Five insanely overrated albums from the 1970s

The 1970s had plenty of albums hailed as classics of their time. Lauded by critics, these albums were seen perhaps as changing the face of music. They may have launched or refocused musical careers or genres. But just how good were they really?

I see this a bit like the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson. Lots of music people in the know have said these are great albums. Have people just followed that lead and agreed?  I’ve got five albums in mind that are overrated. It’s my own view and you probably won’t agree with me on all five of them. You might agree with me about some. Let me explain what I mean here by overrated first though.

These aren't bad albums. All five were received well and chart successes on Billboard 200 and in the UK. There are gold and platinum albums on the list. They all have amazingly good songs on them too. Some absolute classic tracks in their own right.

Why these five 1970 albums are overrated

Are the complete albums, across all or enough of their content, as good as they’ve been made out to be? These days with streaming and playlists prevailing, people are more selective in what they listen to. Less people listen now to complete albums as they did back in the 1970s. And for those who used to skip some tracks, it's now more about the few they still choose to select and play. 

If you are only picking a couple of tracks from an album, it questions just how good that whole package is. No matter how well-regarded it is. For a real test - as you go through the list of all five, ask yourself if you would play the whole complete album now or have done so recently.

Let’s explore these five overrated albums from some big names.