Best 70s Songs: 60 Throwback Hits That Still Go (2026)

The Short Answer

If you want one 70s playlist that never misses, start with these ten and build outward:

"Bohemian Rhapsody" — Queen · "Stayin' Alive" — Bee Gees · "Dreams" — Fleetwood Mac · "Superstition" — Stevie Wonder · "Hotel California" — Eagles · "September" — Earth, Wind & Fire · "Let's Stay Together" — Al Green · "Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd · "I Will Survive" — Gloria Gaynor · "Landslide" — Fleetwood Mac

That is the spine. Between them they cover the soul peak, the arena-rock era, the disco floor and the two Fleetwood Mac songs that somehow belong to every generation since.

Below are sixty songs grouped by era, because the 70s were really three different decades wearing a trench coat: the singer-songwriter and soul years at the start, the arena-rock middle, and the disco takeover at the end. Pick the phase you actually want.

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(This is the chapter before the one most people start at — carry on with the best 80s songs, the best 90s songs, the best 2000s songs and the best 2010s songs.)

1970–1973: Singer-Songwriters, Soul and the Comedown from the Sixties

The Beatles broke up in April 1970 and the decade started in the wreckage. What filled the gap was quieter and far more personal — and, at Motown and in Memphis, some of the greatest soul records ever cut.

"Let It Be" — The Beatles (1970) "Bridge Over Troubled Water" — Simon & Garfunkel (1970) "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" — Diana Ross (1970) "War" — Edwin Starr (1970) "Your Song" — Elton John (1970) "What's Going On" — Marvin Gaye (1971) "Imagine" — John Lennon (1971) "Maggie May" — Rod Stewart (1971) "Let's Stay Together" — Al Green (1971) "Stairway to Heaven" — Led Zeppelin (1971) "Superstition" — Stevie Wonder (1972) "Lean on Me" — Bill Withers (1972) "Ain't No Sunshine" — Bill Withers (1971) "Rocket Man" — Elton John (1972) "Tiny Dancer" — Elton John (1971) "You're So Vain" — Carly Simon (1972) "Dream On" — Aerosmith (1973) "Killing Me Softly with His Song" — Roberta Flack (1973) "Free Bird" — Lynyrd Skynyrd (1973) "Money" — Pink Floyd (1973)

Why this era holds up: *What's Going On* and *Innervisions* proved a pop record could carry the weight of an actual argument, and the songwriting on them has never been bettered. Almost everything called "timeless" today is chasing 1971.

1974–1976: Arena Rock, Funk and the Album as the Main Event

The middle of the decade got louder and more ambitious. Records were built to fill stadiums, funk tightened into something ruthless, and the album — not the single — became the thing people argued about.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" — Queen (1975) "Sweet Home Alabama" — Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974) "Take It Easy" — Eagles (1972) "Rhiannon" — Fleetwood Mac (1975) "Landslide" — Fleetwood Mac (1975) "Jolene" — Dolly Parton (1974) "Waterloo" — ABBA (1974) "Kung Fu Fighting" — Carl Douglas (1974) "Rock the Boat" — The Hues Corporation (1974) "Get Down Tonight" — KC and the Sunshine Band (1975) "Fame" — David Bowie (1975) "Young Americans" — David Bowie (1975) "Born to Run" — Bruce Springsteen (1975) "Thunder Road" — Bruce Springsteen (1975) "Love Rollercoaster" — Ohio Players (1975) "Play That Funky Music" — Wild Cherry (1976) "More Than a Feeling" — Boston (1976) "Dancing Queen" — ABBA (1976) "Hotel California" — Eagles (1976) "Blitzkrieg Bop" — Ramones (1976)

The pivot hiding in this list is "Blitzkrieg Bop". Two minutes and twelve seconds, three chords, no solo — released the same year as "Hotel California". Punk did not out-sell arena rock; it just made every band that came after choose a side.

1977–1979: Disco Takes Over — and Punk Kicks Back

The decade ended on the dance floor. *Saturday Night Fever* sold thirty million copies, disco went from clubs to every radio in the country, and a furious minority made the loudest possible case against it.

"Stayin' Alive" — Bee Gees (1977) "How Deep Is Your Love" — Bee Gees (1977) "Dreams" — Fleetwood Mac (1977) "Go Your Own Way" — Fleetwood Mac (1977) "I Feel Love" — Donna Summer (1977) "Boogie Wonderland" — Earth, Wind & Fire (1979) "September" — Earth, Wind & Fire (1978) "Le Freak" — Chic (1978) "Good Times" — Chic (1979) "I Will Survive" — Gloria Gaynor (1978) "Y.M.C.A." — Village People (1978) "Don't Stop Me Now" — Queen (1978) "We Will Rock You" — Queen (1977) "Sultans of Swing" — Dire Straits (1978) "Roxanne" — The Police (1978) "London Calling" — The Clash (1979) "Heart of Glass" — Blondie (1979) "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2" — Pink Floyd (1979) "Highway to Hell" — AC/DC (1979) "Rapper's Delight" — The Sugarhill Gang (1979)

Trivia your party guests will pretend they already knew: the bassline of "Rapper's Delight" is lifted from Chic's "Good Times", released three months earlier. Hip-hop's first hit single was built on a disco record — which makes the "disco sucks" backlash of that same summer look even sillier in hindsight.

