Best 1970s Rock Songs

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1. 1
   LZ
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   Stairway to Heaven

   Led Zeppelin · from Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

   Rock's most famous slow build.

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2. 2
   DB
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   Life on Mars?

   David Bowie · from Hunky Dory (1971)

   The Rickmansworth housewife observation set to Rick Wakeman's piano cascade.

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3. 3
   WH
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   Baba O'Riley

   The Who · from Who's Next (1971)

   Synth pulse and a teenage-wasteland holler.

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4. 4
   WH
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   Won't Get Fooled Again

   The Who · from Who's Next (1971)

   The synth, the guitar, the scream — eight minutes of civilisation collapsing.

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5. 5
   DO
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   Riders on the Storm

   The Doors · from L.A. Woman (1971)

   Rain, organ, Morrison's late-career baritone at its most cinematic.

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6. 6
   EJ
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   Rocket Man

   Elton John · from Honky Chateau (1972)

   Bernie Taupin's loneliness-as-space-metaphor and Elton's most affecting vocal.

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7. 7
   PF
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   Money

   Pink Floyd · from The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

   Seven-four time signature and cash-register groove.

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8. 8
   QU
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   Bohemian Rhapsody

   Queen · from A Night at the Opera (1975)

   The impossible thing that somehow worked perfectly.

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9. 9
   BS
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   Born to Run

   Bruce Springsteen · from Born to Run (1975)

   A widescreen escape anthem.

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10. 10
    PF
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    Wish You Were Here

    Pink Floyd · from Wish You Were Here (1975)

    An acoustic elegy for a lost friend.

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11. 11
    BS
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    Thunder Road

    Bruce Springsteen · from Born to Run (1975)

    The piano intro, the harmonica, the screen door — the whole American myth.

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12. 12
    EA
    ▶

    Hotel California

    Eagles · from Hotel California (1976)

    The twin guitar solo and the California dream turning sinister.

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