Our quest to find the best rock album of the ’70s is near the end, as only two albums remain in the final round of our March Madness bracket.
Two universally loved masterpieces will compete for your votes: The Who‘s Who’s Next and Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side of the Moon. They both took down some very famous albums to get here.
Who’s Next, released in 1971 after Pete Townshend abandoned his original plans for an epic science fiction-based rock opera named Lifehouse, is home to “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Behind Blue Eyes” and many other classics.
The Who defeated the Beatles’ Let It Be, Van Halen’s Van Halen and AC/DC’s Highway to Hell in the first three rounds, then bested Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes by a 70% to 30% margin to reach the finals.
The Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973 and has gone on to become the most acclaimed and universally beloved concept album in rock history. It is home to famous songs such as “Money,” “Us and Them” and “Time.”
Pink Floyd got here by trouncing David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run and the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers in the first three rounds, then edging out Led Zeppelin IV by a score of 53% to 47% to reach the finals.
So who gets the crown? That’s up to you. You can vote once per hour between now and 11:59PM EDT on Wednesday, April 1. The winner of UCR’s Best ’70s Album March Madness bracket will be revealed on the morning of April 2.
Top 100 Albums of the ’70s
The decade where music hit its groove.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
