The songs below are the number 1 songs for each week of 1971. The dates below each song are the chart dates when the songs peaked at number 1 in 1971. 43 songs reached number 1 this year.
| American Pie Don McLean |
| Changes David Bowie |
| Hocus Pocus Focus |
| Let's Stay Together * Al Green |
| Heart Of The Sunrise Yes |
| Family Affair Sly & The Family Stone |
| Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin |
| Tiny Dancer Elton John |
| Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) The Hollies |
| Without You Nilsson |
| Back Street Luv Curved Air |
| Coat Of Many Colors Dolly Parton |
| Imagine John Lennon Plastic Ono Band |
| Halleluwah aka Halleluhwah CAN |
| Surf's Up The Beach Boys |
| Theme From Shaft Isaac Hayes |
| Baba O'Riley The Who |
| I'd Love To Change The World * Ten Years After |
| Won't Get Fooled Again The Who |
| Maggot Brain Funkadelic |
| Whipping Post (Live) The Allman Brothers Band |
| Children Of The Grave Black Sabbath |
| Bang A Gong (Get It On) T. Rex |
| Tired Of Being Alone Al Green |
| California Joni Mitchell |
| Maggie May Rod Stewart |
| Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) Marvin Gaye |
| Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey Paul & Linda McCartney |
| Wild Horses The Rolling Stones |
| Brown Sugar The Rolling Stones |
| Riders On The Storm The Doors |
| Love Her Madly The Doors |
| Ballade de Melody Nelson Serge Gainsbourg |
| Famous Blue Raincoat Leonard Cohen |
| Aqualung Jethro Tull |
| Laughing David Crosby |
| Northern Sky Nick Drake |
| I've Seen All Good People: a. Your Move b. All Good People Yes |
| It's Too Late Carole King |
| What's Going On Marvin Gaye |
| Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) The Temptations |
| Me & Bobby McGee Janis Joplin |
| Eighteen Alice Cooper |