Rock and Reel

Top 10 Tracks of 1971

Previous: 1970

A number of these songs land very high on just about every all-time song list (and with good reason): “What’s Going On,” “Imagine” and “Stairway to Heaven.” I heard the live version of “Maggot Brain” on the One Nation Under a Groove EP before the original album cut, and in some ways, I’m more fond of the former. Still, I thought it was only fair to allow a song from the album proper to make the 1978 list. Picking a song off of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory is a bit difficult because I feel the songs all go together so well, and the individual track don’t stand out in quite the same way. Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” would have been a lock on this list a few years back, and in fact it was my all-time number one for a while. Maybe I listened to it too much?

10. Marvin Gaye- What’s Going On (Listen)

9. Al Green- Tired of Being Alone (Listen)

8. John Lennon- Imagine (Listen)

7. Funkadelic- Maggot Brain (Listen)

6. David Bowie- Quicksand (Listen)

5. Rod Stewart- Every Picture Tells a Story (Listen)

4. Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven (Listen)

3. Joni Mitchell- River (Listen)

2. The Who- Baba O’Riley (Listen)

1. The Rolling Stones- Wild Horses (Listen)

Next: 1972

See Also: Top 10 Albums of 1971

100 Favorite Songs: 30-21

30. R.E.M.- At My Most Beautiful

29. Arcade Fire- Rebellion (Lies)

28. Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven

27. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive

26. The Stooges- Search and Destroy

25. Portishead- Glory Box

24. Joni Mitchell- River

23. Jackson Browne- Late for the Sky

22. Wilco- A Shot in the Arm

21. The Who- Baba O’Riley

See 20-11

See Also: My 100 Favorite Songs of All Time (2 years ago), My 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade (2 years ago), Top 10 Songs Of Each Hall of Fame Inductee Class: 1986-Present (2 years ago)

Top 10 Albums of 1976

1. Ramones- Ramones

Listen: “Judy is a Punk”

2. Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life

Listen: “Knocks Me Off My Feet”

3. David Bowie- Station to Station

Listen: “Station to Station”

4. ABBA- Arrival

Listen: “Why Did It Have to Me”

5. The Modern Lovers- The Modern Lovers

Listen: “Roadrunner”

6. Blondie- Blondie

Listen: “X Offender”

7. Tom Waits- Small Change

Listen: “Tom Traubert’s Blues”

8. Bob Dylan- Desire

Listen: “Hurricane”

9. Jackson Browne- The Pretender

Listen: “The Pretender”

10. Joni Mitchell- Hejira

Listen: “Blue Motel Room”

Honorable Mention: AC/DC’s High Voltage

Updated: December 31, 2011

Top 10 Albums of 1971

1. Joni Mitchell- Blue

Listen: “A Case of You”

2. David Bowie- Hunky Dory

Listen: “Quicksand”

3. The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers

Listen: “I Got the Blues”

4. Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin IV

Listen: “Misty Mountain Hop”

5. Leonard Cohen- Songs of Love and Hate

Listen: “Dress Rehearsal Rag”

6. The Who- Who’s Next

Listen: “Baba O’Riley”

7. Funkadelic- Maggot Brain

Listen: “Hit It and Quit It”

8. John Lennon- Imagine

Listen: “Oh Yoko!”

9. Miles Davis- A Tribute to Jack Johnson

Listen: “Right Off” (Part 1)

10. Marvin Gaye- What’s Going On

Listen: “What’s Going On”

Honorable Mention: The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East, Can’s Tago Mago, Janis Joplin’s Pearl, B.B. King’s Live at Cook County Jail, Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On, T. Rex’s Electric Warrior

Updated: May 15, 2013