For me the early - mid 70's had the best music overall..and it's not because I'm that old, this stuff was before my time.
It was discovery for musicians, breaking completely new ground.
I found a list of the top albums from each year.
1972
Neil Young: Harvest (c. 3/4/72)
Jethro Tull: Thick As a Brick (c. 3/11/72)
The Allman Brothers Band: Eat a Peach studio/live (c. 3/18/72)
Todd Rundgren: Something/Anything? (c. 3/25/72)
Deep Purple: Machine Head (c. 4/8/72)
The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St. (5/12/72)
David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (6/9/72)
Roxy Music: Roxy Music (6/72)
Curtis Mayfield: Superfly ST (7/72)
Deep Purple: Made in Japan live (rec. 8/15/72 to 8/17/72, c. 4/21/73)
Yes: Close to the Edge (9/13/72)
Black Sabbath: Vol. 4 (c. 9/23/72)
Genesis: Foxtrot (10/6/72)
Stevie Wonder: Talking Book (10/27/72)
Lou Reed: Transformer (11/72)
Steely Dan: Can’t Buy a Thrill (c. 12/2/72)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Clear Spot (c. 12/23/72)
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Will the Circle Be Unbroken (c. 12/30/72)
John Denver: Greatest Hits G (rec. 1969-72, released 11/15/73)
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Chronicle G (rec. 1968-72, c. 3/6/76)
1973
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (c. 3/17/73)
Led Zeppelin: Houses of the Holy (3/28/73)
Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure (c. 4/7/73)
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Catch a Fire (4/13/73)
David Bowie: Aladdin Sane (4/13/73)
Eagles: Desperado (4/17/73)
Iggy & the Stooges: Raw Power (c. 4/28/73)
Al Green: Call Me (c. 5/19/73)
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells (5/25/73)
Paul Simon: There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (c. 5/26/73)
Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy (c. 7/21/73)
Lou Reed: Berlin (7/73)
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (8/3/73)
ZZ Top: Tres Hombres (c. 8/4/73)
Marvin Gaye: Let’s Get It On (8/28/73)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd (8/73)
New York Dolls: New York Dolls (c. 9/1/73)
Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle (9/11/73)
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (10/5/73)
Genesis: Selling England by the Pound (c. 10/13/73)
Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters (10/13/73)
The Wailers: Burnin’ (10/73)
The Who: Quadrophenia (c. 11/10/73)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery (11/19/73)
Carpenters: The Singles 1969-1973 G (rec. 1969-73, released 11/73)
Paul McCartney & Wings: Band on the Run (12/5/73)
Neil Young: Tonight’s the Night (rec. 1973, released 7/12/75)
The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers (rec. 1973, released 1976)
Sly & the Family Stone: Greatest Hits/Anthology G (rec. 1968-73)
1974
Brian Eno: Here Come the Warm Jets (1/74)
Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark (c. 2/9/74)
Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel (c. 2/16/74)
Big Star: Radio City (2/74)
Steely Dan: Pretzel Logic (c. 3/30/74)
David Bowie: Diamond Dogs (4/24/74)
Richard & Linda Thompson: I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (4/74)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping (c. 5/4/74)
Bad Company: Bad Company (6/26/74)
Eric Clapton: 461 Ocean Boulevard (c. 7/20/74)
Stevie Wonder: Fulfillingness’ First Finale (7/22/74)
Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom (7/74)
Neil Young: On the Beach (c. 8/3/74)
Jackson Browne: Late for the Sky (9/19/74)
Bob Marley & The Wailers: Natty Dread (10/25/74)
Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (11/18/74)
King Crimson: Red (c. 11/23/74)
Supertramp: Crime of the Century (c. 12/7/74)
Kraftwerk: Autobahn (released 1974, c. 2/8/75)
Al Green: Greatest Hits (rec. 1970-1974, c. 3/22/75)
1975
Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks (1/17/75)
Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti (2/24/75)
David Bowie: Young Americans (3/7/75)
Earth, Wind & Fire: That’s the Way of the World ST (c. 3/15/75)
Marvin Hamlisch/Edward Kleban (composers

A Chorus Line cast (opened 4/15/75)
Aerosmith: Toys in the Attic (c. 4/26/75)
Elton John: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (c. 5/31/75)
Eagles: One of These Nights (6/10/75)
Bob Marley & the Wailers: Live! (At the Lyceum) live (rec. 7/18/75, released 12/19/75)
Willie Nelson: Red Headed Stranger (c. 7/26/75)
Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac (c. 8/2/75)
Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run (8/25/75)
Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (9/15/75)
Brian Eno: Another Green World (9/75)
Kiss: Alive! live (rec. 1974-75?, c. 10/11/75)
Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive! live (rec. 3/24/75 to 11/22/75, c. 1/31/76)
Patti Smith: Horses (11/75)
Queen: A Night at the Opera (12/2/75)
Joni Mitchell: Hissing of Summer Lawns (c. 12/6/75)
Burning Spear: Marcus Garvey (12/12/75)
Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 G (rec. 1971-75, released 2/17/76)
Big Star: Third/Sister Lovers (rec. 1975, released 7/78)
1976
George Benson: Breezin’ (1/6/76)
Bob Dylan: Desire (1/16/76)
David Bowie: Station to Station (1/23/76)
Parliament: Mothership Connection (c. 2/21/76)
Boz Scaggs: Silk Degrees (c. 3/20/76)
Kiss: Destroyer (c. 4/3/76)
Rush: 2112 (c. 4/10/76)
Aerosmith: Rocks (c. 5/29/76)
Steve Miller Band: Fly Like an Eagle (c. 5/29/76)
Ramones: Ramones (c. 6/5/76)
Boston: Boston (8/25/76)
Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (9/28/76)
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: Night Moves (10/1/76)
Kansas: Leftoverture (c. 11/6/76)
Jackson Brownes: The Pretender (11/10/76)
Abba: Arrival (11/76)
James Taylor: Greatest Hits G (rec. 1968-76, c. 12/4/76)
Eagles: Hotel California (12/8/76)
Joni Mitchell: Hejira (c. 12/11/76)