Ten 1970s Albums That Go Best With Pizza, Beer And Pretzels

Feature Photo: Bobex-73 / Shutterstock.com

Our ten 1970s albums that go best with pizza, beer, and pretzels may have readers shaking their heads and wondering what the heck we are talking about. It is actually pretty simple. Sure, there are times when we are by ourselves with that combination of food and drink, but usually it means hanging out with some of your best friends. This is not really a list of party records, although anything can turn into a party. These are albums you put on while old friends are talking, laughing, telling the same stories again, and somehow feeling like teenagers for a few hours.

The internet is filled with the same tired lists that everybody keeps copying from everybody else, so this one is meant to be different. These records are not background music in the disposable sense; they are part of the room, part of the conversation, and part of the memories. Put one on the turntable, open another beer, grab another slice, and suddenly the 1970s do not feel quite so far away. What albums do you reach for when old friends come over and the conversation turns to the days when all of this music was new?

# 10 – Animals – Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd’s Animals is not party music, and that is exactly why it works so well for this kind of night. Released in January 1977, the album was built around Roger Waters’ bleak social vision, with “Dogs,” “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” and “Sheep” turning class conflict into one long, angry concept. David Gilmour’s guitar work gives the record much of its power, while Richard Wright and Nick Mason help create the dark atmosphere that hangs over every track. The album reached number two in the UK and became one of the band’s most uncompromising records. Put it on with a few old friends and sooner or later somebody is going to stop talking and listen to what is happening in the speakers. Animals is the kind of record that can sit underneath a conversation and then suddenly take it over.

# 9 – At Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band

At Fillmore East sounds like the Allman Brothers Band invited you into the room and then forgot you were there. Recorded at the Fillmore East in New York on March 12 and 13, 1971, the album captures Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe at full strength. “Statesboro Blues,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” and the monumental “Whipping Post” give everyone enough room to stretch without ever losing the groove. The Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry in 2004, which says plenty about how important these performances became. For pizza and beer with old friends, the long jams are perfect because the record can fill the room without demanding that everybody stop talking. Then somebody notices what Duane and Dickey are doing, and the conversation is over for the next few minutes.

# 8 – Yessongs – Yes

Yessongs is what happens when a band decides a regular live album simply is not enough. Released on May 18, 1973 as a triple album, it pulls performances from the Fragile and Close to the Edge tours, with Alan White on most of the record and Bill Bruford appearing on three tracks. “Roundabout,” “Heart of the Sunrise,” “Close to the Edge,” and “Yours Is No Disgrace” turn the room into a progressive rock marathon without losing the excitement of a live show. The album reached number seven in the UK and number twelve on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Roger Dean’s artwork makes the whole package feel even more like an artifact from another world, especially if you grew up owning the vinyl. Put this one on with a few old friends, then pass me another Tuborg Gold.

# 7 – Wings Over America – Wings

This one was really cool, and I still love the way the original album opened up with all those photos, especially that centerfold. Everybody seemed to have Wings Over America when it came out on December 10, 1976. The triple live set captures Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Jimmy McCulloch, and Joe English during the huge 1975 and 1976 Wings tour, mixing Wings material with Beatles songs and McCartney solo favorites. “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Band on the Run,” “Live and Let Die,” “Jet,” “Yesterday,” and “The Long and Winding Road” make the album feel like one hit after another. It became a number one album in the United States, which was no small achievement for a three-record live set. This is exactly the kind of album you can leave spinning while everybody at the table remembers where they were when they first heard half these songs.

# 6 – The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle – Bruce Springsteen

The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle

If an album could feel like a summer night on the Jersey Shore, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle would be it. Released on September 11, 1973, Springsteen’s second album is filled with boardwalk characters, street stories, romance, and the kind of restless energy that sounds even better when old friends are in the room. “The E Street Shuffle,” “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” “Incident on 57th Street,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and “New York City Serenade” make the record feel almost cinematic. Clarence Clemons, David Sancious, Garry Tallent, Danny Federici, and Vini Lopez give these songs a loose, colorful sound that Springsteen would never quite make again. The album took time to find a mass audience, but it eventually became one of the cornerstones of his catalog. This is the record for the point in the evening when the stories get longer and everybody starts remembering people they have not thought about in years.

