jethro Tull’s most popular songs such as “Bungle In The Jungle, War Child,” and “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day.”

#  4 – Apostrophe – Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was one of the most affluent composers in rock and roll history.  Apostrophe (‘) was Frank Zappa’s eighteenth album.

#  3 – Diamond Dogs – David Bowie

David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs album continued to define the growing legacy of David Bowie. It was Bowie’s eighth studio album. It contained the massive hits “Rebel Rebel,” along with “1984,” “Diamond Dogs,” and many other brilliant songs.

#  2 – Sheer Heart Attack – Queen

Sheer Heart Attack was Queen’s third album release. There was a sound on the album that rock fans had never heard before. Songs like “Stone Cold Crazy,” blew people away who were hearing Queen for the first time.

#  1 – Bad Company – Bad Company

Landing in the number spot on our 1974’s Best Classic Rock albums list is the great debut album from Bad Company. Signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label Bad Company exploded out of the gate with the hit single “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love.” Led by the golden voice of Paul Rogers, Bad Company found instant success on both commercial radio and FM album oriented rock.

More Fantastic Classic Rock Albums Released in 1974

These are listed in chronological order in which they came out throughout the year.

Best Rock Albums – January 1974

Planet Waves – Bob Dylan

Different Drum – Linda Ronstadt

The Phosphorescent Rat – Hot Tuna

Grievous Angel – Gram Parsons

Hotcakes – Carly Simon

Here Come the Warm Jets – Brian Eno

Best Rock Albums – February 1974

Kiss – Kiss

Badfinger – Badfinger

Call of the Wild – Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes

A New Life – Marshall Tucker Band

Radio City – Big Star

Saints & Sinners – Johnny Winter

Twin Peaks – Mountain

Zinc Alloy and the Hidden Riders of Tomorrow – T. Rex

Old New Borrowed and Blue – Slade

Best Rock Albums – March 1974

Mirage – Camel

Hard Labor  – Three Dog Night

Starless and Bible Black – King Crimson

Hollies – The Hollies

Kansas – Kansas

Somethin’s Happening – Peter Frampton

Best Rock Albums – April 1974

Son of Dracula – Harry Nilsson

Positive Vibrations – Ten Years After

Road Food – The Guess Who

Seven – Poco

Okie – J.J. Cale

Exotic Birds and Fruit – Procol Harum

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight – Richard and Linda Thompson

Unconditionally Guaranteed – Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band

Best Rock Albums – May 1974

Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Rick Wakeman

Phenomenon – UFO

Quo – Status Quo

Shock Treatment – Edgar Winter

Preservation Act 2 – The Kinks

The Kids & Me – Billy Preston

Too Much Too Soon – New York Dolls

Best Rock Albums – June 1974

Axe Victim – Be-Bop Deluxe

Walking Man – James Taylor

Everyone Is Everybody Else – Barclay James Harvest

Compliments – Jerry Garcia

Street Party – Black Oak Arkansas

Stop All That Jazz – Leon Russell

Wonderworld – Uriah Heep

Best Rock Albums – July 1974

Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis – Elvis Presley

Rejuvenation – The Meters

Another Time, Another Place – Bryan Ferry

Avalanche – Mountain

Best Rock Albums – August 1974

AWB – Average White Band

Feats Don’t Fail Me Now – Little Feat

I Can Stand a Little Rain – Joe Cocker

Paper Lace – Paper Lace

Sally Can’t Dance – Lou Reed

Slow Flux – Steppenwolf

Best Rock Albums – September 1974

Good Old Boys – Randy Newman

Roxy & Elsewhere – Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention

Heroes Are Hard to Find – Fleetwood Mac

Crime of the Century – Supertramp

Eldorado – Electric Light Orchestra

Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley – Robert Palmer

The Power and the Glory – Gentle Giant

Wrap Around Joy – Carole King

Hall of the Mountain Grill – Hawkwind

Nightmares…and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle – The J. Geils Band

Starting Over – Raspberries

Dragon Fly – Jefferson Starship

Streetlights – Bonnie Raitt

Best Rock Albums – October 1974

Walls and Bridges – John Lennon

Red – King Crimson

Hotter Than Hell – Kiss

Silk Torpedo – The Pretty Things

Souvenirs – Dan Fogelberg

Serenade – Neil Diamond

Todd Rundgren’s Utopia – Todd Rundgren

War Babies – Hall & Oates

Best Rock Albums – November 1974

Nightlife – Thin Lizzy

Country Life – Roxy Music

Fire – Ohio Players

Child of the Novelty – Mahogany Rush

Best Rock Albums – December 1974

Dark Horse – George Harrison

Sun Secrets – The Eric Burdon Band

So What –Joe Walsh

---

Feature Photo credits are below

Freddie Mercury – Carl Lender [CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Mick Ralphs of Bad Company – Jim Summaria [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Joni Mitchell – Capannelle [CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

David Bowie – Kymi [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Updated August 5, 2024

1974’s Best Classic Rock Albums article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.