Top Ten Best Years in Rock Music

The Top Ten

1 1970

Black Sabbath, In Rock, Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, Led Zeppelin III, Let it Be

2 1975

Physical Graffiti, Horses, Blood on the Tracks, A Night at the Opera, Wish You Were Here

A Night At The Opera, Physical Graffiti, Wish You Were Here, Toys in the Attic. - Metarock

A Night at the Opera (Best album ever), Wish You Were Here, too many to list...

3 1986

Slippery When Wet, Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, The Queen is Dead, Turbo

4 1969

Abbey Road by The Beatles, Let it Bleed by The Rolling Stones, several albums by Creedence Clearwater Revival, several albums by Led Zeppelin, Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes, plus albums by Stevie Wonder, The Kinks, Joe Cocker, Elvis, Aretha Franklin etc. Beat that, any other year ever! - truckturner

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson.

Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin, Tommy, Trout Mask Replica, Kick Out the Jams

This year saw The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Who,
And the final week of 1969 saw the very first chart entry from the Jackson 5, plus the summer of 1969 featured a little concert event called Woodstock.

5 1976

Boston, Rocks, Jailbreak, 2112, Rising

6 1973

Raw Power, Band on the Run, Pronounced Leh Nerd Skeh Nerd, Dark Side of the Moon, Quadrophenia

7 1967

Are You Experienced, The Doors, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Velvet Underground & Nico, Disraeli Gears

8 1983

Pyromania, Kill 'em All, Peace of Mind, Murmur, War

9 2002

Modren rock is defined by 2002.

Audioslave! - TheHabsFan

10 1971

Stairway to Heaven

Zoso, Master Of Reality, The Yes Album, RAM, Aqualung, Tarkus, Fireball, Nursery Cryme, Fragile, Meddle, LA Woman, Sticky Fingers, Who's Next, Hunky Dory, Madman Across The Water, Blue, Surf's Up, Imagine, The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys, Killer, ZZ Top's First Album, Straight Up, Electric Warrior...too good.

Really?
Led Zeppelin IV, Who's Next, Sticky Fingers, Meddle, Fragile, Concert for Bangladesh, Imagine, Hunky Dory, What's Going On, Harvest, Tapestry…
I say again…Really? Does any other year come close?
I must admit, though, it is difficult to pick a year in which the neither the Beatles nor Van Halen nor Rush nor Michael Jackson put out material. Oh well.

Actually, most of the albums you mentioned are mediocre and the journalist overrate them.
There were years way better than 1971.

The Contenders

11 1957

Chirping Crickets, Here's Little Richard, After School Session, Jailhouse Rock, Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps

12 2010
13 1968

Jeff beck Truth, Led Zeppelin 1, Waitin for the Sun, The Beatles White album, beggars banquet,

Beggars Banquet, The Beatles (or the white album), waiting for the sun

14 1965

My Generation, Out of Our Heads, Rubber Soul, Here Are The Sonics, Highway 61 Revisited

15 2000

Crush by Bon Jovi! - DaringXx

16 1990
17 2003

Evanescence and Linkin Park released their albums "Fallen" (Evanescence) and "Meteora" (Linkin Park) only weeks apart. It was also the year Three Days Grace's self titled album was released.

The Modern rock at it's finest! - Johnalove

18 1994

Grunge rock and alternative rock defined

These days - Bon Jovi! - DaringXx

19 1991

The year Grunge became mainstream, Green Day's debut album, and new albums and hits from Nirvana, RHCP, and R.E.M.

20 2012
21 1999
22 2016 2016 (MMXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2016th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 16th year of the 3rd millennium, the 16th year of the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2010s decade.

Utterly without merit.

23 1978
24 1979
25 1992

Keep the faith - Bon Jovi! - DaringXx

Rage Against the Machine - RATM
Core-Stone - Temple Pilots
Dirt- Alice in Chains
Check Your Head- Beastie Boys
40oz to Freedom- Sublime
Harvest Moon- Neil Young
Southern Harmony and Musical Companion- Black Crowes
Vulgar Display of Power- Pantera

26 1956

Its elvis!

27 1955
28 1959
29 1950
30 2007
31 1988

Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses
And Justice for All - Metallica
Hysteria - Def Leppard
Rattle and Hum - U2

32 1984

Ride The Lightning

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