The Best Rock Albums of the 1960s
Our pick of the essential rock records released in the 1960s, ranked.
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1Abbey RoadThe Beatles
Abbey Road
The Beatles' last recorded album and arguably their most polished, balancing Lennon's bite, McCartney's melody and a side-two medley that ties loose song fragments into one sweeping finale. Harrison contributes two of his finest in 'Something' and 'Here Comes the Sun'. A warm, confident farewell from a band at the peak of its studio craft.
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2Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club BandThe Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The album that reframed the LP as a complete artistic statement rather than a singles vehicle, dressed in orchestral flourishes, music-hall whimsy and studio trickery. Its influence on production and album-as-concept thinking is hard to overstate. Best heard start to finish, the way it was designed.
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3RevolverThe Beatles
Revolver
The pivot from pop group to studio explorers: tape loops, backwards guitar and Indian drones sit beside some of their sharpest songwriting. It is short, varied and astonishingly forward-looking for 1966, closing with the proto-psychedelic 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. Many fans rate it the single best Beatles record, and it is the natural place to start.
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4Pet SoundsThe Beach Boys
Pet Sounds
Brian Wilson's orchestral pop masterpiece, a fragile, intricate song-cycle of longing that reshaped what a pop album could be. Endlessly influential, not least on the Beatles. One of the greatest records ever made.
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5Highway 61 RevisitedBob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited
Dylan plugs in fully and the results are electric in every sense, opening with 'Like a Rolling Stone' and never letting up. The wordplay is savage and funny, the band loose and wild. A foundational rock record that still sounds dangerous.
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6The Velvet Underground & NicoThe Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Commercially ignored on release and quietly one of the most influential records ever made, pairing pop melody with feedback, drone and unflinching lyrics. Nico's icy vocals and Reed's street poetry still feel startling. Countless bands started after hearing it.
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7Are You ExperiencedThe Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Experienced
A debut that rewrote the rules of electric guitar, full of fuzz, feedback and psychedelic invention. Revolutionary and thrilling. Where modern rock guitar begins.
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8The Beatles (White Album)The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album)
A sprawling, contradictory double album recorded amid growing tensions, lurching from hard rock to folk to musique concrète. Its inconsistency is part of the charm, capturing four songwriters pulling in different directions. Endlessly debated, endlessly rewarding.
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9Rubber SoulThe Beatles
Rubber Soul
The hinge between the early pop group and the studio innovators, folding in folk-rock, soul and a new lyrical maturity. Cohesive and warm, it set the template for the album as a unified work. A turning point that still charms.
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10Led Zeppelin IILed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II
The album that defined heavy rock, built on Page's riffs and Bonham's thunder, from 'Whole Lotta Love' on. Loud, swaggering and hugely influential. The blueprint for hard rock.
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11Beggars BanquetThe Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet
The return to raw, rootsy form after psychedelic detours, opening with 'Sympathy for the Devil'. Loose, dark and the start of their greatest run. Essential.
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12Let It BleedThe Rolling Stones
Let It Bleed
A dark, swampy classic bookended by 'Gimme Shelter' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', capturing the Stones at their most ominous and assured. Country, blues and gospel all feed in. A peak-era essential.
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13TommyThe Who
Tommy
The rock opera that proved the form could carry a full narrative, following a 'deaf, dumb and blind' pinball prodigy. Ambitious and occasionally overwrought, it remains a landmark of scale and intent. Townshend's songwriting holds it together.
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14Bringing It All Back HomeBob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home
Half electric, half acoustic, the record where Dylan reinvented folk and rock at once. Witty, surreal and prophetic. A pivotal moment in 1960s music.
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15Blonde on BlondeBob Dylan
Blonde on Blonde
Often called the first great double album, a sprawling, mercurial set of wild imagery and 'thin, wild mercury' sound. Dense and brilliant. A peak of his electric trilogy.
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16Electric LadylandThe Jimi Hendrix Experience
Electric Ladyland
A sprawling double album of studio experimentation and blues-rock fire, climaxing in a definitive 'All Along the Watchtower'. Ambitious and brilliant. Hendrix's fullest statement.
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17The DoorsThe Doors
The Doors
A dark, hypnotic debut balancing pop singles with the sprawling 'The End'. Morrison's poetry and Manzarek's organ define it. A definitive 60s record.
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18The BandThe Band
The Band
The 'brown album' of vivid, lived-in songs about an older America, beautifully played. Timeless and warm. Often called their masterpiece.
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19A Hard Day's NightThe Beatles
A Hard Day's Night
The first all-original Beatles album, bursting with jangle and youthful energy. Tight and joyful. The sound of Beatlemania at full tilt.
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20Help!The Beatles
Help!
A transitional peak balancing pop and folk-rock, home to its title track and 'Yesterday'. Tuneful and beloved. A bridge to greater ambition.
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21Magical Mystery TourThe Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour
A patchy but rich psychedelic set gathering film songs and singles, including 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'I Am the Walrus'. Colourful and inventive. A trippy snapshot.
