Top Songs from 1970-1979

First posted on DMDB Facebook page on 3/4/2011, updated 7/28/2018.

These are the top 100 songs from 1970-1979 according to Dave’s Music Database. When a title was recognized as the Song of the Year, it is noted with a code following the song. A key to the codes is at the bottom of the page.

1. Imagine…John Lennon (1971) AG, DM, Q, RS
2. Bridge Over Troubled Water…Simon & Garfunkel (1970) BB, DM, G-R, G-S, MJ, Bohemian Rhapsody…Queen (1975) CB, DM, Q
3. SS, JW
4. Hotel California…Eagles (1977) AG, DM, G-R, VF RS, SS
5. Stairway to Heaven…Led Zeppelin (1971)
6. Let It Be…The Beatles (1970) AG, VF
7. Stayin’ Alive…Bee Gees (1977) AG, DM, VF, RS
8. American Pie…Don McLean (1971) AG, VF
9. Layla…Derek & the Dominos (1971)
10. Dancing Queen…Abba (1976) AG, VF, PCM

11. What’s Going On…Marvin Gaye (1971) MJ, NME, SS
12. Superstition…Stevie Wonder (1972) DM, MJ, NME, Q, RS
13. Born to Run…Bruce Springsteen (1975) RS, SS
14. I Will Survive…Gloria Gaynor (1978) AG, DM
15. Another Brick in the Wall Part II…Pink Floyd (1979) DM, VF
16. Maggie May…Rod Stewart (1971)
17. Your Song…Elton John (1970) RS
18. Let’s Stay Together…Al Green (1971)
19. Killing Me Softly with His Song…Roberta Flack (1973) G-R, G-S, JW
20. My Sweet Lord…George Harrison (1970) VF

21. No Woman, No Cry…Bob Marley & the Wailers (1975) DM, NME, SS
22. London Calling…The Clash (1979)
23. Heart of Glass…Blondie (1979) VF
24. Y.M.C.A….Village People (1978) PCM
25. Le Freak…Chic (1978) CB
26. Won’t Get Fooled Again…The Who (1971)
27. The Way We Were…Barbra Streisand (1973) BB, DM, G-S, SS, JW
28. Sultans of Swing…Dire Straits (1979) SS
29. Heroes…David Bowie (1977) Q
30. You Light Up My Life…Debby Boone (1977) AMA, CB, G-S, PCA, JW

31. Night Fever…Bee Gees (1978) JW
32. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face…Roberta Flack (1972) BB, G-R, G-S, JW
33. Anarchy in the U.K….Sex Pistols (1976) MJ, NME, Q, RS
34. You’re the One That I Want…Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta (1978)
35. My Sharona…The Knack (1979) BB, CB, JW
36. Walk on the Wild Side…Lou Reed (1972) NME, RS
37. Free Bird…Lynyrd Skynrd (1974)
38. How Deep Is Your Love…Bee Gees (1977)
39. Go Your Own Way…Fleetwood Mac (1977)
40. Fire and Rain…James Taylor (1970)

41. God Save the Queen…Sex Pistols (1977) MJ NME
42. Paranoid…Black Sabbath (1970) Q
43. Rapper’s Delight…The Sugarhill Gang (1979)
44. Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree…Tony Orlando & Dawn (1973) AMA, BB, CB
45. Brown Sugar…The Rolling Stones (1971)
46. Lola…The Kinks (1970) NME
47. Without You…Harry Nilsson (1971)
48. Comfortably Numb…Pink Floyd (1979)
49. Good Times…Chic (1979) NME
50. Let’s Get It On…Marvin Gaye (1973) PCM

51. All Right Now…Free (1970)
52. I’m Not in Love…10cc (1975)
53. Sweet Home Alabama…Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974) PCM
54. Just the Way You Are…Billy Joel (1977) G-R, G-S
55. More Than a Feeling…Boston (1976)
56. Piano Man…Billy Joel (1974)
57. It’s Too Late…Carole King (1971) G-R
58. Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone…The Temptations (1972)
59. You’re So Vain…Carly Simon (1972) AG
60. Midnight Train to Georgia…Gladys Knight & the Pips (1973)

61. Three Times a Lady…Commodores (1978) AMA
62. Theme from Shaft…Isaac Hayes (1971)
63. Brass in Pocket (I’m Special)…Pretenders (1979)
64. Joy to the World…Three Dog Night (1971) BB, CB, JW
65. I’ll Be There…The Jackson 5 (1970) CB, PCM
66. You Are the Sunshine of My Life…Stevie Wonder (1973)
67. Smoke on the Water…Deep Purple (1973)
68. Kashmir…Led Zeppelin (1974)
69. Dreams…Fleetwood Mac (1977)
70. Baba O’Riley…The Who (1971)

