Photo credits at end of article
Our 1974’s Best Classic Rock albums list takes a look at year that serves 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 really see a difference between the albums on this 1974 list when compared to the albums 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. There were many great rock albums released in 1974 but it did feel like rock and roll took just a tiny step backward when compared to the previous ten years. However, the genre would take a giant leap forward the following year n 1975. Still, all in all, 1974 was a great year in classic rock filled with albums that would soon become legendary.
# 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
Energized – Foghat
The Phosphorescent Rat – Hot Tuna
Grievous Angel – Gram Parsons
Hotcakes – Carly Simon
Here Come the Warm Jets – Brian Eno
Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot
Best Rock Albums – February 1974
Kiss – Kiss
Badfinger – Badfinger
Call of the Wild – Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes
It’s Too Late to Stop Now – Van Morrison
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
The Hoople – Mott the Hoople
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
Sheet Music – 10cc
The Kids & Me – Billy Preston
Turn of the Cards – Renaissance
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
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends… Ladies and Gentlemen – ELP
Verities & Balderdash – Harry Chapin
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
Rocka Rolla – Judas Priest
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
Smiler – Rod Stewart
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
Where We All Belong – Marshall Tucker Band
Best Rock Albums – December 1974
Sun Secrets – The Eric Burdon Band
So What –Joe Walsh
Photo Credits
All album covers are Amazon links and are not stored on the classicrockhistory.com server.
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)]
