The two best albums of the 1970s, according to David Gilmour
For many fans worldwide, the albums that David Gilmour played on with Pink Floyd, such as Meddle and The Dark Side of the Moon or Wish You Were Here, are not only their favourite albums of the 1970s but also generation-defining works.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time—Gilmour was even once voted the ‘greatest Fender guitarist ever’—the English axe-man has influenced a whole wave of psychedelic, expansive and experimental musical explorers with his playing.
With credentials like these, it is only natural that when Gilmour praises an album or an artist, people take notice, such as when Guitar Tricks Insider asked him to name some of his favourite releases in 2017.
Not many people these days would pick a compilation album among their very favourites, but that’s exactly what Gilmour did when he mentioned the 1963 album The Shadows’ Greatest Hits. Also representing the 1960s from Gilmour’s picks were John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland.
His evident appreciation for revered and groundbreaking guitarists was further cemented by the two albums he listed from the decade to which his own image is most closely tied, and if this list is anything to go by, then it is these two behemoths that you could consider to be Gilmour’s favourite records of the esteemed selection of the 1970s.
First up was Jeff Beck’s solo debut, Blow by Blow, a 1974 instrumental blending of funk, jazz-fusion and white-boy blues. Beck had made his name and cut his teeth with The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group and then Beck, Bogert & Appice, but under his own banner his new record pushed his sound and playing further out than it had ever been before. With long, rambling and exploratory psychedelic and jazz-infused solos, it’s not hard to see what resonated, rattled and hummed so much with David Gilmour.
And finally, Gilmour had another guitar hero in mind as he rounded out his list with Mark Knopfler’s eponymous Dire Straits debut. Perhaps the most versatile, agile, inventive and impressive player out of any of Gilmour, Beck, Clapton, Mayall or Hendrix, Mark Knopfler dominates the record with his lightning-fast chicken-picking playing. His Dylan-esque drawl hangs off the tight rhythm section of his band and illuminates and highlights the stories in his songs before his lead guitar takes off and elevates the whole enterprise, album and band into legend. Of course, the most legendary song of all on the album–and one which would have improved any album it was on and built a career for any band who released it–was the classic ‘Sultans of Swing’.
Perhaps too humble to include one of his own albums on the list, Gilmour has elsewhere singled Meddle out as his favourite album by Pink Floyd, While another artist whose success he had a huge hand in is curiously absent from his selection of best 1970s albums.
It was Gilmour who first championed the talents of Kate Bush to his label EMI, and recommended that they sign her. “You needed decent ears to hear the potential, and I didn’t think there were many people with those working in record companies”, he said in 2005. “Yet I was convinced from the beginning that this girl had remarkable talent.”
Gilmour went on to produce two of the best songs from Bush’s iconic debut album, The Kick Inside, ‘The Saxophone Song’ and ‘The Man with the Child in His Eyes’. Boasting both of those as well as ‘Moving’, ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Kite’ and ‘Them Heavy People’, The Kick Inside might not have made David Gilmour’s 2017 list of favourite albums from the 1970s, but it surely is close to the top of everyone else’s.
What makes Gilmour’s choices particularly interesting is the way they reflect his instincts as both a player and a listener. Rather than leaning solely on the most obvious or commercially dominant records of the era, his selections point towards albums that prioritise feel, tone and atmosphere. It suggests a musician who values nuance over flash, drawn to work that reveals itself gradually rather than demanding immediate attention.
There is also a sense that his listening habits mirror his own approach to guitar playing. The records he gravitates towards tend to favour expression over technical excess, where every note serves a purpose within the broader composition. That alignment between influence and output offers a clearer insight into how Gilmour has maintained such a distinctive voice across decades, grounding his sound in a deep appreciation for musicality above all else.
David Gilmour’s favourite albums of the 1970s:
- Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck
- Dire Straits – Dire Straits