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22AftermathThe Rolling Stones
Aftermath
The first all-original Stones album, where Jagger and Richards came into their own. Sharp and varied. A 60s turning point.
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23Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
A thunderous debut welding blues to heavy riffing, announcing a new kind of band. Raw and electrifying. The start of a legend.
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24The Piper at the Gates of DawnPink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
A whimsical, psychedelic debut led by Syd Barrett. Inventive and strange. A 60s landmark.
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25The Freewheelin' Bob DylanBob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The album that established Dylan as the voice of a generation, home to 'Blowin' in the Wind'. Spare and powerful. A folk landmark.
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26John Wesley HardingBob Dylan
John Wesley Harding
A spare, parable-like retreat from psychedelia toward acoustic mystery. Quiet and influential. A pivotal record.
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27The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation SocietyThe Kinks
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
A wry, nostalgic song-cycle about a vanishing England, overlooked then revered. Charming and English to the core. A cult masterpiece.
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28Disraeli GearsCream
Disraeli Gears
A psychedelic blues-rock landmark, home to 'Sunshine of Your Love' and Clapton's heavy riffing. Colourful and influential. A 60s classic.
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29In the Court of the Crimson KingKing Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King
The album that launched progressive rock, dark and majestic from '21st Century Schizoid Man'. Ambitious and influential. A genre cornerstone.
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30Hot RatsFrank Zappa
Hot Rats
A dazzling jazz-rock instrumental record of virtuosic playing and 'Peaches en Regalia'. Inventive and warm. His most accessible.
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31Strange DaysThe Doors
Strange Days
A darker, more assured follow-up to the debut. Atmospheric and beloved. A strong second record.
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32Green RiverCreedence Clearwater Revival
Green River
A peak of lean, swampy roots-rock, home to its title song and 'Bad Moon Rising'. Tight and beloved. A high point.
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33Sweetheart of the RodeoThe Byrds
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The album that birthed country-rock, a brave pivot guided by Gram Parsons. Influential and gentle. A genre origin point.
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34Music from Big PinkThe Band
Music from Big Pink
A rustic, soulful debut that turned rock back toward Americana, home to 'The Weight'. Warm and influential. A landmark of the roots revival.
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35My GenerationThe Who
My Generation
A raw, explosive debut of mod fury, home to its iconic title track. Vital and influential. A genre cornerstone.
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36The Who Sell OutThe Who
The Who Sell Out
A playful concept album framed as pirate radio, complete with jingles, home to 'I Can See for Miles'. Inventive and fun. A pop-art gem.
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37Out of Our HeadsThe Rolling Stones
Out of Our Heads
An early peak, home to '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'. Tuneful and beloved. A breakthrough.
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38The Times They Are a-Changin'Bob Dylan
The Times They Are a-Changin'
A stark, protest-focused folk peak, home to its anthemic title song. Direct and influential. A 60s landmark.
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39Another Side of Bob DylanBob Dylan
Another Side of Bob Dylan
A more personal, playful turn away from protest. Witty and warm. A pivotal record.
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40Nashville SkylineBob Dylan
Nashville Skyline
A gentle country turn of warm, simple songs, home to 'Lay Lady Lay'. Mellow and beloved. A surprising pivot.
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41Something Else by the KinksThe Kinks
Something Else by the Kinks
A witty, melodic peak, home to 'Waterloo Sunset'. Beautiful and beloved. A high point.
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42Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)The Kinks
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
A witty, melodic concept album on British life. Sharp and beloved. A high point of their run.
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43Wheels of FireCream
Wheels of Fire
A half-studio, half-live double album of blues-rock virtuosity. Bold and beloved. A high point.
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44We're Only in It for the MoneyFrank Zappa
We're Only in It for the Money
A scabrous satire of 60s counterculture and Sgt. Pepper. Inventive and biting. A cult landmark.
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45Crosby, Stills & NashCrosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
A harmony-rich debut that defined a soft-rock era. Beautiful and beloved. A landmark.
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46Buffalo Springfield AgainBuffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield Again
A peak of folk-rock songcraft from a star-laden band. Tuneful and acclaimed. A high point.
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47Younger Than YesterdayThe Byrds
Younger Than Yesterday
A peak of jangly, psychedelic folk-rock invention. Tuneful and acclaimed. A high point.
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48Cheap ThrillsBig Brother and the Holding Company
Cheap Thrills
A raw, electric peak of Janis Joplin's blues-rock fire. Powerful and beloved. A 60s landmark.
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49Waiting for the SunThe Doors
Waiting for the Sun
A varied peak, home to 'Hello, I Love You'. Tuneful and beloved. A high point.
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50Surrealistic PillowJefferson Airplane
Surrealistic Pillow
A defining record of the San Francisco sound, home to 'Somebody to Love' and 'White Rabbit'. Psychedelic and tuneful. A 60s classic.