Favorite #1 Album 1973

I'm with you there. 1972 had a pretty decent list of #1's but I think 1973 was even better.

 

Several people here have commented on how none of these albums would make it on their top lists... so I just had to chime in to say there are four albums on this list that would make it on to my Top 200 favorite albums of all-time (if I were to compile such a list - which I won't because that would be a very tiresome duty - as I am still discovering favorites albums to this day - many great groups out there nowadays too that I love).

But amongst these the four on my all-time favorites list are:
War - The World Is A Ghetto
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy

 

Not a very good year by the look of this list. I guess Dark Side followed by Goats Head Soup, Billion Dollar Babies, and Houses of the Holy. The maybe Yellow Brick Road.

Nothing can really compete with Dark Side. It's perfect, and one of the most popular albums in history.

 

Man tough list but I go with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

 

Quadrophenia was the best album of 1973. I can't believe it wasn't a number one.
From the list I went with The World Is a Ghetto.

 

Really? Not a very good list? I don't see a bad one on here. We will agree to disagree here.

 

Even as much of a Zep head I am, I had to go with DSOTM. It's iconic.

 

I went with Zep because I was only 13 then and DSOTM was still growing on me and all those others I knew of but wasn't into the albums per se, just the radio hits.

 

To be honest and going back to 1973 in my memory there is no doubt about DSOTM winning the pool here by a mile. so that is my vote.
In 78 I would have voted for WAR - The world Is a Ghetto. Loved that very much while driving around in my car.
I also played Brothers & Sisters pretty often, but it was never at the top of any list.
These 3 were the only albums from the list I owned in 1973.
Didn't like A Passion Play as much as Thick as a Brick and compared to Aqualung it was a real disappointment.

From todays pov the 3 albums I like best are either Houses Of The holy or Billion dollar babies; but since I am on a Rolling Stone run Goats Head soup deserved the number one spot today - no doubt.

Still in 1973 it was all about Dark Side Of The Moon, innovations and sound quality unheard of before. If we hadn't played it to death (or heard it too many times being played) we all should simply agree that DSOTM was THE best album lof 1973 by a few miles..
Of course YMMV (maybe you like Folk or elton John etc.) but for Progressive rock DSOTM comes as close to a perfect album as say Abbey Road in 1969 or so...

 

Zep is my favorite of this bunch, but if the poll was for best I would have had to pick DSOTM.

 

Living in the Material World

 

The year of my birth. I have to go with DSOTM, but HOH or GBYBR could have been #1 choices if they had not come out in the same year.

 

DSOTM!

I don't care if classic rock radio has ruined it, yadda, yadda, yadda. The album is an iconic masterpiece for a reason. It's friggin' perfection!

 

A Passion Play made it to number 1???
Incredible!

 

I voted for DSOTM, but Houses of the Holy is a strong #2 in my book.

 

To me it is!

I'm really surprised "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" isn't ahead by miles.

IMO it's the among the best albums of all time, if not the best. Pretty much universally lauded as Elton's best.

I feel like "Dark Side" needs a laser light show or "The Wizard of Oz" to accompany it to make it more of an enjoyable experience.

I know it's a huge back catalogue seller, but on this forum, I figured we'd all be voting for the best pop/rock album and not... progressive do you call it?

Good album; not one I play often as it doesn't get my spirits up or anything.

Well, glad people love it, I guess.

Elton's bank account is just fine either way!

Jeff

 

Haven't heard A Passion Play, but it's quite amazing that a British prog rock group succeeded in getting not one, but TWO successive albums to #1 in the States.

I thought prog rock in general was pretty uncommercial (too eseoteric and long-winded for the average music fan, too pretentious and nonsensical for the self-proclaimed rock cognoscenti) - but then again, Rush have always been pretty popular IIRC?

 

Ian Anderson has been quoted expressing surprise at A Passion Play's chart performance, but it's less odd when you consider the times. AOR (album-oriented rock) had an enormous FM presence in the early-mid 1970s, and the number of albums that reached the peak or near-peak of the album charts without a huge hit single is striking. In 1974, Bob Dylan had his first #1 Billboard album, Planet Waves, even without a Top 40 single.

 

I chose Dark Side, but there are plenty of albums not on the list I like better, including Captain & Me.

 

hmmm...let me think

 

So how did Eric Weissberg (not familiar with him at all) manage to get to #1 despite the presence of all these big albums?

 

GYBR here but a very good year for music. Liked them all...

 

The Deliverance movie soundtrack. Many copies of that album float around the thrift store bins now.

 

This is a really tough one but I have to go with Led Zep with Pink Floyd a VERY close second!

 

There are many prog rock fans on this forum... more than you would think. Look at some of the thread for groups such as Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Pink floyd and so forth. Anyhow Pink Floyd's DSOTM appeals to a much wider audience than your typical prog album normally does. For me all I have to do is put the album on and close my eyes and the music itself creates a laser light show in my mind.

That's what's good about this forum it's quite diversified in musical tastes.

GYBR is a great album but so is DSOTM, HOTH, world is Ghetto - let's face it '73 was a great year. But overall it was pretty obvious that DSOTM was going to take this contest - the album has struck a lasting chord in the emotions of millions upon millions of people and has continued through the generations. It is considered by many to be one of the Top 5 best albums of all-time.