The Deep Cuts People Forget

Every 70s playlist contains the same thirty songs. These are the ones that make yours the good one.

"A Case of You" — Joni Mitchell (1971) — *Blue* in one song; every songwriter since has quietly tried to write it again. "Rock and Roll" — Led Zeppelin (1971) — the best opening drum bar of the decade, over before you're ready. "Backstabbers" — The O'Jays (1972) — Philly soul at its most paranoid and most danceable. "Rock On" — David Essex (1973) — almost no instruments, mostly bass and echo, sounds like it was recorded in 2015. "Cherry Bomb" — The Runaways (1976) — the loudest two minutes on this list. "Solsbury Hill" — Peter Gabriel (1977) — in 7/4 the entire way through, and nobody notices until you point it out. "Because the Night" — Patti Smith Group (1978) — Springsteen wrote it, Patti Smith finished it, and she won. "Ashes to Ashes" — David Bowie (1980) — a year late, worth breaking the rule for. "Just the Two of Us" — Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers (1980) — same. "Tempted" — Squeeze (1981) — fine, three years late; play it anyway.

A tactical note on sequencing: the 70s split badly down the middle. "Stairway to Heaven" into "Y.M.C.A." is a nine-minute mood followed by a demolition, and the room will not follow you. Bridge with Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder or Queen — the three acts that sound at home in every part of the decade. (How to build a playlist that actually flows)

Why 70s Songs Refuse to Die

The 70s are now more than fifty years back — and they are quietly everywhere.

Film keeps resurrecting them. *Guardians of the Galaxy* built two soundtracks almost entirely out of this decade and turned "Hooked on a Feeling" into a hit for people born in 2005. Every needle-drop in a prestige drama is doing the same job.

The samples never stopped. "Good Times" became "Rapper's Delight". "I Feel Love" is the reason modern dance music sounds like modern dance music. Daft Punk hired Nile Rodgers to get 1979 back on record in 2013, and it won Album of the Year.

The playing was extraordinary. These records were cut live by musicians in a room, with mistakes left in. That is why the drums on "Superstition" and the bass on "Good Times" still sound better than most things produced this year.

And if a song here used to make you roll your eyes and now you turn it up — that's a documented phenomenon, not a personal failing. (Why you suddenly love songs you used to hate)

Building the Playlist

Sixty songs is more than most people need in one sitting. Cut it down by occasion.

For a party: "September", "Stayin' Alive", "Le Freak", "Y.M.C.A.", "Dancing Queen" — and close on "I Will Survive", which turns any room into a choir. (Building a party playlist properly)

For a road trip: "Take It Easy", "Born to Run", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Free Bird", "Go Your Own Way" — the 70s essentially invented the driving album. (More road trip songs)

For karaoke: "Bohemian Rhapsody" if the group is committed, "Dancing Queen" if it is not, "I Will Survive", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Killing Me Softly" for the one person who can actually sing. (The best karaoke songs)

For the gym: "We Will Rock You", "Highway to Hell", "Play That Funky Music", "Love Rollercoaster", "Another One Bites the Dust" if you'll allow 1980. (High-energy workout songs)

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Common Questions

What is the most iconic song of the 70s? The usual finalists are "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Stayin' Alive" and "Hotel California" — the song that broke every rule about what a single could be, the song that defined the dance floor, and the guitar outro that still ends classic-rock radio every night.

What songs defined the early 70s specifically? "What's Going On", "Imagine", "Your Song", "Let's Stay Together" and "Stairway to Heaven". If it sounds like someone working something out at a piano, it belongs to 1970–1973.

What was the biggest 70s party song? "September" for pure joy, "Y.M.C.A." for the arms, "Le Freak" for anyone who can actually dance. "Stayin' Alive" is the one everyone thinks they're too cool for until the bassline starts.

Is disco worth including, or does it date the playlist? Include it. Disco was the most technically accomplished pop of the decade — Chic, Earth, Wind & Fire and Donna Summer made records that modern producers still study. The backlash was about everything except the music.

Which 70s genre aged best? Soul and funk, comfortably. "Superstition", "Let's Stay Together" and "Good Times" could be released tomorrow. Prog rock aged hardest, though *Dark Side of the Moon* remains untouchable.

How do I listen to all of these for free? Trending Music plays them free with no subscription, and you can save them for playback with no signal. (Listening offline without premium)

Where are the other decades? Right here: the best 80s songs, the best 90s songs, the best 2000s songs and the best 2010s songs — same idea, one decade at a time.

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