# 5 – The Grand Illusion – Styx

There is something magical about an album that feels like a window into a different world, and The Grand Illusion still does that. Styx released the album on July 7, 1977, which gave fans the easy-to-remember 7/7/77 date that became part of the record’s mythology. Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James Young, Chuck Panozzo, and John Panozzo recorded it at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, with the band receiving the production credit. “Come Sail Away,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Man in the Wilderness,” and “Castle Walls” give the album a balance of radio hooks and progressive ambition. The Grand Illusion reached number six on the Billboard album chart and eventually went triple platinum. This is one of those records where everybody in the room seems to know more of the songs than they realize.

# 4 – One More from the Road – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd - One More From The Road - MCA Records - 82.004-2

Sometimes an album captures a live performance so perfectly that you can almost hear the clinking bottles and people munching on overpriced hot dogs, and One More from the Road is one of those records. Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the album at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre over three nights in July 1976 and released it that September. Ronnie Van Zant leads a band that includes Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Billy Powell, Leon Wilkeson, Artimus Pyle, and the newly added Steve Gaines, whose arrival gave the guitar lineup another huge voice. “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Call Me the Breeze,” and the extended “Free Bird” capture the group at full live power. The album became a major success and later went triple platinum in the United States. Put this on during a night with old friends and the room starts feeling less like a living room and a little more like the Fox Theatre.

# 3 – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of those double albums where almost every side feels like its own little world. Released on October 5, 1973, the album was recorded at Château d’Hérouville in France with Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson, and producer Gus Dudgeon operating at an incredible creative peak. “Bennie and the Jets,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” the title track, “Grey Seal,” and “All the Girls Love Alice” show how many different directions the band could take without losing its identity. The album reached number one on the Billboard chart and stayed there for eight weeks. There are enough familiar songs to keep everybody happy and enough deep cuts to start arguments about which track should have been another single. That makes it almost perfect for pizza, beer, pretzels, and a table full of people who still care enough about albums to argue about them.

# 2 – Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones

Few albums ooze rock and roll decadence like the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers. Released on April 23, 1971, the record combines blues, country, hard rock, and soul with the band’s new Rolling Stones Records identity and one of the most famous album covers of the era. “Brown Sugar,” “Sway,” “Wild Horses,” “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” “Bitch,” “Dead Flowers,” and “Moonlight Mile” make the track list feel almost unfair. Mick Taylor’s guitar work adds another dimension beside Keith Richards, while Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman keep the Stones sounding loose without ever falling apart. The album reached number one in the United States and stayed there for four weeks. This is exactly the kind of record that fuels stories, gets turned up a little louder with every beer, and reminds everybody why the Stones became the definition of rock and roll attitude.

# 1 – Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin

For us, Physical Graffiti was never just another album; it was a ritual. Released in the United States on February 24, 1975, Led Zeppelin’s double album combines powerful new recordings from the Headley Grange sessions with earlier material that finally found the right home. “Kashmir,” “Trampled Under Foot,” “The Rover,” “In My Time of Dying,” “Ten Years Gone,” and “Bron-Yr-Aur” move through hard rock, blues, funk, folk, and Eastern influences without making the record feel scattered. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham sound like a band with nothing left to prove and every reason to keep pushing. The album shot to number one, and in 2025 Led Zeppelin marked its fiftieth anniversary with a new live EP tied to the record. Whether we were hanging out in the living room or simply letting the whole thing fill the house, Physical Graffiti always had the power to turn an ordinary night into one of those memories that sticks with you.