Actually Marc I too have some very mainstream faves from the 70s amongst others:

Joe Jackson - Look Sharp
Van Halen - Van Halen
Cheap Trick - Dream Police
Supertramp - Breakfast in America
Pink Floyd - The Wall
ABBA - Arrival, Voulez-Vous, The Album
Blondie - Parallel Lines
The Police - Regatta de Blanc
ELO - A New World Record
The Cars - The Cars, Candy O
Chic - C'est Chic, Risque
Queen - Jazz
Heatwave - Central Heating
Klaatu - Klaatu

As you can see it wasn't all angular riffs and power pop.