- International trends
- Singer-songwriters like John Denver (Poems, Prayers and Promises), Van Morrison (Tupelo Honey), Joni Mitchell (Blue, Don McLean (American Pie), Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water), Billy Joel (Cold Spring Harbor), Cat Stevens (Teaser and the Firecat) and Carole King (Tapestry) release influential and popular albums
- Early prog rock bands like Genesis (Nursery Cryme), Deep Purple (Fireball), Electric Light Orchestra (Electric Light Orchestra), Yes (The Yes Album), Gong (Camembert Electrique), Procol Harum (Broken Barricades), Pink Floyd (Meddle) and Jethro Tull (Aqualung) release influential albums marking the beginning of progressive rock's peak period.
- Music of Belgium
- Music of China
- Music of Cuba
- Music of Egypt
- Music of Estonia
- Music of France
- Music of Germany
- Music of Ghana
- Music of Martinique and Guadeloupe
- Haitian immigrants to Martinique bring with them kadans, which will dominate Martinican music for the next decade
- Music of Iceland
- Music of Israel
- Music of Kenya
- Simba Wanyika's career as a popular performer in Kenya begins, marking the beginning of the commercial success of Swahili music and the Wanyika legacy
- Music of Korea
- T'ong guitar music, which is a Koreanized version of acoustic guitar folk revivalists from the US, becomes very popular in Korea
- Music of Mali
- Les Ambassadeurs du Motel forms in Bamako, playing mainly French and Cuban pop in spite of official encouragement of traditional music; Les Ambassadeurs and Rail Band, a state-supported band, soon become major rivals on the Malian scene
- Music of Norway
- Music of Trinidad & Tobago
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Music of the United States
- International trends
- Music of Australia
- Music of Cambodia
- The Khmer Rouge's ascent to power ends a revival of classical dance and music
- Music of Iceland
- Music of Indonesia
- Music of Italy
- Music of Kenya
- Music of Mali
- Musix of Mozambique
- Mozambique becomes independent and Radio Bantu opens a Tsonga radio station; these events lead to the development of Portuguese Shangaan music losing most of its Portuguese characteristics
- Music of the Netherlands
- While the mainstream popularity of the Dutch roots revival declines, Friesland manages to produce groups like Irolt, who continue exploring the roots of Frisian folk music
- Music of Papua New Guinea
- Music of Portugal
- After the previos year's revolution, a new form of socially aware, folk-based fado arises, with Brigada Victor Jara, which formed this year, being especially influential; this is the birth of canto livre
- Music of Russia
- Music of Spain
- The death of Francisco Franco heralds the beginning of a renaissance in Spanish regional folk musics, which had been suppressed during his reign
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Music of the United States
- Bruce Springsteen makes the cover of Time and Newsweek on the same week, releases Born to Run, and breaks into the mainstream
- 1970s-style funk is at the height of its popularity with important releases from Parliament (Chocolate City), War (Why Can't We Be Friends?) and The Meters (Fire on the Bayou)
- The first radio stations with a Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) format begin broadcasting
- Country-oriented songs are popular, including releases from Linda Ronstadt (Prisoner in Disguise), John Denver ("Calypso", "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", "I'm Sorry", "Sweet Surrender", "Sunshine on My Shoulders"), The Eagles (One of These Nights), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Nuthin' Fancy), Glen Campbell ("Rhinestone Cowboy") and B.J. Thomas ("(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song")
- Fusion jazz's golden age ends and contemporary jazz emerges
- Smokey Robinson's Quiet Storm is released, defining what comes to be known as easy listening
- Hercules Campbell revolutionizes the breakbeat and the developing hip hop genre
- International trends
- Music of Algeria
- Music of Argentina
- A famous speech by Admiral Messera marks the beginning of a crackdown on rock nacional by military authorities, who consider the style's fans and performers subversive
- Music of Australia
- The Saints' "I'm Stranded" is the first Australian punk single
- Music of the Bahamas
- Music of Benin
- Nel Oliver begins recording (in France), the first major star to emerge after the Kérékou government came to power
- Music of Greenland
- Music of Hungary
- The táncház rural folk scene becomes popular in Budapest and other urban areas
- Music of Jamaica
- Music of Korea
- Music of Nigeria
- Music of Switzerland
- Music of Thailand
- State suppression of pro-democracy activists results in many fleeing to rural areas; this includes pleng phua cheewit bands like Caravan
- Music of Trinidad & Tobago
- Music of Turkey
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Music of the United States
- The Eagles release Hotel California, one of the best-selling albums of the year and all time; this is the commercial peak of southern rock
- Blondie's debut, Blondie and Pere Ubu's Modern Dance solidify the New Wave sound in punk music, centered in New York City
- Soft, disco-oriented ballads by The Bee Gees (Children of the World, "You Should Be Dancing"), Bay City Rollers ("Saturday Night", "Money Honey"), Orleans ("Still the One"), The Doobie Brothers (Takin' It to the Streets), Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight"), Peter Frampton (Frampton Comes Alive) and Paul Simon ("50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", "Still Crazy After All These Years") are popular
- David Grisman invents the term newgrass
- Wanted: The Outlaws by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser and Jessi Colter is first country album to go platinum
- Grandmaster Flash begins DJing, soon adding new techniques like phasing and cutting to hip hop
- Music of Zambia
- President Kenneth Kaunda decrees that 95% of music on Zambian radio must be Zambian in origin
- International trends
- DIY fanzines like Sniffin' Glue arise alongside punk rock
- The Sex Pistols release Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, kickstarting the punk rock movement in the UK, while the Ramones' Rocket to Russia helps break in punk in the US - art-punk bands like Television (Marquee Moon), Elvis Costello (My Aim Is True), The Damned (Machine Gun Etiquette), Richard Hell & the Voidoids (Blank Generation), UFO (Lights Out) and Talking Heads (Talking Heads: 77) also emerge
- The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever (largely by the Bee Gees) is the dominant album of the year and helps cement disco as the most popular genre; Chic also releases a pivotal disco album, Risque
- Pop and prog rock bands like Chicago (Chicago XI), Electric Light Orchestra (Out of the Blue), Jethro Tull (Songs from the Wood), Journey (Next), Kansas (Point of Know Return), Rush (A Farewell to Kings), Pink Floyd (Animals) and Steely Dan (Aja) release important and popular albums
- Music of Côte d'Ivoire
- Music of Egypt
- A court case rules that The Holy Koran contains the words of God, who recited it in a manner who do not comprehend. Koran recitation is an act of compliance and does not involve innovation, thus ruling valid laws against musical performance and recording in religious ceremonies, because doing so adds the performers' interpretation to God's words
- Music of Ethiopia
- Aster Aweke begins her singing career, which will soon make her the most internationally famous Ethiopian musician
- Music of the Gambia
- The Super Eagles travel to London to appear on a radio show; there, they are encouraged by an unknown man to switch from American and Cuban pop to their country's native sounds; they do so, and become the most famous and influential band in Gambian history
- Music of Senegal
- Music of Spain
- Music of the United States
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