That awkward moment when you're suddenly forced to choose between Van Halen, the Allman Brothers Band, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin...
(Image credit: Future)
As you've probably gleaned from the headline, we're eager to know what you – the lovely GuitarWorld.com readers – consider to be the greatest guitar album of the 1970s.
OK, I admit this is a tough one. I mean, the greatest guitar album of the '60s is obviously The Transformed Man by William Shatner. And the best guitar album of the '80s is clearly The Return of Bruno by Bruce Willis.
But how do you choose a single "greatest guitar album" from the '70s?
While the '60s and '80s were carpeted and/or wallpapered with some truly incredible and influential guitar-centric releases, the '70s were truly plastered with them – walls, floors, lamp shades, basements, attics, bathrooms, servant's quarters and boiler rooms. You couldn't walk two inches without stepping on a Free Bird or a Larks' Tongues in Aspic.
If the '60s rock and blues boom was the explosion, the music of the '70s was the volcanic fallout, and it covered the land – and darkened the skies – for many a year. It spawned heavy metal, punk, funk, prog and Southern rock. It witnessed the height of the "classic rock era" and then gawked and grinned in awe as Eddie Van Halen came along and created something, um, else.
Still – regardless of all them fancy words – you can choose only one album in the poll below, so – as weird as it seems – there will be a winner, and we can't wait to see what it is. Obviously, we couldn't list every album from the '70s, so if you don't see your favorite, just write it in!
This poll will be taken down in early July, and we'll reveal the results in the November 2024 issue of GW, which goes on sale September 3. Keep on truckin'!
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.