71. Play That Funky Music…Wild Cherry (1976) PCM
72. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)…Rod Stewart (1976) BB, JW
73. Angie…The Rolling Stones (1973) VF
74. Dream On…Aerosmith (1973)
75. Baker Street…Gerry Rafferty (1978)
76. Just My Imagination Running Away with Me…The Temptations (1971)
77. Alone Again (Naturally)…Gilbert O’Sullivan (1972) CB
78. The Tears of a Clown…The Miracles (1970)
79. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough…Michael Jackson (1979)
80. Rock Your Baby…George McCrae (1974) NME

81. Wish You Were Here…Pink Floyd (1975)
82. We Will Rock You…Queen (1977)
83. Thunder Road…Bruce Springsteen (1975)
84. I Honestly Love You…Olivia Newton-John (1974) AMA, CB, G-R
85. I Feel Love…Donna Summer (1977)
86. We Are the Champions…Queen (1977)
87. Love Will Keep Us Together…Captain & Tennille (1975) BB, G-R, PCA, JW
88. Bang a Gong (Get It On)…T-Rex (1971)
89. They Long to Be Close to You…Carpenters (1970)
90. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?...Rod Stewart (1978)

91. Seasons in the Sun…Terry Jacks (1974)
92. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road…Elton John (1973)
93. Bennie and the Jets…Elton John (1974)
94. The Rose…Bette Midler (1979)
95. Me and Bobby McGee…Janis Joplin (1971)
96. We’ve Only Just Begun…Carpenters (1970)
97. Crazy Little Thing Called Love…Queen (1979)
98. Heart of Gold…Neil Young (1972)
99. We Are Family…Sister Sledge (1979)
100. Hot Stuff…Donna Summer (1979)

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Songs Which Won Year-End Awards But Didn’t Make the Top 100:

• America the Beautiful…Ray Charles (1972) SS
• Autobahn…Kraftwerk (1975) MJ, Q
• Bad Girls…Donna Summer (1979) AMA
• Beth…Kiss (1976) PCA
• Boogie Nights…Heatwave (1977) PCA
• California Uber Alles (1979) MJ
• Disco Duck…Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots (1976) PCA
• Don’t Go Breaking My Heart…Elton John & Kiki Dee (1976) AMA
• Double Vision…Foreigner (1978) PCA
• Evergreen (Love Theme from ‘A Star Is Born’)…Barbra Streisand (1976) G-S
• Gangsters…The Specials (1979) Q
• Get Down Tonight…KC & the Sunshine Band (1975) PCM
• I Can Help…Billy Swan (1975) VF
• I Hate the Rich…The Dils (1978) MJ
• I Write the Songs…Barry Manilow (1975) G-S
• The Joker…Steve Miller Band (1973) AG
• Kung Fu Fighting…Carl Douglas (1974) VF
• Last Dance…Donna Summer (1978) PCM
• Life on Mars?...David Bowie (1971) Q
• Living for the City…Stevie Wonder (1973) MJ
• The Main Event/Fight…Barbra Streisand (1979) PCA
• The Mary Ellen Carter…Stan Rogers (1979) SS
• Rhinestone Cowboy…Glen Campbell (1975) AMA
• Rock and Roll Part 2…Gary Glitter (1972) PCM
• Send in the Clowns…Judy Collins (1975) G-S
• Shadow Dancing…Andy Gibb (1978) BB
• Silly Love Songs…Paul McCartney & Wings (1976) BB
• Star Wars…John Williams (1977) SS
• Take Me to the River…Al Green (1974) RS
• Teenage Kicks…The Undertones (1978) NME
• That’s the Way I Like It…KC & the Sunshine Band (1975) AG
• This Masquerade…George Benson (1976) G-R
• Torn Between Two Lovers…Mary MacGregor (1976) CB
• Tusk…Fleetwood Mac (1979) RS
• What a Fool Believes…The Doobie Brothers (1978) G-R, G-S
• Wuthering Heights…Kate Bush (1978) Q
• You’ve Got a Friend…James Taylor (1971) G-S, PCM

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Key to the Codes: Click here for a full list of all year-end song awards.

• AG: American Greatest Hits by Year (1840-2013)
• AMA: Pop/Rock Song of the Year
• BB: Billboard magazine
• CB: Cashbox (1950-1996)
• DM: Dave’s Music Database
• G-R: Grammy for Record of the Year
• G-S: Grammy for Song of the Year
• MJ: Mojo magazine (1955-2005). Based on aggregated Mojo lists.
• VF: MusicVF.com
• NME: NME magazine. Based on aggregation of NME lists and year-end lists.
• PCA: Peoples’ Choice Award
• PCM: PopCultureMadness.com
• Q: Q magazine (1954-2013). Determined by year-end polls and highest-ranked song on aggregate of Q lists.
• RS: Rolling Stone magazine, determined by year-end polls and highest-ranked song on aggregate of RS lists.
• SS: Sullivan, Steve. Traditional Pop: The All-Time Top 200 + Classic Song Performances, (1900-2011)
• JW: Whitburn, Joel. A Century of Pop Music, 1900-1999 (book)

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